Piranha (1978 film)
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| Piranha | |
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 US theatrical release poster. |
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| Directed by | Joe Dante |
| Produced by | Jon Davidson Chako van Leeuwen |
| Written by | John Sayles |
| Starring | Bradford Dillman Heather Menzies Kevin McCarthy Keenan Wynn Dick Miller |
| Music by | Pino Donaggio |
| Cinematography | Jamie Anderson |
| Editing by | Joe Dante Mark Goldblatt |
| Distributed by |  New World Pictures United Artists |
| Release date(s) | August 3, 1978 October 23, 1978 October 26, 1978 November 15, 1978 December 19, 1978 |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $660,000 (estimated) |
| Followed by | Piranha II: The Spawning |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Piranha is a 1978 comedy horror film about a swarm of killer piranha. It was directed by Joe Dante and starred Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn and Dick Miller. Produced by Roger Corman, Piranha is a parody of the 1975 film Jaws, which had been a major success for distributor Universal Studios and director Steven Spielberg, and inspired a series of similarly themed B movies such as Grizzly, Tintorera, Tentacles, Orca, Up from the Depths and Great White. Piranha's similarity to Jaws was as such that Universal attempted to halt the film's distribution. However, Spielberg saw the film in advance and liked it.[citation needed] Piranha was followed by a sequel, Piranha II: The Spawning, in 1981, and two remakes, one in 1995, and another that is forthcoming. The film was shot at Aquarena Springs in San Marcos, Texas. Screenwriter John Sayles used the proceeds to fund his own films.
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[edit] Plot summary
In what was to become a staple scenario of horror films in the 1980s (the romantic opportunity gone awry), two teenagers exploring at night come upon an apparently abandoned military installation. They decide to take advantage of what appears to be an inviting swimming pool to skinny dip. Little do they know that a terrible secret lurks within that ends up devouring them. As their death cries are literally drowned in the frothing red water, a light goes on that indicates the building is far from empty.
Insurance investigator Maggie McKeown is dispatched to find the two missing teenage hikers near Lost River Lake. She hires surly backwoods drunkard Paul Grogan to serve as her guide. Searching the area, they find an abandoned military facility. The only resident is Dr. Robert Hoak, former head of a top-secret project to breed cold-water piranha for use in the Vietnam War. The project was closed down years ago, but Hoak has continued raising the deadly strain of the flesh-eating fish.
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While sneaking around the military camp's main building, Maggie and Paul accidentally release the piranha into a local river, which leads to the lake where a children's summer camp and a newly opened tourist resort will provide plenty of fish food for the hungry predators. Maggie and Paul race to warn the locals, but their pleas fall on skeptical ears, such as those of resort owner Buck Gardner — until the piranha reach the swimmers. After the attack Paul and Maggie come up with a plan, to go to the sewage plant on the river, and release it into the river,(as Paul explains that it will kill anything) Once there Paul ties a rope around him and dives into the river (as the station is flooded), once inside he releases the sewage into the river, however he is shortly attacked by the piranha's. Maggie then starts the boat and it speeds off dragging Paul out of the facility and away from the piranha. Once back on land Paul is now being loaded onto a stretcher with Maggie and his daughter by his side. At the end of the movie a news reporter is talking to government scientist about the incident (who previously mentioned to Maggie that she used to work with Dr. Hoak), once asked on whether there's any need to worry the scientist smiles at the audience and replies that there is nothing to worry about. The movie ends with a view of the sea, and the sounds that the piranha made (before they attacked anyone) being heard, implying that some survived being poisoned by the sewage.
[edit] Cast
- Bradford Dillman as Paul Grogan
- Heather Menzies as Maggie McKeown
- Kevin McCarthy as Dr. Robert Hoak
- Keenan Wynn as Jack
- Dick Miller as Buck Gardner
- Barbara Steele as Dr. Mengers
- Belinda Balaski as Betsy
- Melody Thomas Scott as Laura Dickinson
- Bruce Gordon as Colonel Waxman
- Barry Brown as a Trooper
- Paul Bartel as Mr. Dumont
[edit] Remake
A remake of the 1978 film is to be directed by Alexandre Aja, who will again work with filmmaking partner Grégory Levasseur; the two have worked on other genre films as well, including the 2006 remake The Hills Have Eyes. Distributor Dimension Films' Bob Weinstein told variety.com, "We will maintain the fun and thrilling aspects of the original film but look forward to upping the ante with a modern-day twist."[1] Piranha is estimated for theatrical release in the United States in 2008.
Dimension Films had been developing the remake of the 1978 Joe Dante film Piranha for over a year. It intended to have Chuck Russell, who previously reworked the 1988 version of The Blob, direct the film before taking on Alexandre Aja. Aja will rewrite a previous script from Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger. Aja explains, "My goal is not to remake Piranha, but to create a completely new adventure paying homage to all the creature films [...] I am very proud to follow the path of Joe Dante and James Cameron in the Piranha franchise and look forward to working with Greg Levasseur to write, produce, and direct such a fun and gory thrill ride."[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Aja bites into 'Piranha'. Variety.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
- ^ PIRANHA, ESCAPE FROM NY remake updates. Fangoria.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
[edit] External links
- Piranha at the Internet Movie Database
- Piranha at the Internet Movie Database (2008 film)
- Piranha at Rotten Tomatoes
- Interview with Belinda Balaski
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