Orca (1977)

Better Late Then Never

An Exercise In Nonsense

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

"Orca", made two years after the huge success of "Jaws", stars Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling, two, at first, seemingly opposite characters who develop a, somewhat, 'mutual understanding' between them. After witnessing the tremendous awe of the Killer Whale, Harris's character, a money-grabbing fisherman, resolves to capture this beast and sell it. Rampling's character, a whale lover and researcher, warns him of the consequences, which Harris soon discovers after he does not heed Rampling's warnings.Directed by Michael Anderson ("Around the World in 80 Days" & "Logan's Run"), "Orca" was classified as a "Jaws cash-in", although the cast and crew do not agree with this opinion. Unlike "Jaws, real whales are often used in this production, and the film, in many occasions, reaching a high point of intensity and anticipation. Despite this, it is a very inconsistent film, beginning with a mysterious scene, only to be eventually followed by long, tedious, whale-watching scenes, halting the suspense once in their grasp. The film is almost believable at parts, due to the in-depth scientific reasoning behind the Whale's motives, but can sometimes be unclear, with awkward cut-ins which don't seem to fit, and the inescapable continuity error of a floppy dorsal fin (which all captive-whales possess).The acting is fine from all cast members, with most of the film rising to mediocre and enjoyable. The uplifting (not emotionally, but for the film's rating) element of the film, is, as mentioned, its power to throttle suspense by the throat and suffocate until no more can be extracted, helped along by a memorable, spectacular soundtrack by Ennio Morocconi, well known for his work on numerous Western Films (including The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). Even though the title and synopsis may sound like a "Jaws rip-off", "Orca" deserves credit for the manipulation of the audience to sympathise with the Killer Whale, and the entirely different and morally questioning premise.

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.

Surprisingly good "killer mammal over the open sea" flick which happened to follow only two years after a certain film directed by Steven Spielberg about a predatory killer Great White. That bit of misfortune plagues what is otherwise a rather nifty "nature goes a killin'" horror flick. Good casting is especially in this film's favor. Richard Harris is really a very valuable anchor for the film (pun intended) while Charlotte Rampling was another bit of solid casting that helps to bring some real acting chops to what can viewed as "just another one of those Jaws rip-offs". Ultimately this is about revenge on the mind of a male killer whale after Harris's captain accidentally kills its pregnant female mate trying to capture it with a harpoon. Knicking the fin of the male, this "mark of identification" lets the viewer know (when the whale doesn't leap from the water to recognize its presence to those he wants to see his handiwork (like causing boats to sink after attacking them or causing a nearby fishing village factory to go kaboom) when the whale is hanging around. The fetus spilling from the rope-caught female with large cuts on its torso onto Harris' deck is horrifying (as it should be), reminding of him of his loss of wife and child to a drunk driver.Rampling is a marine scientist with extensive knowledge of whales. She tries to reason with Harris over confronting the killer whale, soon realizing that fisherman and whale are fated to meet in a violent conclusion. This near a polar region with ice bergs. Will Sampson arrives in the film a little later to try and convince Harris that if he doesn't "do battle" with the whale that the fishing village would turn on him due to its detriment to their livelihood. The whale's antics include snatching Rampling's assistant (Robert Carradine; Revenge of the Nerds), and two of Harris' fishermen (Keenan Wynn, basically wasted but proving how active he was even as he was aging, and Peter Hooten) while on the water. A rather startling but effective attack on a rental home overlooking the sea has the whale biting off Bo Derek's casted leg in perhaps its most memorable scene. Speaking of Bo, she isn't used much (I just assumed the filmmakers would try to get her beautiful looks in as much as possible), although her fate is quite a shocker. Harris really lifts this film with a performance that Orca needs in order to be even in the conversation with Jaws. His teetering on the edge, influenced greatly by Rampling's appeals for the whale, as the two attempt futilely to avoid a fight on the open sea, shows that he isn't just some thoughtless, honorless, heartless sociopath. And a good scene has Harris contemplating to Rampling about why he wanted to capture the male whale and how doing so has cost him so much. Morricone's score also adds dramatic weight and power to the film. The opening with the male and female whales (soon to be parted and destroyed by Harris' carelessness) rising from the water as the sun peeks from clouds is a jaw-dropper. Along with Pirhana, I think Orca is one of the best of the emerging killer fish/mammal water flicks to show up after Jaws. There have been so many rotten apples that came out of the aftermath of Jaws, but I think Orca is one of the few decent efforts of the swarm. The killer whale dismantling the shark at the beginning, saving Carradine (only later to kill him; irony at its darkest) in the process, an amusing message that speaks loud and clear regarding the attempt to pound the chest towards Jaws. The animatronic whales are incredible in their lifelike-ness.

