#52. Orca - Review
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 10:19AM 
Orca (1977) posterThe experience of sitting down and watching Orca was not unlike having the best sex of your life with someone so ugly you would be embarrassed to introduce them to your dog. Orca is perhaps the guiltiest of all pleasures, terrible in almost everyway except its nerve. To view it is to experience it, sheer ludicrousness on celluloid, and it is wonderful. Wonderful in the way only Dino De Laurentiss could deliver.
An overt reactionary cash-in on the newly minted big fish genre following Jaws’ success in 1975, producer De Laurentiis and director Michael Anderson took to the ocean hoping to sail upon big box office returns. Substituting the vicious maw of a megalodonic great white for an oddly telepathic killer whale, Orca is a house of cards built atop a filthy vibrating bed in a sleazy motel – There is no chance it is going to work, but watching them try is half the fun.
Richard Harris stars as the simple but stalwart captain Nolan of the humble vessel Bumpo, a salt-caked charmer that is formed as a perfect mix of equal parts Sheriff Brody, Matt Hooper, and Sam Quint, which is of course deliberate. Nolan is joined by a disparate band of ragtag fishermen covering the gamut of age, sex, and beauty, each filling the roles typically required for a film set out at sea. The paint-chipped Bumpo is manned by Novak (Keenan Wynn), the crusty old first mate; the sexy fish out of water Annie (Bo Derek) and her loyal beau Paul (Peter Hooten) perform the most important of naval tasks, such as repeating the orders called out by Nolan, and tying knots.
The film begins with the majestic Bumpo fishing off the shores of Canada in search of a great white shark. When their search crosses paths with marine biologist Rachel Bedford (the enchanting Charlotte Rampling) researching orca in the area, a particular killer whale steals Nolan’s attention, inspiring him to change his aim. After a captured pregnant orca miscarries a whale fetus (WITH HANDS AND FINGERS!!) on the deck of the Bumpo, the father of the aborted baby-whale declares a mission of revenge against Nolan and his crew.
Yep... that is a Killer Whale fetus. . . those are handsWhat ensues is an assault fueled by such a frenzied rage it could have made Free Willy’s dorsal fin stand straight up again. Much of the film’s 70s-esque mojo is derived from these outrageously absurd scenes of orcinus rampage. With the telepathic powers of Professor Xavier and the physical might of a battering ram used on the siege of Constantinople; the grieving father is an absolute force of tawdry special effects on the level of King Kong (1976) Flash Gordon and Conan the Barbarian (Yes, the De Laurentiis trifecta of beautiful kitsch).
Orca is the amalgamation of greedy intentions and ingenuous orchestration, thankfully amounting to just about as much guilty fun that can be possibly achieved by watching the slaughter of both man and whale in the most ridiculous methods imaginable. The plot is taken so seriously it only amplifies the foolishness of its reality; the notion of a vigilante killer whale deserves some nuance. With Richard Harris chewing up as much scenery as the killer whale on screen, every moment of Orca guarantees a generous amount of questionable enjoyment. This will now and forever be a member on my list of favorite films.
Here is some more amazing Orca posters from around the world:
Orca 1977 poster
Orca 1977 Japanese poster
Orca 1977 poster
Reader Comments (1)
I think what I found most offensive about this post is the lack of sincerity against my people the great, whale people of Calcutta. How dare you promote a film of such blasphemy. This movie is equal to Snakes On A Plane with that heathenish insincere wretch Samson Jackson. For hundred of hundred of years, since the great battle against the whorish sea cucumbers, us whale people have had to defend ourselves against these allegations of aggression and violence. YOU SIR, are promoting this image against us.
WE HAVE BEEN ABUSED AND MISTREATED! READ THIS ARTICLE ABOUT THE PLANTATION YOU HUMANS KNOW AS SEA WORLD:
http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/ten-things.aspx
THIS WAS MY SECOND COUSIN THIRD REMOVED!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_gosDqtPcZM/TdbJc3NGlsI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/iB_ieJ2c05w/s320/230534_1972952134054_1550568228_2025028_2897750_n.jpg
YOU SIMPLE MINDED FOOL IS OBVIOUSLY SO BLINDED BY YOUR HOLLYJEW MOVIE TROUPES THAT YOU HAVE FAILED TO SEE THE REALITY OF THIS SITUATION.
ORCA IS A ORIFICE I PISS IN!
I REPEAT ORCA IS THE ORIFICE I PISS IN!
SHAMMMMEEEEEEE! SHAMMMEEEE ONTO YOU!!