Tentacles (film)
| Tentacles | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Renato Casaro | |
| Directed by |
Ovidio G. Assonitis (as Oliver Hellman) |
| Produced by |
Ovidio G. Assonitis Enzo Doria |
| Written by |
Steven W. Carabatsos Tito Carpi Jerome Max Sonia Molteni |
| Starring |
John Huston Shelley Winters Bo Hopkins Henry Fonda |
| Music by | Stelvio Cipriani |
| Cinematography | Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli |
| Edited by | Angelo Curi |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country |
Italy United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $750,000 |
| Box office | $3,000,000 |
Tentacles (Italian title: Tentacoli) is a 1977 Italian-American horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis and starring John Huston, Shelley Winters, Bo Hopkins and Henry Fonda. Although the film was intended to cash in on the success of Jaws,[1] Tentacles also bears numerous resemblances to the 1955 science fiction horror film It Came from Beneath the Sea.[2]
Plot
Ocean Beach, a seaside tourist resort, has come under attack by a giant octopus, which captures and devours human swimmers and boaters, picking the skeletons clean of flesh and bone marrow. Marine expert Will Gleason (Hopkins) and crusading newspaper reporter Ned Turner (Huston) suspect the construction of an underwater tunnel by the Trojan company, owned by Mr. Whitehead (Fonda). Trojan has been using radio signals that have been "above regulated levels", somehow maddening the octopus and causing it to attack human beings. In the end, the octopus is killed by Gleason's pair of killer whales.
Cast
- John Huston as Ned Turner
- Shelley Winters as Tillie Turner
- Bo Hopkins as Will Gleason
- Henry Fonda as Mr. Whitehead, President of Trojan Construction
- Delia Boccardo as Vicky Gleason
- Cesare Danova as John Corey
- Claude Akins as Sheriff Robards
- Alan Boyd as Mike
- Sherry Buchanan as Judy
- Franco Diogene as Chuck
- Marc Fiorini as Don
Production
The film was produced to capitalize on the success of Steven Spielberg's Jaws.[3]
The film's score was done by Italian composer Stelvio Cipriani, who scored the similarly Jaws-inspired films The Great Alligator and Piranha II: The Spawning around the same time.
Release
It was released theatrically by American International Pictures in Italy on February 25, 1977,[4] and in the United States on August 3, 1977.[5]
The film was released on DVD by MGM in 2005 as part of their Midnite Movies series. The disc was a double feature release, pairing the film with Empire of the Ants.[6][7]
The film grossed $3,000,000.[8]
Reception
In a contemporary review, Variety noted that although "John Huston, Shelley Winters and Henry Fonda may bolster prospects", they "are all squandered in this one, thanks to a leaden script plus wooden direction by Oliver Hellman (who's also producer Ovidio Assonitiz)".[9][10]
See also
References
Footnotes
- ↑ Kim Newman. Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011, p. 93. ISBN 9780786435562.
- ↑ William Schoell. Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. McFarland, 2008, p. 139. ISBN 9780786435562.
- ↑ Tentacles at the MGM Archive
- ↑ "Cinema a Roma - Tentacoli (prima)" (PDF) (in Italian). unita.it. Retrieved Jul 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Movies Around Town - Tentacles". New York Magazine. Retrieved Jul 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Empire Of The Ants / Tentacles (DVD)". dvddrive-in.com. Retrieved Jul 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Tentacles (1977) suckered me thirty years ago". blackholereviews.blogspot.it. Retrieved Jul 3, 2016.
- ↑ Richard Nowell. 'Blood Money: A History of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle. Continuum, 2011, p. 257. ISBN 9781441143167.
- ↑ Willis 1985, p. 317: "Review is of 102 minute version viewed in London on June 15, 1977"
- ↑ Willis 1985, p. 318: "Review is of 102 minute version viewed in London on June 15, 1977"
Sources
- Willis, Donald, ed. (1985). Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews. Garland Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-0-8240-6263-7.
External links
- Tentacles at the Internet Movie Database