Jaws (1975)

The beach town of Amity Island has been experiencing some mysterious attacks from a mysterious entity within the nearby ocean, resulting in some brutal deaths.  And the local police chief Brody (Roy Scheider) is concerned that it MIGHT be sharks....and he's not the only one, there's also the visiting marine biologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) who suspects that it MIGHT be a Great White Shark. :o And besides them, there's the local sea-dog Quint (Robert Shaw) who not only believes that it's a Great White Shark but that ONLY he can kill it. And we're off to the sea in Steven Spielberg's classic mega-blockbuster which is about to turn 50!  We're gonna need a BIGGER boat indeed.....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

JAWS – 1975

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Carl Gottlieb, Jeffrey Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Jonathan Filley, Jeffrey Kramer, Chris Rebello, Jay Mello, Lee Fierro, Jeffrey Voorhees, Craig Kinsbury, and Murray Hamilton

Genre: Horror Adventure (Audio clip)

At this point it's impossible to have anything even resembling a hot take on this movie. It's a genre masterpiece, possibly THE most influential genre masterpiece short of Star Wars or The Godfather....and it's pretty close when you think about it. This not only pretty much invented the modern blockbuster - nationwide releases opening weekend backed by national marketing campaigns - but it definitely kick-started the SUMMER Blockbuster for sure! Before the instant mega-success of this film opening in June of 1975, launching major studio films throughout the summer months wasn't really a thing....it was more often the case of the biggest studio movies starting platform releases in December to start spreading through the holidays into the New Year. Hmmm....

Best-selling book adaptations, primal horror/disaster movies....those were already a thing but the success of this movie took that to the next level. If nothing else, this was and remains the breakout of SPIELBERG....the man as a director, as a brand....and besides a few hiccups along the way (1941, Hook, AI), his legendary status hasn't really subsided almost five decades later. He made his mark with this movie and he pulled it off despite having a mechanical shark which never really worked. 😁

So instead of trying to formulate a fresh, informed opinion on Jaws as a movie, I'll just go the lazier "Buzzfeed" route with....

SEVEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT JAWS:
 (in no particular order)

1) Roy Scheider's lead performance is pitch-perfect! His Chief Brody is in over his head, perpetually buzzed (he drinks a LOT in the first hour), self-reflective, keenly observant ("We're gonna need a bigger boat"), and most importantly....very relatable. He's our heroic protagonist but in the most grounded sense....he rarely makes a foolish decision but he's not infallible. 

2) The story moves EFFICIENTLY....we've already met the Kitners, learned how much of an asshole the Mayor is, gotten to know the Brody family dynamic, were introduced to Quint's sharp nails (Great introduction!), and seen the damage that this shark can do....ALL in the first 15 minutes. :) Major props not only to Spielberg for his economic storytelling but to writer Carl Gottlieb for a tightly streamlined adaptation of Benchley's novel, and one of the few Oscars this film DID win for, amazing editing from Verna Fields. 

3) John Williams' iconic score (which also won an Oscar) not only for the scary two-note signature theme but for the playful, adventurous stuff surrounding it! 

4) Just how BADLY I wanted the Coast Guard and local water militia to simply open fire on those two brats who fool every one with their fake, wooden fin about 40 minutes in. 🙄 I know it was just a prank....but it started that beach stampede and diverted every one from the pond where the shark DID attack in the next scene. I'm sorry but f@&k those kids! 

5) Right after the shark finally presents himself to the Orca crew....how Dreyfuss' Brody is just dickishly chiding Brody to get out on the stern....you know "for scale" with his photos, I just LOVE how goofily honest he is in that moment. 😆

6) Another standout Hooper moment: just how charming Dreyfuss is when his character first visits the Brody's with his two bottles of wine, his dorky banter with Ellen, and how he just starts to nonchalantly help himself to their leftover chicken right at the dinner table. 😉 It's for throwaway moments like those WHY you hire Richard Dreyfuss! 

