{"id":9963,"date":"2024-12-11T17:33:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T22:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=9963"},"modified":"2024-12-11T17:33:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T22:33:15","slug":"jaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/12\/11\/jaws\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaws"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Jaws <\/strong>(1975)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Universal\/Horror-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 124 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (language, violence, gore, scenes of intense terror, brief nudity, teen partying)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Steven Spielberg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cinematography: Bill Butler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 20, 1975 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottleib, Jeffrey C. Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Chris Rebello, Jay Mello, Lee Fierro, Jeffrey Voorhees.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $260.7M (US)\/$471.4M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

NOTE TO READERS: The following is a revised version of a review in wrote in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Steven Spielberg\u2019s thriller J<\/strong>aws<\/strong> plays a pivotal role in the history of cinema in that it’s considered the first summer blockbuster movie. It gave rise to huge moneymakers like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. It was the first movie to cross the $100 million mark in its initial theatrical release which is especially impressive when you take into account tickets cost a lot less in 1975.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Back then, there were no multiplexes where Jaws<\/strong> could be shown on multiple screens at different times. It was generally shown on single screens at two-and-a-half hour intervals. The idea of buying advance tickets was unheard of. Also, there was no on-line ticket purchase option as on-line didn\u2019t yet exist. People would stand in long lines for hours to buy tickets. When the theater sold out, as it always did, that was it. You had to either wait for the next show or come back some other time. It kept theaters busy all summer.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 Jaws <\/strong>introduced the moviegoing public to Spielberg, a young filmmaker whose only other credits were the TV movie Duel and the forgettable 1974 crime drama The Sugarland Express. It was the start of a brilliant career for the director. He took Peter Benchley\u2019s best seller and turned it into a movie that thrilled audiences while making them afraid to go near the water during their beach vacations. I didn\u2019t even see it (I was 7) and I was terrified of the ocean that year. When a movie does that, you know it has to be something special and it is!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Even by today’s standards (nearly 50 years later!), Jaws<\/strong> is still one of the greatest popcorn movies of all time. In fact, I\u2019d even say it\u2019s a perfect movie. I don’t say that about too many films, but it\u2019s perfectly apropos in this case. It has it all; suspense, horror, action and thrills. It uses the age-old “man vs. nature” conflict to full effect. In addition, it withstands multiple viewings, something that can’t be said of today’s summer blockbusters. Would you honestly want to sit through any of the Transformers movies more than once? Please join me in a nice loud \u201cNO WAY!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Now that I\u2019ve given you a history of Jaws<\/strong>, let\u2019s talk about the here and now. It\u2019s being rereleased to theaters this weekend. I, for one, am ecstatic. I have NEVER seen it on the big screen. I was 7 when it came out and the parentals refused to take me no matter how much I pleaded. They wouldn\u2019t even let me see it when it was rereleased in \u201979. It was years before I saw the whole thing uncut (i.e. not on network TV). I loved it as I knew I would. Now I finally get to see it as it was meant to be seen, but with an added touch. Viewers have the option of seeing it in 3D or IMAX. Although I would have preferred the latter, it\u2019s only showing in 3D at my local multiplex.<\/p>\n

\u00a0While I’m quite sure everybody already knows the plot of Jaws<\/strong>, let me give you a quick refresher. The terror begins when a couple of drunken teenagers go late-night skinny dipping during a beach party where Frankie and Annette are nowhere to be found. The boy passes out and the naked girl is attacked and pulled under the water by something. Her body washes ashore the next morning and it\u2019s soon determined she was killed by a shark. Martin Brody (Scheider, The French Connection), the newly appointed police chief of fictional Amity Island, wants to close the beach for the safety of vacationers. Mayor Vaughn (Hamilton, The Graduate) overrules him stating that summer tourists are the sole reason the town exists. Closing the beach would bring about a financial catastrophe. When the shark attacks again, he still won\u2019t budge. It\u2019s Fourth of July weekend, the most profitable time of the season. He\u2019s not about to lose that money.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Realizing he\u2019ll have to deal with the situation himself, Brody brings in marine biologist Matt Hooper (Dreyfuss, The Goodbye Girl) and salty shark hunter Quint (Shaw, From Russia with Love) to help him hunt down the great white. Although he doesn’t like the water, Brody accompanies Quint and Hooper to the middle of the ocean. This is where the action really kicks in!<\/p>\n

