jellopuke This was WAY better than I was expecting and much better than it had any right to be. Rather than just another crazed animal kills people movie, it was more mythic in its scope, almost like moby Dick in the way it portrayed man vs whale. It had excellent use of stock footage and trained animals and hid the puppets away with such short shots that it worked quite well. While there were some hokey parts, overall it was a nice, more thoughtful change of pace from the usual blood in the water movies.

BA_Harrison According to this rather silly Jaws-inspired movie, killer whales (or 'orca') are intelligent, monogamous, great parents, and have an instinct for vengeance, making them not too dissimilar to humans. Except, of course, that they're much bigger. And wetter.Salty sea-dog Captain Nolan (Richard Harris) learns all about the orca's vengeful nature when he accidentally kills a pregnant female killer whale, incurring the wrath of its mate. This being a smart beast, it follows the captain wherever he goes, eats his crew whenever the opportunity arises, makes him a pariah in the small fishing town where he currently lives (by sinking boats and severing the fuel supply), and lures him out to sea for a showdown in the icy waters of the north.Nowhere near as expertly executed as Jaws, lacking that film's tension, scares and unforgettable performances, Orca is preposterous nonsense that is talky and uneventful for much of the running time, and suffers from a preachy eco-thriller plot that has the viewer empathise with the whale (thereby diluting the horror). On the plus side, the film benefits from wonderful photography of its ocean dwellers and a lush score from Ennnio Morricone. Oh, and Bo Derek has her leg bitten off, which is fun.4.5/10, rounded down to 4 for that terrible closing song.

trashgang A bit of nostalgia this one is. I remember going with my father to the cinema and some how we entered this one, guess Disney was a full house. So it became my first contact with a so-called horror. I never forgot this flick for some reason and was happy to pick it up at a convention.Seeing it now it is a bit outdated but the problem with this flick is the fact that it was made after Jaws (1975) and is always been compared with it. Jaws did have it's suspense and gory moments. Orca to be honest isn't really full of suspense but goes deeper into the characters then Jaws did. To say that this really is a horror I can't really agree because it's rather low on red stuff even as the orca do attacks the biting is done off-camera and that tears this one a bit down. It's made just before gore became the next big thing and face it, Jaws had it all. Not that it isn't worth seeing, it is because the acting is rather good by Charlotte Rampling (Rachel Bedford) and Richard Harris (Captain Nolan). Richard was already a big name after the cult classic A Man Called Horse (1970). Charlotte was on the way to become big but also to notice is the first appearance of Bo Derek (Annie). After this flick she moved on to become famous with her nudity in Ten (1979).Even as the effects used for the bitings are outdated I must say that the orca's did look stunning. Naturally some are the real stuff but some are of course made and you can't see the difference. But it became a classic for reasons above and of course the production of Dino De Laurentiis and music by Ennio Morricone. A B-flick with the creature doing the revenge, men against beast.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Wuchak RELEASED IN 1977 and directed by Michael Anderson, "Orca" stars Richard Harris as a Newfoundland fisherman trying to make some big money by capturing a killer whale for a marine park. Unfortunately he ends up horribly botching the job, which incurs the vengeful wrath of the father killer whale.Coming out two years after the blockbuster "Jaws," this is sort of a knockoff, but it's too different in story/tone to be cheap imitation, although there are obvious similarities: The last third of the film involves a boat crew sailing out to sea to take on the oceanic antagonist; and another scene where an individual slides down a leaning platform toward the marine creature. In any case, "Orca" may not be technically as good as "Jaws" but it certainly has its unique attractions.The story is a maritime tragedy and utterly serious in tone with no lightness to be seen, like in "Piranha" (1978). The melodramatic plot basically inverts Melville's "Moby Dick" wherein in the whale takes the place of bitter Ahab. The score by Ennio Morricone (e.g. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly") is equal-parts beautiful, touching and haunting. Also, the casting is great: Harris is perfect as the aging sea salt, Charlotte Rampling is super sharp & intellectual as the cetacean biologist, Will Sampson ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") is great (and clichéd) as the Indian sage with his wise, foreboding words and Bo Derek is, well, you know.In addition, the Newfoundland locations are fabulous and, at about an hour and a half, the film is short and sweet; so there's not much filler. That said, people suffering ADHD might complain that the pace is a little slow at times.A couple of notable scenes come to mind: The unsettling sequence where Orca's mate aborts her calf while strung up on the vessel; and the one where Orca causes mass destruction in the village at night whereupon Nolan (Harris) gazes at the havoc while the whale jumps in and out of the water in elation.Let me close by emphasizing that "Orca" is NOT a Grade B creature-on-the-loose flick (e.g. 2000's "Crocodile"); it's a serious and moving tragedy.THE FILM RUNS 92 minutes. WRITERS: Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Donati and Robert Towne, based on Arthur Herzog's novel.GRADE: B+