Orca: The Killer Whale - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Orca: The Killer Whale or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Orca: The Killer Whale

[sandra]

Richard Harris, who was forty-six, performed his own stunts and was nearly killed on several occasions.

[ethel]

The character name of the central character, Captain Nolan, played by Richard Harris, is similar to Captain Nemo from the Jules Verne classic story "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1870). Director Michael Anderson later directed the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997) television movie, and also directed the classic Verne adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days (1956), as well as one of its remakes Around the World in 80 Days (1999).

[carl]

Richard Harris turned down the opportunity to work with Ingmar Bergman on The Serpent's Egg (1977) in order to make this film. This was a move he regretted deeply for years after.

[janice]

Debut theatrical feature film of Bo Derek.

[chris]

Many film posters for the movie featured a long text preamble that read: "AN ANGRY THUNDERBOLT OF TERROR EXPLODES OUT OF THE OCEAN'S DEPTHS! Orca, the killer whale, destroys sharks, ships and men! He rules the ocean. He terrifies the earth. He is without mercy and without equal! Orca - the most powerful, the most fantastic animal in all the world.!"

[wallace]

Although unseen near the end, the whale does indeed die by swimming underneath the Arctic ice.

[phyllis]

This was the only film produced by prolific Italian screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni.

[sophie]

The shark used early in the film was captured by noted shark hunter Ron Taylor

[clayton]

When the Orca looks at Dr. Bedford at the end, a close-up of his eye shows him shedding a tear.

[lynn]

According to website Wikipedia, "producer Luciano Vincenzoni was first assigned to give the film a head start after being called by Dino De Laurentiis in the middle of the night in 1975. Upon admitting that he had watched Jaws (1975), Vincenzoni was instructed by de Laurentiis to 'find a fish tougher and more terrible than the great white'. Having had little interest in sea life beforehand, Vincenzoni was directed to killer whales by his brother Adriano, who had a personal interest in zoology. Filming took place largely in Newfoundland during the fishing season. Most filming took place in the town of Petty Harbour, about fifteen kilometers south of the capital city, St. John's."

[francisco]

The movie's cast featured two sex symbols of the cinema - Bo Derek and Charlotte Rampling.

[michele]

The movie was released the same year that its source novel was published.