Il giorno del delfino

Even though starring the great George C Scott this film is a bit of a non-starter. However I have to admit that it is the only film that I have seen in all of my 40 yrs that has managed to reduce me to tears. I challenge anyone to watch the final scenes and not be at least a little moved. Although the story is very simple and does little to encourage Scott-or any of the cast- to 'act their heart out', it shows both humans and dolphins as they are. Humans as sly and cunning and dolphins as naive and trusting, and this is what hurts at the end of the film, when................. Well why spoil it, it may be shown on t.v again, one day.

If anyone knows how I might get a copy of the film (for my kid's-honest), please could they contact me through the e-mail supplied. Ta Ta. (Or is that 'Ka Ka'?) Bob O'Sullivan. Southend-on-Sea, England.

Our family hadn't seen this movie for a long time and so I decided to get my taped copy out (aired on Showtime in 1989) and was surprised to see the excellent film quality -- even though the tape was recorded in SLP. We enjoyed the movie very much. The beginning is a little slow but rest of the movie more than makes up for it. I loved the dolphins, I wish I knew more about how they made the movie -- I was looking for any trivia here at IMDb.com but didn't find any. I think children would really love the parts that involve the dolphins interacting with the "owner"/ humans (and fascinating) but this movie is NOT for children as there is violence toward humans and dolphin as well and it would be frightening for young ones. I feel it has a lot of different things to like. I can't say more without spoiling the story but I wish there was closed captioning for some of the dialog. We viewed this in Full Screen but the 2003 & 2006 DVD releases come in Wide Screen: 2.35:1 aspect ratio and I am sure the beautiful scenery benefits by it.

George C. Scott stars as a scientist who has trained dolphins to speak and understand English. Naturally some bad guys find out and want to use the dolphins in an assassination attempt.

One of the many ecological "message" films of the 1970s. The plot is, technically, pretty silly but they pull it off. It has a great director (Mike Nichols) and Scott and Trish Van Devere are very good--but this just misses the mark. It's not a BAD movie just not a great one and I personally had some trouble taking it seriously. It was supposed to be a big hit and cost quite a bit to make. Unfortunately it was a HUGE bomb and disappeared quickly. That's too bad because it's actually pretty good. It's well done and the voices of the dolphins are (at first) frightening but you get used to them. Also it does have an ending which had me crying. I defy anyone to sit through that and not be moved.

So, despite the scientific improbabilities, a pretty good movie that deserves a wider recognition.

Jake Terrell (George C. Scott) and his wife Maggie are trying to train their dolphin Alpha "Fa" to communicate in English. They bring in a female dolphin for companionship. The problem is that the foundation funding the research has different objectives for the dolphins.

Despite the weirdness of talking broken English with a dolphin, I try to take this movie seriously on its own level. It is certainly sincere in creating this world and its people. I appreciate the ultimate message. The problem is that I don't get why the foundation is funding the dolphin to talk English. It makes no sense. They don't need to discuss philosophy with the dolphins. They just need it to carry stuff. Ultimately, the movie does not make sense in its central premise.

I think I was six when I first saw it. I might have been five. It's always been my favorite movie.

All I can remember, and I don't know how many times I've seen it since, is that I cry when I do. I wouldn't have known who George C. Scott was, then, but he certainly adds to the drama.

This is a classic. This is about the United States, about the people of the world. This movie is a classic - eternal.

I don't know that I understood, then, what was truly going on - that scientific discovery, technology - as precious and valuable as it is, was going to be corrupted to carry out an assassination plot.

It's almost eerily reminiscent of 9/11. But we didn't stop 9/11.

Maybe what needs to change is the way we see the world, whether we're 6, or 86. This is a movie for all to see, especially children. This is a movie that will bring us together, and instruct us about the dangers of not only technology, but also the sometimes destructiveness of human nature.