Orca - The Killer Whale (1977)

When its pregnant mate is killed by shark hunters, a male killer whale stops at nothing to get revenge.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 14-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVD Product Description

Orca Rules

I have looked for this older movie many times and finally I found it on AMAZON.com. The quality of the movie rates an 'A' easily not to mention A-list actor Sir Richard Harris. It was a good movie to watch with a very serene ending. August 26, 2008

There's a reason why they're called "killer" whales

This is one of the more obvious "Jaws" ripoffs but it's an enjoyable way to pass a lazy summer afternoon or evening. Richard Harris plays Captain Nolan who decides to go after a killer whale (orcinus orca, hence the title) after watching one maul a Great White shark. Unfortunately for Nolan, he captures and inadvertently kills a pregnant female orca whose mate, the orca of the title, decides (?) to enact revenge on Nolan.

The Orca maims Bo Derek's character in a spectacular scene in which he destroys a house and sets nearly half the town ablaze. Ironically, this film is probably the only one where Derek keeps her clothes on. Charlotte Rampling plays a scientist, but she's not given much to work with here. The climax comes when Nolan faces the predatory whale on an ice floe.

Some of the underwater photography is good and the actors are all pretty good, especially Harris. It's the plot that needs work. August 25, 2008

If you have Kids think twice!!!

Having see Orca - The Killer Whale while quite young I have a unique perspective on this film.
This is NOT a film for kids!!!
The death of the mother wale and the miscarriage is graphic. In fact even though I am a fan of this movie, I still to this day can not watch that scene. Having said that, It's nice to see a film where there's some understanding as to why this animal is killing people and I found myself siding with the whale. Even though it does come on the heals of Jaws, it's unique perspective from the animals point of view is refreshing. February 19, 2008

Never Slight An Orca!

Richard Harris intends to merely capture and sell a male Orca, but accidentally kills a female of the species that happens to be pregnant. The mate of the pregnant Orca seeks revenge. Harris, ashamed at his mistake, has no intention of confronting the male Orca despite the fact that Harris is now being stalked by the aquatic monster! To force Harris' hand into combat, the outraged Orca sinks several fishing ships and graphically bites off one of Bo Derek's (a mate of Harris) legs. Harris now has no choice; he must confront his enemy in its environment.

This movie not only has well-executed action sequences, but a heart-breaking sequence of the dying Orca and her mate that will leave a lump in the throats of even the most hard-boiled male viewers.

Orcas, as we're reminded in the movie, have larger brains than humans, and their embryos resemble human embryos with hands! While Orcas can be gentle, they will defend themselves. The movie's theme: Never slight an Orca!
August 13, 2007

sncks as much now as it did then

whoever considered this a straight ahead horror movie should be ashamed of themselves or thinks linda blair should have won the oscar for exorcist 2;the heretic.

lemme get this straight.....
male whale loves female whale....female whale gets caught and killed.....
male whale goes on rampage......this premiss was a ripoff of that SNL skit,land shark at large.how gullible must an audience be ????????

anyway,this is the best time to do an abbreviated all time,most horrible list;
WORST SEQUALS/PREQUALS(and some spinoffs)~
1)exorcist 2;the heretic(....hhhhmmmm,getting kicked in the nads 90000000000000 times or seeing this again.....hhhhmmmmm)
2)speed 2;snooze control
3)jaws 3-d(''this time its personal''...no,this time its hysterical)
4)godfather 3(the unwanted,retarded stepchild of its brilliant parents,pts 1 & 2.best part was sofia getting shot and her uttering ''daddy....'')
5)friday 13th 8;jason takes manhattan(did jason actually turn back into a fat kid or was i dreaming ????)
6)jaws 4 (even jaws didnt want to be in this)
7)A vs P vs zzzzzzzzz's
8)orca(smart enough to not make a sequal)
9)starship troopers 2 (p tippett and co can be found restocking a k-mart near you)
10)TCM;the beginning (and the end at the same time)
11-tied)superman 3 & 4(all that was missing was the laugh tracks)
12-tied)evil dead 2 & 3(ok,they were terrific comedies)
13)halloween 3 (how to kill a golden goose 101)
14)jeepers creepers 2(this outsuct part 1)
15)halloween h20(1 rapper,bad acting,horrible script and voila)
16)halloween resurrection(1 rapper AND a model and the rest, voila)
17-tie)star wars 1 & 2(raise your hand if you think these made the inital star wars any better)
18)blair witch 2;book of nonsense
19-tie)friday 13 jason X & pt 7(i still dont see how almost drowning gave jason superhuman powers)
20)are we done yet(again,a sequal outsucking the original)
21)alien resurrection(s weaver must have been broke)
22)henry;portrait of.....2(the makers of this were the best victims)
23)blues brothers 2000(theres at least 2000 reasons why this suct)
24-tie)star trek 4 & 5(i finally had enough sense to stop here.pts 6-175 could just as well be worse.i wouldnt know)
25)alien 3 (i love when someone types ''not the best of the series but not the worst''....in other words,squeezing every last penny out of a dead franchise as possible)
26)TCM 2
27)MI;2
28)charlies angels 2
29)tcm:the return(if talking to someone could kill,this would have had a higher body count)
30)clerks 2(why bother?were the slackers of 90's that interesting?)
31)caddyshack 2 (i wasnt a fan of pt 1 either)
32)batman & robin (one can only laugh at those who went out of their way to see this)
33-tied)rocky 3-6.(this series was ktfo midway through pt 2)
34)rambo 3,the war against incontinence
35)predator 2(damn,danny looked worse than the monster)
36)beyond poseidon adventure(a ''g'' rating would have been harsh)
37)lawnmower man 2......part 1 was 1 part too many
38tied)NL vacation 2-3 (they went 23 skidoo fast)
39)leprechaun 2-? (whatever came after pt 1 has to be just as bad,right?)
40-tied)all revenge of the nerds after pt 1(some movies just had to embarrass themselves into thinking they were franchises.)
41)swampthing
42)escape from L.A.(fortunately,kurt escaped with some dignity.barely)
43-tied)urban legend 2-?(i can blame curiousity for seeing pt 1 and 15 minutes of pt 2.....ill take the producers word for it that this series would only get worse) July 11, 2007

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