Orca: The Killer Whale (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Feb 13, 2025
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Michael Anderson

Release Date(s)

1977 (January 28, 2025)

Studio(s)

Famous Films Productions/Paramount Pictures (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)

Film/Program Grade: C+
Video Grade: A-
Audio Grade: B+
Extras Grade: B

Review

Arrows have been slung back and forth about whether or not Orca (aka Orca: The Killer Whale) is indeed a blatant rip-off of Jaws, which was released two years prior. At the time, anybody and everybody was taking the formula of that success and juxtaposing it against every kind of wild animal imaginable. Producer Dino De Laurentiis saw the potential in this, as well, and decided to take a crack at it. Featuring a story about a fisherman who tragically kills a female orca and the baby growing inside of it (in a scene that many people who saw it at the time were horrified by), the male orca begins to following and exact unexpected revenge upon the boat’s captain.

Despite the comparisons, Orca is much more of a Moby Dick tale about a man (Richard Harris) who is ultimately forced to deal not just with the animal itself, but his own tragic past. While offshore townspeople see him and his crew as a threat to the community because of the whale’s presence, he’s filled with internal strife about the whole ordeal, constantly denying it at every turn until he can no longer ignore it. On the flipside is his potential love interest (Charlotte Rampling), a whale expert whose theories about the intelligence of whales, as well as a local Native American man (Will Sampson), eventually convinces him to take the orca head on, facing his fears in the process. As such, the comparisons to Jaws are merely surface level, in this reviewer’s opinion.

However, Orca isn’t a film without faults. While the aforementioned whale miscarriage scene at the beginning is shocking, even by today’s standards, most of the film’s running time is devoted to humdrum self-reflection on Harris’ character’s part. With a cast that also includes Bo Derek, Keenan Wynn, and Robert Carradine, it’s surprising how ineffective the performances actually are at any given time. Any scene involving the killer whale taking some kind of revenge, whether he’s snatching crewmen off of boats or intentionally ramming his snout through pipes filled with gasoline which leads to eventual fires and explosions, are far more entertaining than his human counterparts (the exact opposite of Jaws, actually). Although the film did well upon release, for some folks, it couldn’t hold a handle to its predecessor. But for others, it stands on its own as an effective tragedy about two lost souls.

Orca was shot by cinematographer Ted Moore on 35mm film with Panavision cameras and anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Kino Lorber Studio Classics debuts the film on Ultra HD with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and presented on a triple-layered BD-100 disc. StudioCanal did a restoration of the film for European territories, but after looking into it, it appears that this is a different restoration altogether, directly from Paramount (not to mention that there are no StudioCanal logos at the front of the film). Regardless, it’s a massive improvement over any previous Blu-ray, appearing much more crisp with mostly solid levels of grain, which sometimes differentiate during opticals. The bitrate sits primarily between 70 and 80Mbps, fluctuating slightly here and there. Detail is much tighter and more resolved, which the HDR passes heighten dutifully. The color palette is boosted with richer greens and blues in the little seaside town, but reds are also bolder when they appear. The beautiful underwater cinematography offers lots of newfound textures, as well. Contrast is excellent with deeper blacks and more pronounced detail in the shadows. It’s a very clean and stable presentation with only minor speckling and a few faint scratches leftover, aside from the final reel, which appears to have some density issues and damage to the camera negative baked-in. However, these flaws have apparently been mitigated as much as possible without resorting to using later generation elements. Clearly, this is best the film has ever looked on home video.

Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray release of the film also contained 5.1 and 2.0 mono options, while the Scream Factory Blu-ray only contained a 2.0 mono option, all sourced from StudioCanal. Flipping back and forth between the three releases, it’s clear that Kino’s release features new 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, both of which are much cleaner with less hiss, distortion, and sibilance. The 5.1 is merely a fold-out of the original mono, and as such, it doesn’t offer much more in terms of dynamics. It actually sounds a bit unnatural to me, far too wide with little to no changes to make it more effective. The original mono is quieter than the previous tracks, but features cleaner dialogue and has plenty of support for sound effects, Ennio Morricone’s celebrated score, and music, including the closing song My Love, We Are One, performed by Carol Connors. For my money, this mono track is the best option, overall.

The Kino Lorber Studio Classics 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD release of Orca sits in a black Amaray case with a 1080p Blu-ray, featuring an HD master of the same restoration, with an insert and a slipcover using a version of the excellent original artwork that was used for various theatrical posters for the film. The following extras are included on each disc:

DISC ONE: UHD

Audio Commentary with Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson
Audio Commentary with Lee Gambin

DISC TWO: BD

Audio Commentary with Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson
Audio Commentary with Lee Gambin
Trailer (HD – 2:26)
Juggernaut Trailer (SD – 2:54)
The White Buffalo Trailer (HD – 1:52)
Tentacles Trailer (SD – 1:01)
Deepstar Six Trailer (SD – 1:57)

Kino carries over the lion’s share of bonus materials from previous releases, while adding on a new one: an audio commentary with film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson. They bring their own brand of usual good humor and expert analysis to the table, offering plenty of factual and personal details about the film along the way. Next is the excellent 2017 audio commentary with the late film historian Lee Gambin, in which he provides an enormous amount of background information on the film, the oceanic monster movie genre as a whole, and Dino De Laurentiis’ career. To this, the Blu-ray adds the film’s trailer, plus trailers for other Kino releases.

Not carried over from the 2024 StudioCanal European UHD release is a nearly 30-minute interview with journalist and documentarian Philippe Guedj (in French), and missing in action from the 2017 Umbrella Entertainment Australian Blu-ray is the Moby Dick ala De Laurentiis: Martha De Laurentiis Remembers Orca interview. The latter offers very little insight into the making of the film, and to be honest, neither extra is really missed. The commentaries are the meat and potatoes here.

It’s safe to say that Orca has long-been forgotten by most audiences, but those who remember it have a particular fondness for it. Those fans should be mighty pleased with Kino’s 4K UHD upgrade, which very much improves upon every previous disc-based release for a definitive presentation. For them, this release is very much recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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