Sorry, this movie sucks

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Made just two years after "Jaws", this isn't the crowd-pleasing blockbuster its predecessor is; it's a more adult film, turning a whale-seeking quest into a mystical journey to the end of time. There are all sorts of ways to read this film metaphorically (maybe the whale represents Harris' desire to die because of his grief, or maybe it represents everything he would like to have done to his own wife and baby's killer), but it's also effective at a simpler level; it can't be easy (much less in 1977) to create the illusion of a whale systematically preying on humans, but they do it here. Harris is superb, and Morricone's music is magnificent. It's not a pleasant film to watch, but it has made a strong impression on me (and left me with conflicting emotions) ever since I first saw it, many years ago. It's probably one of the top 5 "when animals attack" thrillers ever made. *** out of 4.

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.

Orca is one of a spate of films in the mid-1970s in which human- animal interactions turn deadly (Jaws (1975), Grizzly (1976), Orca (1977), and Jaws 2 (1978)). While it's hard to imagine anyone seeking out Orca these days unless they have an interest in the history of the genres the film fits into, Orca offers a good example of the formula: anthropomorphizing animals, locating in nature an ethic against which to measure human action, and balancing experiential knowledge, scientific knowledge, and knowledge from indigenous people. While the plot is thin, the film is mercifully short and punctuated with just enough thought in the script and just enough attention to camera-work and editing to keep it watchable. For example, Captain Nolan asks a priest, "Can you commit a sin against an animal?" and Umilak says at one point, "Even our gods dance to a new song." In other words, the film touches on an ethics of human/animal relations and avoids representing native people as frozen in time (though it's not without other stereotypes). In terms of editing and camera-work, you could easily use this film to demonstrate different shots, elements of lighting, and use of music. Despite what you can find in it, the film always teeters and often slips into the ridiculous, particularly when it comes to violent images such as the fetus scene or the scenes of crew members getting eaten while dangling from parts of the boat like SeaWorld trainers.

"Orca" has a reputation of being nothing but an obvious rip off of "Jaws", and while there are similarities, this film is strong enough to stand on its own.Richard Harris(quite good) plays Captain Nolan, a fisherman/hunter who kills an Orca, unaware that it was pregnant, and traveling with its mate, who becomes enraged at the atrocity, and sets out on a campaign of vengeance against the crew, and the village harbor it is stationed at. Charlotte Rampling is also in the cast, who tries in vain to warn him on the danger.Exciting, well-directed, with beautiful underwater photography and moving music score, this film is a winner; if anything, the story follows "Death Wish" more than anything!