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| Piranha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | Piranha |
| Directed by: | Joe Dante |
| Written by: | Richard Robinson John Sayles |
| Produced by: | Roger Corman Jon Davison Chako van Leeuwen Jeff Schectman |
| Music by: | Pino Donaggio |
| Cinematography: | Jamie Anderson |
| Edited by: | Joe Dante Mark Goldblatt |
| Production | |
| Distributors: | New World Pictures United Artists |
| Released: | August 3rd, 1978 |
| Rating: | R |
| Running time: | 94 min. |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $660,000 |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | Piranha II: The Spawning |
Piranha was a 1978 comedy/horror film directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling). The film was intended as a spoof on the 1975 Steven Spielberg blockbuster hit Jaws. The film was released theatrically in the United States on August 3rd, 1978. Piranha is succeeded by a 1981 sequel, Piranha II: The Spawning as well as a 1995 made-for-television remake. A second remake, filmed in 3-D, was released theatrically in 2010.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Bradford Dillman | Paul Grogan |
| Heather Menzies | Maggie McKeown |
| Kevin McCarthy | Robert Hoak |
| Keenan Wynn | Jack |
| Dick Miller | Buck Gardner |
| Barbara Steele | Doctor Mengers |
| Belinda Balaski | Betsy |
| Melody Thomas | Laura Dickinson |
| Paul Bartel | Mister Dumont |
| Shannon Collins | Suzie Grogan |
| Shawn Nelson | Whitney |
| Richard Deacon | Earl Lyon |
| Janie Squire | Barbara Randolph |
| Roger Richman | David |
| Bruce Gordon | Colonel Waxman |
| Barry Brown | Trooper |
| Bill Smilie | Jailer |
| Guich Koock | TV pitchman |
| Jack Pauleson | Boy in canoe |
| Eric Henshaw | Father in canoe |
| Robert Vinson | Soldier |
| Virginia Dunnam | Girl |
| Hill Farnsworth | Water-skier |
| Bruce Paul Barbour | Man in boat |
| Robyn Ray | Screaming woman |
| Mike Sullivan | Dam guard |
| Sally Bondi | Swimming Deb |
| Eric Braeden | Robert Hoak (double) |
| Joe Dante | Scuba Diver #2 |
| Amy Holden Jones | Hertz clerk |
| Andrew G. La Marca | Scuba Diver #1 |
| John Sayles | Army sentry |
| Phil Tippett | Scuba Diver #3 |
Notes & Trivia[]
- The tagline for this film is, "They're here...Hungry for flesh! Who can stop them?"
- Production on Piranha began on March 15th, 1978. Principal photography concluded on April 5th, 1978. [1]
- Screen writer John Sayles also wrote the screenplay for Dante's 1981 werewolf drama The Howling.
- Actor Barry Brown, who plays a trooper in this film, committed suicide with a handgun in Silver Lake, California two months after principal shooting was completed.
- First horror film work for camera operator Christopher Tufty. Tufty would go on to become the director of photography for A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.
- When Maggie McKeown is first introduced, she is seen playing a Jaws video game.
- Director Joe Dante likes inserting clips from classic films into his movies. In this one, he provides a clip from the 1957 b-movie The Monster That Challenged the World.
- Barbara Randolph makes a reference to the Creature from the Black Lagoon in this film.