Great White (film)
| Great White | |
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Italian film poster
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| Directed by | Enzo G. Castellari |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Marc Princi |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Guido & Maurizio De Angelis |
| Cinematography | Alberto Spagnoli |
| Edited by | Gianfranco Amicucci |
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Production
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Release date
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Running time
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87 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Box office | $18 million (USA) |
Great White (a.k.a. The Last Shark; Italian: L'ultimo squalo) is a 1981 Italian horror film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring James Franciscus and Vic Morrow.
It was very successful, and during the first month of its release in the United States it grossed over $18 million; however, its North American release was later blocked when Universal Pictures, considering Great White a rival at the box office, filed suit accusing its makers of plagiarism of Jaws.
While wind surfing near the seaside community of Port Harbor, a young man is killed by a giant Great White Shark. Author Peter Benton and professional shark hunter Ron Hammer realize the truth, but ambitious governor William Wells refuses to accept that a shark threatens their community. Fearing that a canceled wind-surfing regatta would derail his gubernatorial campaign, Wells has shark nets installed. But the sounds of teenagers splashing in the surf leads the shark to rip through the nets. The next day, the shark plows through the wind surfers, knocking them off their boards. But rather than eat the scattered teenagers, the shark targets the governor's aide and eats him.
The governor can no longer hide the truth. Benton and Hammer head out on the sea, planning to feed the shark dynamite and cause it to explode. But the shark traps them in a cave, and the men have to use their dynamite just to escape. Meanwhile, Benton's daughter Jenny and some of her friends head out on a yacht, armed with some steak and a shotgun, intending to shoot the shark. Instead, its powerful bites on the bait knocks Jenny into the water. Her friends pull her aboard, but not until the shark bites off one of her legs. Governor Wells's son was one of the friends she went out with, and Benton blames him for her injury. Determined to do something right, Wells sets out in a helicopter armed with a steak, apparently intending to hoist the shark into the air and suffocate it. But the shark is too powerful; when it bites into the steak dangling from a winch, it shakes the copter and knocks Wells into the sea. The shark then bites him in half then lunges into the helicopter, dragging it into the sea.
Benton and Hammer go back out to blow up the shark. After an argument, Benton agrees to allow Hammer to be the one to go down with the dynamite strapped into a belt around his waist. Thinking the shark might be hiding in the downed helicopter, Hammer investigates it. But the shark sneaks up on him and attacks. Benton dives in to save him, but Hammer becomes wrapped up in a line and is towed to his death by the shark.
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