1975 blockbusterRating: 16/20 (Jen: no rating because she fell asleep. She claims she saw this in a theater with her dad and sister but that she was wearing 3-D glasses which I believe means that she's confusing it with the third Jaws movie or that she's weird. She did watch both The Last Temptation of Christ and Casablanca with 3-D glasses.)
Plot: In the pacific waters of the Atlantic Ocean that surrounds Annuity Island, a special place where the sun doesn't rise and fall gradually but instead sort of dances up and down, a giant phallic symbol with teeth threatens the tourist season. "Children can't see the giant phallic symbol!" cries the police chief. The mayor disagrees, and following a gathering of homosexuals for what can only be described as the most massive phallus hunt in the history of Ambiguity Island, he declares the beaches safe from penii and open for business. But they're not, and the phallic symbol still roams freely, eventually severing the rest of some dude's body from his leg in what was quite possibly the most grotesquely kinky sex scene filmed during the 1970's. Three men--a pirate-turned-hippie-turned-pirate-again, a guy who works at a zoo (as a janitor), and a professional jerk-off racer--venture out to find and, at the very least, make the phallic symbol more inoffensively flaccid. They spend most of their time seeing who can come closest to pissing on a buoy that is hundreds of feet away. None of them even come close.
Mr. Spielberg manages to transform pulp into something artistic. This is a case where things--Williams' score, the visuals, the slight-of-hand dramatic tricks up Spielberg's sleeve--blend so nicely to create lots of genuine tension and surprise. The triumvirate of heroes are realistically flawed and their dialogue, their fears, and ultimately their companionship ring true. They're likable because they're real. The story is hokey-pokey, unscientific, and offensive to sharks, unfortunate creatures who, although highly intelligent, can't operate cameras and are unable to film a rebuttal. I also would have changed the ending to something with a little more of a thematic backbone, something like the shark eating everybody on Epiphany Island, jumping out of the water, and giving a big high five to the monster in 20 Million Miles to Earth. It'll always be my opinion that in these Man v. Nature movies, Nature should always win since that's how things wind up anyway. Despite its flaws, however, there's lots in the way this is filmed (the use of space on the screen, the angles, the withholding of even a single shot of the villain for the first 2/5 of the movie) that keep this cool. There are moments that scream out, "This is the 1970's!" but there are more moments that, for better or worse, plant the seeds for the blockbusters that follow.
I don't know. Is there anybody else who has anything to say about this movie?
14 comments:
I have to clear up some of your remarks...
one, you started watching this while I was doing something else, so I missed the beginning.
two, lisa called while we were watching this and said dad had taken us to the theater to see it. i never said anything about watching it with 3-D glasses, lisa did.
three, it is not Amnity, it is Amity.
Because "Amity means friend". More to follow, but I just wanted to say I love hearing directly from Jennifer. Why doesn't she have more input on your blog? There is certainly plenty of opportunity to correct errors.
Sorry..."Amity means friendship". See, one of those errors.
Not only did she leave the comment, she also called me to read the comment to me. She loves it when I'm wrong (it's rare) but doesn't really have that much interest in the movies I watch and refuses to participate. I guess since I mentioned her directly, she felt the need to leave a lovely comment. There's another reader (who shall remain anonymous) who will only post when mentioned directly.
Amity. Friendship? See, there's no way I'd be familiar with a word like that. I do remember that actually being mentioned in the movie now.
I always have to define the huge difference between greatest movies and all-time favorites. I don't think "Jaws" is one of the 10 greatest movies, but it is my all-time favorite. I mentioned previously that I saw this in a theatre when I was 11. I will never forget the screams and the excitement and the tension. I'll never forget seeing popcorn fly when the head suddenly appears in the hole of the boat or the nervous laughter when Brody says "you're going to need a bigger boat". I remember driving home and getting a chill when we passed over the Willamette river. I also remember being nervous in swimming pools for nearly a year, looking nervously below. This means that a) I was a giant, irrational wuss and b) "Jaws" was unequaled in it's ability to tap into a basic fear and use it to ruin people's peace of mind.