After JAWS (1975) started taking off, producer Dino Di Laurentiis got on the phone with Italian writer Luciano Vincenzoni (of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY fame) and had him begin work on a similar script that could outdo Spielberg's film. His only specificity was that the film contain a sea beast "tougher and more terrible" than the great white shark. Yes, that's the genesis of the particular film; whether you want to call it a "rip-off" or just "inspired by..." is up to you. Upon release in 1977, it was poorly received, with mediocre box office and scathing reviews from most critics. Was all that deserved? Actually, yep! But this isn't a bad movie because it was made in response to another film's success, it's a bad movie because it's poorly acted and directed and *horribly* written. I don't mind films being a little far-fetched, but there's a big difference between being far-fetched and downright preposterous. ORCA is not only impossible to take seriously, but tries to have it both ways by running down a checklist of killer whales 'facts' before disregarding the scientific research it supposedly hinges its own story on. In addition to that, the pacing seems off, the characters aren't the least bit likable and the dialogue is unintentionally laughable ("Y- you revengeful son of a bitch!") throughout.Things actually begin very promisingly, with elegant shots of whales peacefully swimming and jumping all set to a truly beautiful and moving score composed by Ennio Morricone. We then meet Captain Nolan (Richard Harris) and his small crew, who are at a fishing village in Newfoundland with one goal in mind: capturing a killer whale and transporting it to a Sea World-like aquarium. If they are able to do so, they'll receive hundreds of thousands of dollars and, well, Nolan has a mortgaged boat to pay off. They meet zoology professor and whale researcher Dr. Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling) and her assistant Ken (Robert Carradine) and even bear witness to Ken being saved from a great white shark BY a killer whale (sort of a jab at Spielberg's film in a way), but it does nothing to deter Nolan and crew from their mission.Aiming for a male orca, Nolan ends up accidentally harpooning a female, who then promptly attempts suicide (!) by ramming herself into the boat's propeller. They hoist her up and soon realize she's with child when one splatters out onto the deck. Nolan disposes of both the baby and the mama into the ocean and the irate male orca sets out for revenge, starting with leaping out of the water and chomping down on deckhand Keenan Wynn. Up until this point, I was actually enjoying this movie and feeling sympathetic toward the whale's situation, but that didn't last long as this rapidly starts going right downhill. The whale sinks all of the boats in the harbor except for Nolan's because apparently it wants HIM to be able to come out to sea to fight it, somehow knows that knocking a few pipes loose will blow up some fuel tanks (and nearly half the marina along with it) and then bumps a house on stilts down so it can bite off crew girl Bo Derek's leg, which is followed by a hilarious crunch sound similar to that of someone biting into a potato chip. After each attack, the whale is shown shrieking or leaping from the water in a perfect arc as if it's doing some theme park act. The finale has Captain Ahab, er Nolan, and company letting the whale lure their boat out to some remote Arctic location (ludicrously by waving its fin to direct them along) and picking them off one by one since they continue to lean over the railing and hang from rope dangling over the water like idiots.Harris and Rampling are good actors, but they're saddled with such poorly-scripted characters neither is able to do much to save this film. Peter Hooten, playing Nolan's right-hand man, seems to have been dubbed by someone else in post and comes off horribly as a result. Derek - in her film debut - proves here why she was only suitable for getting naked in her narcissistic then-husband's Razzie-winning soft-core porn flicks in the 80s. Most embarrassing of all is Will Sampson as the horribly-stereotyped wise Indian who materializes out of thin air insisting on going along on the final fateful voyage. This character contributes absolutely nothing at all to the film and is apparently there simply because any movie dealing with Mother Nature's wrath must include a wise Indian to tell everyone what they're up against. Only this time they forgot to have the Indian do or say anything that had any bearing whatsoever on the plot.There are numerous other moronic scenes in here, my favorite being when Nolan goes to ask a priest whether or not it's a sin to kill an animal (?!) During another scene toward the end, the Captain angrily throws down his gun and goes into some rant about how he wants to have "a fair fight on equal terms" with the whale. The very next scene he is shown flinging a harpoon and shooting his rifle at the animal. And I doubt I will be the only person who laughs when the whale nudges an iceberg with its nose a few times, breaks off a huge chunk and then starts PUSHING it toward the ship!The best attributes here are clearly the aforementioned Morricone score and the cinematography. The whale effects are also reasonably effective, using close-ups of real killer whales (obviously filmed somewhere in a tank) and scale model whales, which are fairly well-designed... aside from a dead one on the beach that actually sways back and forth when the wind blows. Shame about the rest of the movie.