Orca
(1977)
Director
- Michael Anderson
Writers - Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Donati, Robert Towne
Starring - Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson,
Bo Derek, Keenan Wynn, Robert Carradine, Scott Walker, Peter
Hooten, Wayne Heffley, Vincent Gentile, Don ‘red’
Barry.
Review by Noel Baily
Lot
couldn't find 3 righteous men in Sodom either!
In all my life I have never found ANYONE could see ORCA for
the marvellous film it is. It was NEVER a JAWS rip-off OR
an action epic - simply the tale of an Orca that takes revenge
for the most terrible of crimes committed against its mate
and unborn child. That the tale sits arguably astride the
realms of FANTASY and WHIMSY cannot detract from its ultimate
beauty.
No
horror film ever made contains scenes as horrific as the harpooning
of the Orca by Harris, its attempts to kill itself beneath
the ship's propeller and the awesomely emotional scene on
deck as the unborn baby is expelled. If you’re able
to sit through this and the subsequent beautifully filmed
"funeral" sequence without being moved, you wouldn’t
be human.
Richard Harris is excellent as the one-dimensional and not
overly cerebral Captain Nolan who can scarcely understand
why the Orca has made this so personal but who at the end,
realises his sins against nature and knows he must play out
the very last act - no prisoners taken. Charlotte Rampling
is well, Charlotte Rampling, but hell, she does it with such
style. Bo Derek? Yeah, well that was no major contribution
to the film's credibility admitted - although probably her
only half-reasonable role outside "10"
The
cinematography and music are the real stars of this film.
Both are so beautifully integrated, one can for an instant
share the Orca's world and take it from me - its a lot better
than this one!
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