ORCA THE KILLER WHALE

(A.k.a. ORCA)

Nolan (Richard Harris) and his small crew, including the young Annie (Bo Derek), are out on the Maltese coast in his boat one afternoon hunting for sharks. As one approaches, their efforts at harpooning it are thwarted by the appearance of marine biologist Rachel (Charlotte Rampling).

As they help her on to the deck, they observe as the shark has an altercation with a rare killer whale before scarpering away into the sea. Nolan is intrigued - his attentions clearly shift from hunting sharks to killer whales.

But, as Rachel explains to a group of students at a lecture on land a short while later, the killer whales - named Orca in ancient times, which is apparently Latin for "bringer of death" - are both fiercely intelligent and capable of tremendous kindness but extremely vengeful when crossed.

Rachel's prose then becomes narration as she goes on to explain how she came to know Nolan better when he invited her on his next hunting expedition, seeking her advice on how to negotiate the live capture of a killer whale.

"That animal has a right to be left alone" she reasons - before declining to sail out with Nolan and his crew, even though she's keen to know that no harm comes to any creature they manage to lure into their self-made holding pen.

On the contrary, when Nolan's vessel first catches up with the Orca, there are actually two of them. He harpoons one and it emits a horrifying, pained scream. As his crew net the beast and lug it onto their boat, an unborn baby whale spills out from a wound in its stomach. Horrified, Nolan washes it off the deck. In the sea, meanwhile, the harpooned whale's mate seemingly sheds a tear...

In no time at all, the boat is under attack from the wronged male mate. Nolan and crew make it back to shore, where Rachel is quick to elaborate on how the Orca will now remember Nolan as its mate's murderer - and pursue him relentlessly. Indeed it does.

This sets the scene, eventually, for a date with destiny where Nolan and the Orca must face each other one-on-one on the open seas...

Produced in 1977 by Dino De Laurentis as a quick cash-in on the phenomenal box office success of Steven Spielberg's JAWS, ORCA takes its cue from Arthur Herzog's source novel and benefits from an intelligent, decidedly human screenplay by Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Donati. Rumours of extra input from an uncredited Robert Towne, on a roll at the time following the success of CHINATOWN and SHAMPOO, can't have harmed any.

The emphasis, then, is on characterisation and the creation of plausible responses to outlandish predicaments. Harris excels in the lead role, as enigmatic and edgy as ever - his drunken Irish sailor shtick propels the film through some occasional slow, talky moments. But there's also an unexpected warmth to his steely performance which brings a subtle pathos to the film's undoubtedly affecting finale.

Rampling is perhaps miscast but lends gravitas to her academic dialogue regardless. And with that youthful feline stare of hers, she was an asset to any film she appeared in during the 1970s. A young Derek is there chiefly to provide beauty and blood. Even so, she's charismatic enough in a minor role to help illustrate why she would go on to bigger (though not better) things such as 10 and BOLERO. Look out for Will Samson too, in one of too few roles he enjoyed after his success as Chief in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.

Maltese locations are employed well by director Michael Anderson, who keeps the story taut while managing to make each frame handsome. Ted Moore's cinematography is also key - from the stunning opening scenes of whales mating onwards. The most notable scenes also benefit from an alternately romantic and haunting score from Ennio Morricone.

Add an intriguing element of allegory commenting upon the manner in which man's interference is ruining the world's natural wonders, and we have an altogether superior 'nature runs amuck' horror film. Although admittedly silly at times, ORCA has enough class to lift it above the norm.

Studio Canal's UK DVD presents the film uncut and in its original 2.35:1. The picture is 16x9 enhanced, and is taken from a largely clean print. Images are bright and reasonably sharp, while colours and blacks both hold up well for the duration of playback. It's a good solid transfer, all told.

English audio is provided in a sturdy mono 2.0 mix. No qualms in this department either.

This PAL disc opens to a static main menu page. From there, a similarly static scene selection menu allows access to the film via 8 chapters.

There are no bonus features on offer.

ORCA THE KILLER WHALE looks and sounds good on Studio Canal's disappointingly vanilla DVD. The film, despite some moments of silliness and a talky mid-section, remains good fun after all these years.

By Stuart Willis