Orca

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Anderson directs. Ted Moore behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. John Bloom cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Italy, Netherlands. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 84% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 249 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3International production across 2 countries: Italy, Netherlands.
• 4Directed by Michael Anderson, shot by Ted Moore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor John Bloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling and Will Sampson carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Terror just beneath the surface.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0076504 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 12 themes, including "ship", "whale", "marine biologist", "fisherman".
• 11Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Ted Moore

Original score

Ennio Morricone

Editing

John Bloom

Production design

Mario Garbuglia

Costume design

Jost Jakob

Makeup / hair

Neville Smallwood

Sound

Trevor Pyke

Stunt coordinator

Romano Puppo

Runtime

92 min · 1h 32m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$17,500,000

Box office

$14,717,854

Return

84% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

Orca (1977) ↗

Also by

Michael Anderson

• 
  Private Angelo

  1949 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Rugged Gold

  1994 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst

  1957 · ★ 7.3
• 
  The House of the Arrow

  1953 · ★ 7.3
• 
  The Martian Chronicles

  1980 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Chase a Crooked Shadow

  1958 · ★ 7.1

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Orca (1977) Original Trailer [HD]

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  We Are One (Orca End Credits) - Ennio Morricone ft. Carol Connors I Orca Original Soundtrack

  Clip
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Teaser · Official
• 

  ▶
  ORCA THE KILLER WHALE 1977

  Clip

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2018-07-11
  ★ 7/10

  Not great like “Jaws,” but a moving maritime tragedy and, in ways, magnificent 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+

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• DD

  DDL Cinematografica

  IT

• FA

  Famous Films Productions

  NL

Key crew

• Executive ProducerDino De Laurentiis
• EditorJohn Bloom
• EditorRalph E. Winters
• EditorMarion Rothman
• ProducerLuciano Vincenzoni
• Sound Re-Recording MixerTrevor Pyke
• Sound EffectsNicholas Stevenson
• Sound EffectsWinston Ryder
• Sound MixerJohn Bramall
• Art DirectionBoris Juraga
• Set DecorationJohn Godfrey
• Art DirectionFerdinando Giovannoni
• Set DecorationArmando Scarano
• Costume DesignJost Jakob
• Production DesignMario Garbuglia
• Focus PullerDavid Wynn-Jones
• Second Unit DirectorFolco Quilici
• Assistant DirectorBrian W. Cook
• Second Assistant DirectorTerry Needham
• Second Assistant DirectorPeter Bennett
• Stunt CoordinatorRomano Puppo
• GafferMaurice Gillett
• Key GripRay Hall
• Assistant EditorChris Kelly

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• ship
• whale
• marine biologist
• fisherman
• newfoundland and labrador
• miscarriage
• killer whale
• jaws
• animal horror
• vengeance
• moby dick
• orca

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere1977-07-15· New York, New York
• Theatrical1977-07-22PG
• Physical1981-10-13PG· VHS / Betamax / Laserdisc
• Physical2004-09-14· DVD
• Physical2020-06-30· Blu-ray
• Physical2025-01-21· 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Also known as

International titles

• Orca - A Baleia AssassinaBR
• Orca - dræberhvalenDK
• Orca, la ballena asesinaES
• Orca - syvyyksien kostajaFI
• Orca, i dolofonos falainaGR
• A gyilkos bálnaHU
• Orca, la ballena asesinaMX
• Orca - havets hevnerNO
• Orca, la ballena asesinaPE
• Orca - A Fúria dos MaresPT
• Orca - djupets hämnareSE
• Orca Denizin AslanıTR
• Orca La Ballena AsesinaSV
• Orca: The Killer WhaleUS
• The Killer WhaleUS