\u00a0One of the best scenes (it\u2019s my personal favorite) is a rare quiet moment when Quint speaks of being a survivor of the USS Indianapolis. It was a harrowing experience that explains why he devoted his life to hunting and killing sharks, the most brutal of oceanic creatures. It gives the film emotional content. His story is so captivating; you almost forget that there’s a dangerous, man-eating shark lurking about.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Some credit Tipper Gore for parental warning labels, but it was actually the folks at Universal who came up with it first. The poster bears such a label: \u201cSome scenes may be too intense for young children\u201d. It should read \u201cJaws<\/strong> may be too intense for a lot of people\u201d. This is especially true in the first hour when we don\u2019t get a good look at the shark. All we see is a dorsal fin as John Williams\u2019 terrifying score kicks in. The feeling of dread is palpable as we watch kids play in the ocean, legs and feet kicking, just waiting for the worst to happen. Looking at Jaws<\/strong> today, it\u2019s hard to believe it got away with a PG rating. It has a goodly amount of blood and gore including a man\u2019s leg sinking to the ocean floor and blood spurting like a geyser during an attack. Of course, PG then is different from PG today. In any event, the violence isn’t gratuitous; it\u2019s simply nature in action. A shark is a natural born killer and doesn’t care who it eats. As far as the shark is concerned, we\u2019re just food and Spielberg spares no details of the victims’ horrible deaths.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The performances in Jaws<\/strong> are top-notch all the way! Scheider, a thoroughly likable actor, is perfect as Chief Brody, a rational man who overcomes his fear of the water when the safety of his family is jeopardized. He’s a tough guy who loves his family and will do anything to protect them, even if it scares the hell out of him. Shaw is dead-on perfect as Quint, Quint is a tough and hardened sea dog who could (and would) tell many interesting stories about his life on the oceans of the world if given the chance. He\u2019s one of those movie characters that you never forget. He knows his job, he\u2019s good at it and commands a high price for his services, but he’s worth every penny. Besides, how can you dislike a guy who demands a case of apricot brandy as part of his payment? Dreyfuss is great as the young marine biologist looking at the situation from a scientific point of view. He brings all sorts of sophisticated equipment aboard the Orca (Quint\u2019s boat). Quint just doesn’t see the need for all those fancy gadgets; he’s done quite well without them all these years. The rapport between these two characters makes an already great movie even greater.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Some would argue that Bruce the Shark (as he was called on set) is the real star of Jaws<\/strong>. I\u2019m inclined to agree. He is an amazing creation. He was designed by Joe Alves who I had the pleasure of interviewing a few years ago. It was a difficult job building a 25-foot mechanical shark; the model required 14 operators to control all the moving parts. One of many things Spielberg does right is never giving the audience a full, lingering shot of Bruce. We see an eye, a fin, its teeth and the head, but never the whole fish. Even so, Bruce still managed to star in a lot of people\u2019s nightmares that summer.<\/p>\n

\u00a0No two ways about it, Spielberg created a masterpiece of terror with Jaws<\/strong>. He really piles on the suspense. You never know when the shark is going to appear and when he does, it’s a jump-out-of-your-seat shock. It\u2019s a prime example of the heart and craftsmanship that used to go into big event movies; something that today\u2019s empty-vessel blockbusters lack.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m happy it\u2019s being rereleased and not just for personal reasons. There\u2019s probably a whole generation of movie watchers who haven\u2019t seen it, likely dismissing it as an \u201cold movie\u201d. Oh, how wrong they are! Jaws<\/strong> is a classic in every way, shape, form and sense of the word. If you’ve never seen it, please turn in your movie geek card until you have.<\/p>\n

3D UPDATE: So how does Jaws<\/strong> look in 3D? Pretty good, actually, even though it doesn\u2019t really add too much to the experience. It doesn\u2019t take away from it either. I\u2019ll say this; Jaws <\/strong>in 3D is far better than Jaws 3D. I still think it would have been cooler in IMAX.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jaws (1975)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Universal\/Horror-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 124 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (language, violence, gore, scenes of intense terror, brief nudity, teen partying)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Steven Spielberg\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cinematography: Bill Butler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 20, 1975 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottleib, Jeffrey C. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-these-are-some-classic-flicks","category-horror"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Jaws-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9963"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10327,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9963\/revisions\/10327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}