7) Quint screaming in terror and spitting blood while being eaten alive by the shark towards the end not only remains one of the Top Five Deaths in the history of cinema but holds up as one of the most effective "S#%t just got REAL!" moments to raise the stakes for any Hollywood blockbuster for decades to come! We're talking about a fun, popcorn movie with loads of humor for much of its runtime....but you NEED moments like these to fully engage regardless. Take notes Marvel....or DC or Star Wars for that matter! 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Now back to that iconic score….what’s there to be said which hasn’t already been said? Even within ten years of this movie coming out, the use of THOSE notes had already been parodied to death in various media….if  you were child of the ‘80’s, you CERTAINLY couldn’t avoid it in movie comedies…..Airplane, The Secret of My Success, Caddyshack….it has become SUCH a trope that it’s easy to forget just how damn effective it was for this particular story.  For the first 60% of the movie when we can barely see the shark, it’s that score which pretty much represents him or her or IT on-screen. I’m of course referring to the ICONIC “Main Title” theme which we first hear over the opening credits. (Audio clip)

Now the other one which folks always seems to remember and it IS admittedly catchy…..when the score gets playful with lots of horns, never moreso than around the halfway point when our three main protagonists hit the water in the Orca…..it’s fittingly titled, “Out to Sea.” (Audio clip) 

If there IS personal favorite of mine – besides the iconic main title of course – it would actually have to be the moody, more mysterious music we hear accompanying Brody and Hooper when they first venture out to the water late at night…..half drunk…..on kind of a recon mission.  I love how the strings here just play into the mystery of it all….VERY underrated theme here, this track is called, “Night Search.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Of course there was ZERO talent wasted in the making of this film….only wasted LESSONS.  So just to get pseudo-political here….I LOVE that all of the extras around the fake town of Amity (which means "friendship") on the beaches....not ONE jacked hardbody among them nor any non-child adults under the age of 50. 😁 Also ALL of the sloppy, chum-spreading, M80-dropping, wanna-be douches on those boats trying to "hunt" the sharks early on....just cast perfectly and ahead of their time when it came to today's faux-Alpha culture online, you know several of them would have guested on Rogan! 

And speaking of which……yeah I’m gonna go there but just briefly…..I KNOW I’m not the only one who observed that here in the “Freedom-loving” United States back in 2020, we were basically treated to a nationwide VERSION of this SAME story playing out in real time.  That’s right….the shark threat to Amity Island was REAL….JUST like risks of COVID-19 spreading were REAL.  Overcrowded hospitals, supply shortages, millions unemployed, and more than a million deaths…..and SO much of it was preventable.  But unfortunately, we had a “Mayor” in charge who kept denying reality until it was too late….and yeah millions of deluded followers to said mayor who were also more than willing to deny reality for the sake of their own convenience.  Sigh…..it would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.  

Oh well….look if you’re offended by me stating the obvious here, I’m sorry but I would just ask you: if you’re listening to this review because you LOVE this movie, then WHY ignore its lessons?  And I’ll leave it at that…..  

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

This is a no-brainer but of course it has to be Quint's entire USS Indianapolis monologue JUST before things get increasingly bloody in the third act.  Just the reaction on Dreyfuss’ face when he just hears mention of this particular ship tells you all you need to know. (Audio clip) 

It was apparently mainly rewritten by John Milius, much of it was improvised by Shaw himself, and it remains one of the greatest monologues of all time and for good reason ….over less than ten minutes of screentime, Quint just takes us on this terrifying journey told only through snippets for the most part. (Audio clip) 

 I ESPECIALLY love how he describes what's left of his friend Herbie Robbins from Cleveland...Robert Shaw is SO chilling with how he matter-of-factly describes that. (Audio clip) 

Oh and the blink-and-you'll-miss-it callback just a few scenes later when we see Quint forgo his own life-jacket just before he hands them to the other two....I honestly never caught this until my most recent viewing….BRILLIANT acting and virtuoso visual storytelling. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

At the end of the day, there’s only ONE answer to this and it’s gotta be Steve the Man.  I mean it still boggles my mind just how well – with ‘70’s technology no less - The Man shoots and frames OPEN WATER (with invaluable assistance from DP Bill Butler of course) under or on the surface. There are just enough shots providing awe (especially at night) but even more delivering the terrifying uncertainty of what's out there....in retrospect, it was a nightmare for him and crew to pull this off though the results speak for themselves. :) This film is a undeniable MASTERPIECE and it ONLY could have been directed by one hot-shot 29 year old who at this particular time was in over his head but was also armed with the storytelling/filmmaking instincts to craft a truly PRIMAL story which had millions of people literally AFRAID to go to beach afterwards.  That man was Steven Spielberg and he is the MVP.   

Final Rating: 5 stars out of 5 

Hell yeah I’m getting hyperbolic….this is JAWS for f*&k’s sake!  Fifty years later, it STILL lives up to the hype and remains not only one of HIS best, one of the best of the ‘70’s, but one of THE Ultimate pieces of entertainment to ever hit the big screen!

Streaming on Prime Video

And that ends another THE HEAD…THE TAIL….THE WHOLE DAMN THING review!