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The Day of the Dolphin

The Day of the Dolphin

Drama · Science Fiction · Thriller · 1973

A marine biologist teaches his dolphins to communicate in English but shady characters plan to kidnap the trained mammals for a more sinister purpose.

Movie details

The Day of the Dolphin

“Unwittingly, he trained a dolphin to kill the president of the United States.”

1973 Drama · Science Fiction · Thriller 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

A marine biologist teaches his dolphins to communicate in English but shady characters plan to kidnap the trained mammals for a more sinister purpose.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Day of the Dolphin?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mike Nichols

Written by

Buck Henry

George C. Scott

George C. Scott

Jake Terrell

Trish Van Devere

Trish Van Devere

Maggie Terrell

Paul Sorvino

Paul Sorvino

Curtis Mahoney

Fritz Weaver

Fritz Weaver

Harold DeMilo

John Dehner

John Dehner

Wallingford

Severn Darden

Severn Darden

Schwinn

Elizabeth Wilson

Elizabeth Wilson

Mrs. Rome

Court is in session

Put The Day of the Dolphin on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.