Orca (film)
| Orca the Killer Whale | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Anderson |
| Produced by |
Dino De Laurentiis Luciano Vincenzoni |
| Written by | Luciano Vincenzoni Sergio Donati Uncredited: Robert Towne |
| Starring |
Richard Harris Charlotte Rampling Will Sampson Bo Derek Keenan Wynn Robert Carradine Scott Walker |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
| Cinematography | J. Barry Herron Ted Moore |
| Edited by |
John Bloom Marion Rothman Ralph E. Winters |
| Distributed by |
Paramount Pictures Dino De Laurentiis Company |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $14,717,854 |
Orca (also known as Orca: The Killer Whale) is a 1977 American adventure horror film directed by Michael Anderson and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, and Will Sampson. It is based on Arthur Herzog's novel of the same name. The film follows a male orca whale tracking down and getting revenge on a captain for killing the whale's pregnant mate.
Reception towards the film was unfavorable by critics and audiences alike to due to its similarities to Jaws at the time, released two years prior. Upon release the film received only minor theatrical success, but in recent years the film has achieved a cult following among fans of the natural horror subgenre.
Captain Nolan (Richard Harris) is an Irish Canadian who catches marine animals to pay off the mortgage of his boat, and returns to Ireland. Nolan's crew is looking for a great white shark for a local aquarium, but a scientist named Ken (Robert Carradine) is targeted by the shark. An orca comes and kills the shark, saving Ken. This switches Nolan's target to the orca. While Nolan is on the journey with his crew, he tries to capture what he believes to be a bull orca, but mistakenly harpoons a pregnant female. Nolan and his crew get the orca on board, where she subsequently miscarries. The captain hoses the dead fetus overboard as the male orca looks on screaming.
Seeking release of his near-dead mate, the male orca tries to sink the ship. One of Nolan's crew members, Novak (Keenan Wynn), cuts the female off the ship, but the male leaps up and drags him into the sea, too. The following day, the orca pushes his now dead mate onto shore. Alan Swain (Scott Walker) berates Nolan on his actions after finding the dead whale. Nolan denies responsibility, but Swain and the villagers eventually find out his involvement. The villagers insist that he kill the orca, as his presence is causing the fish vital to the village's economy to migrate. The orca then terrorises the village by sinking fishing boats in broad daylight and then breaking fuel lines, thus destroying the village's fuel reserves.
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