You do a good job in your review mentioning some of it's strengths but you can't overstate the impact this movie had. Like "Psycho" in 1960 and "The Exorcist" a few years before, "Jaws" was a revolutionary movie experience. It began the summer blockbuster concept and it was the box-office champ until "Star Wars". I loved it then and the 30 plus times that I have seen it since.
The theme music and score are instantly recognizable and incomparable. The tension is relentless. There is a wonderful blend of humor, action and intimate character moments (Brody and his family, the Indianapolis scene). There are moments where I was like a little kid trying to pull my feet into bed as quickly as possible. There is Quint's introduction with nails on the chalkboard. There is the pivitol moment after Brody's son is almost killed and he looks to the ocean and knows that he has to face his fear of the water and hunt the monster. It has a few flaws, but "Jaws" is a part of my youth and an old friend. I loved this movie 34 years ago and I love it now. If I accidently come across it on TV, then I will watch to the end. A 20, of course.
Yeah, I'm not surprised by anything you said. And I don't think I disagree with any of it. Obviously, since I was two and didn't have the 3-D glasses, I didn't get a chance to see it in a theater or appreciate it as a cultural phenomenon though.
I did read an essay written by Peter Benchley with my students this year. He writes about how bad he felt about giving sharks such a bad name and defends them.
Cory is being weak here.
Jaws IS one of the greatest movies of all time. It tells a compelling story in a multi-layered way. It is able to elevate a monster movie into an artistic motion picture.
If you get a chance, watch how Spielberg filmed some of these things. The scene where Brody is at home, and gets the phone call about the first victim of the shark. He is talking on the phone in the foreground, about an event we the audience already have knowledge about. In the background his kid has come in the house and talks to his mom about how he has cut himself on the hand. At the same time Brody is hearing about the monster that will dominate the film, his child is talking about going swimming in the ocean while bleeding heavily. Brody and his family have no real knowledge of sharks at this time, and dont realize how dangerous something like this is. Both conversations are going on at the same time, and its incredibly well done. There are multiple moments in this movie with subtext like this. Its absolutely perfect.
The only issues with this movie is ONE mediocre shark scene. (When it leaps on the boat.) But thats a product of technology and not an aspect of film making. You dont downgrade King Kong from the 1930's because they didnt use CGI.
The most amazing thing about this movie is how well its put together. Its a technical marvel with true movie artistry. Plus the cast is nearly perfect.
'King Kong' from the 30's is obviously rated higher because of the lack of CGI. That King Kong is an artistic monster and every movement is created by loving human hands. A CGI King Kong would just look like it was created by money. That's why the original 'King Kong' is an awesome movie while Peter Jackson's is crap. Well, one of the reasons it's crap.
Keep making comments like this, burymore, and I'm just going to think you're Cory pretending to be somebody else. I wouldn't put it past him either. You do, like Cory, bring up some interesting points. I've obviously not seen 'Jaws' nearly as many times as either of you, so it's quite possibly I've missed some of the genius.
It is interesting to me that your comment is mainly about the artistry or technical qualities of the film while Cory is talking about it as a visceral experience and cultural phenomenon. To me, that indicates that this is a pretty well-rounded flick.
No, I am much better looking than Cory, plus I dont drool over Disney cartoons.
This movie is deeper and better constructed than either of you realize. (And Cory likes it as much as I do.)
It's an amazing time capsule of the 70's that holds up incredibly well today.
Its just amazing. You can find something new with it every time you watch it. That is the mark of a great film.
Pretty big words for a guy who bears a striking resemblance to my hairy ass, and who is the owner of a comic book collection.
I think I am well aware of the structural and emotional strengths of "Jaws", but would say there are a handful of films that I might call more flawless and greater artistic achievements. It has been my favorite film for the last 30 plus years and is ONE of the greatest films ever made.
As for burymore being my alter-ego, I barely have time to write my own comments thanks to the high pace you set.
One other thing, is there a way someone other than the dungeon... blog master can know when new comments, quite possibly lies, are made by other blog readers?
Well Cory...you might want to check the Beauty and the Beast comments to see some of my opinions regarding cartoons.
And thanks for telling me about this. I am enjoying reading a lot of these comments.
I'm not sure if there's a way to know when comments are made. I have them emailed to me.
Jen says there's a way to be notified when comments are made, but you have to have a google account. From there, you have to adjust your settings to make it happen.
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