Orca is the greatest movie of all time
I already reviewed it, so I'm not going to repeat myself too much, but I felt it should be said on the message board as well.
Orca is the greatest movie of all time.
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MovieChat Forums > Orca (1977) Discussion > Orca is the greatest movie of all time
While I don't agree that "'Orca' is the greatest movie of all time", I do agree that it is a good movie, nonetheless. It's one of the many movies that I refer to as "mindless entertainment": a highly improbably scenario but definitely watchable. And while it's obviously "dated" now, the special effects (limited as they were back then) are quite impressive for that time. I saw this movie in the theater as a teenager when it was first released, and I went back for repeated viewings; and I still watch it from time to time.
The only major problem that I have with it is the idea of the male Orca attacking people. As a longtime Orca "enthusiast" and researcher, their undeserved sinister reputation has always been a sore spot with me. There has never been a single documented attack on a human being by an Orca. Many people are influenced by what they see in movies, and this one didn't help the Orcas' reputation any at that time (nor, in fact, did Disney's movie "Island at the Top of the World", in which an Orca was also shown attacking people -- I think it even ate one of them). The attack on the Great White shark by the female Orca WAS right on the money, though; that has been known to happen.
At any rate, even though I'm biased and think the male Orca ("Orky" from the now-defunct Marineland in California, by the way) is the best actor in the movie, I also really liked the performances by the late, great Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling. Funny to think that up till I saw your post, I thought that I was the only person on the planet who actually likes this movie...
Just a little note about Orca's attacking humans:
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A killer whale at SeaWorld in San Antonio repeatedly slammed its trainer underwater during a show that was captured on home video in dramatic footage aired this week. The trainer, Steve Aibel, was not injured in the Friday incident.
The whale began slamming Aibel during the show and other trainers rushed to the side of the tank. Aibel, who has trained the whale for 10 years, said he was surprised and is unsure what prompted the behaviour.
But he said the whale, named Ky, is near breeding age and may have just been feeling his adolescent hormones.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2004/07/28/559682.html
Who knows? Maybe Ky wasn't happy about Aibel removing him from his family? :)
Ky was born in captivity and lived at Sea World most of his life and he's known to be a sweet whale. If Ky wanted to kill Aibel, he very easily could have done so.
shareI wonder if being in captivity had something to do with it? *rolls eyes*
shareWell I suppose we all have our own opinions, but if you think this is the greatest movie of all time who am I to argue with you. I saw this movie the other day and thought it was entertaining but extremly cheesy some of the death scenes are pretty hilarious especially the Indian guy. At any rate its not the worst movie ever.
shareMan I hope to God your review is trying to be ironic! Hell, I would settle for sarcasm even, but if you're serious???? To like the movie is fine, even the most turgid little dogs have their fans. But the greatest ever?
Take a good long think about that statement. Against much more worthy competitors like ooooh.... A Clockwork Orange? ;-)
That's right, suckers! There's a great lack of special features, I have to say. It's so strange they couldn't find anyone associated the movie to provide a commentary. Perhaps is just so awesome that it speaks for itself and not because everyone is embarassed that it was ever made and hopes everyone forgets they participated in its making.
Yeah, totally the former. Totally.
The reason there's no special features is because the movie company knows it won't sell enough copies to merit the adding of special features. happens to a lot of 70's & 80's films that make it to DVD like "Ghost Story".
I'd hardly call it the greatest movie ever so let's just be satisifed in saying that you sleep with it at night......don'tcha?
It gets very cold here. I need it for warmth. Don't judge me.
shareIt's okay everyone has their thing we still respect ya.
It was the 70's/early 80's after all everything was cheesy, campy yet kinda cool.
I agree & love your review. I walked into this movie on AMC not knowing anything about it. I made some comment on how it would be better if it was really a "Killer" whale. When I realized that was what the movie really was, I laughed and laughed. I plan to stay up tonight just so I can catch it from the beginning at 3:00 am.
Fred Ped
http://www.geocities.com/thepedsarmy
My dad took me to see this movie when I was a little kid. It made me suspicious of killer whales ever since. I never had any interest in going to Sea World to watch those duplicitious aquatic mammals frolicking about. I knew their true motivations!
With that said, I hadn't seen the movie since that fateful day in a second-run theater circa 1980 or so. I got the DVD and wateched it again. It's surprisingly good! The effects are excellent for the time, it's shot very well, and has a great (if somewhat overblown) Morricone score. Of all the Jaws rip-offs, this is the best. I think the 4.5 IMDB rating is pretty harsh on this one.
A B-movie classic! (And really a B+!)
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No, it may be the greatest B-movie revenge story starring a killer whale, but not the greatest movie of all time. LoTR: Return of the King takes that prize.
share"No, it may be the greatest B-movie revenge story starring a killer whale, but not the greatest movie of all time. LoTR: Return of the King takes that prize."
ROTK would actually be my pick as well.
I think Orca is a great, massively underrated movie. Not the greatest ever, but pretty great.
+++by His wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5+++
I think the the most entertainment derived from this movie was DroogAlexK's review. Brilliant, I was laughing out loud. You should write more reviews. Perhaps Police Academy 6 deserves your attention.
I actually read the book Orca baesd on the screenplay as a kid. I wonder where that book ranks on Amazon.