(June 1975, U.S.)
This is it, people! This is the big one! With all due respect to STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES and E.T., this is the greatest summer blockbuster movie of all goddamn time! And it should be noted that it's with a tremendous sense of seasonal irony that I'm writing about this film, a summertime beach thriller, on a day when the entire northest portion of the United States is experiencing a blizzard. Nothing like a little summer movie warmth to combat the February chill in the air!
So, what can I possibly tell you about Steven Spielberg's colossal film that ushered in the new era of summer blockbusters from the moment the great white shark's fin broke through the water that you don't already know?? Shall I tell you that JAWS ushered in a new era of film marketing and wider theatrical releasing? Shall I tell you that in between THE EXORCIST (1973) and STAR WARS (1977), JAWS was the highest grossing film of all time? Shall I tell you that JAWS instilled terrifying fears of going in the water that people may still hold onto today? Shall I tell you that JAWS made Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts more famous than it already was without the Kennedy's? Shall I tell you that the key element of what makes JAWS so damn scary is the mystery and the intruigue of what lurks beneath the water given that we don't see the actual shark for nearly an hour? Well, what's the point of telling you all that? Any fan of JAWS or anyone who only ever heard of JAWS already knows all this. So what I will do, if you'll permit me the time, is share some personal stories with you regarding the film, and perhaps you'll do the same with your comments.
In 1975, at the tender age of only eight years-old, my parents would NOT allow me to see JAWS! Try to imagine what it was like for an eight year-old kid in summer camp and in the third grade the following Fall to feel as if he's the only one who hasn't seen a movie that's clearly become a massive cultural phenomenom! Try to imagine what it's like for this same kid to be surrounded by a bunch of other third graders who are gleefully walking around humming the infamous tones of John Williams' classic theme and he has virtually no idea what they're humming about! Try to imagine extreme movie denial in this young kid's life! How are you supposed to combat something like that? Walking around saying, "Oh, yeah, well I saw BENJI!" ain't exactly going to get the burden off of your shoulders. Hell, it might even get you beat up by other third graders!
(Are you sensing some childhood anger here yet??)
Okay, so now let's cut to four years later, the Summer of 1979, when JAWS is re-released in movie theaters everywhere for a special two week run engagement (Man, how DO I remember these things??). This twelve year-old child (ME!) is teased, enticed and provoked by a re-release movie poster practically begging him into the theater. It looks like this...
If I can get sidetracked for a moment, I must confess that I've always had a particular fondness for re-release movie posters as opposed to original one sheets. In my opinion, re-relase movie posters signify a film's popularity and legacy that's already been achieved with popular culture and serves as an artistic tool to invite the moviegoer back for more. Those of us who can remember a time before video tapes and DVDs will remember just how significant it was when your favorite movie was re-released in theaters.
Okay, back to where I was. So now I'm four years older now (not necessarily wiser!) and do my parents budge on the issue?? NO! These over-protective sons-of...(whatever!) still won't allow their son to see JAWS! WTF??? No, my friends, it would not be until several months later, November 1979, when JAWS made it's world television premiere on the ABC Sunday Night Movie that I finally got to see the legendary Spielberg masterpiece, all cut-up and edited to keep mommy and daddy's precious little prince safe and cozy! It wasn't until 1984, when the family finally got its first VCR, complete with fake wood finish and pop-up tape insert, that I would go out to the video store and rent my first uncut, commerical-free movie. Yes, it was JAWS and I was finally able to break my virginity on the matter.
Quite a saga, isn't it? How's THAT for being born under a bad movie sign??
As an adult, JAWS remains one of my top ten favorite films of all time. And why not? It's a film that takes place on the beach, I grew up at the beach in the Hamptons every summer, and what defines summer better than the beach? I've seen JAWS more times than can be counted and I make it a point to watch it every July 4th in the same manner of movie tradition that one would watch A CHRISTMAS CAROL or IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE on Christmas Eve. To this day, I DO go swimming in the ocean every summer without fear of becoming the great fish's next feeding. To this day, I still regret not being able to get to Martha's Vineyard during the Summer of 2005 when JAWS was celebrating it's 30th anniversary there, complete with celebreties, tributes and multiple film screenings. Oh, what a celebration it must have been!
Here's a couple of two more quick stories (grammar?) to share with you about this film. In 1997, I had the one and only opportunity to see JAWS on the big screen at a special one-night-only screening at New York City's famous Radio City Music Hall (they don't show movies there anymore, but let me tell you, this is a BIG fucking screen!). I was on a second or third date with some girl (what WAS her name??) and when it came to the climactic moment of the film when Quint is killed, she felt grossed out and decided to leave her seat and retreat to the theater lobby. So there I was with a big choice to make; either stay in my seat and fullfill my one and only time to see this great film in its entirety on screen without interruption OR play the bullshit chivalrous gentleman and go after her. Hmmmmmm...what to do? Well, I'm sorry to say I opted for the great white shark. It's okay. I figured out pretty early in our dating rituals that I wasn't going to get very far with her, so hey, no great loss. The second story really involves my mother in-law and HER story of how JAWS was the last film she'd been to see in September 1975 just weeks (or days?) before her daughter (my wife) was born. Just for the fun and humor of it, whenever I bring up that story I enjoy grossly distorting the facts in that I tell it as if she actually went into labor in the movie theater while watching JAWS. It's just more fun that way (ha, ha!).
And so, having said all that, it's with the greatest sincerity and admiration that I say THANK YOU! Thank you Roy Scheider, thank you Richard Dreyfuss, thank you Robert Shaw, thank you Murray Hamilton, thank you Lorraine Gary and thank you John Williams! But most of all and most importantly, thank you Peter Benchley and Steven Speilberg for giving us the timeless and classic masterpiece of great cinema known as JAWS!
Favorite line or dialogue:
Larry Vaughan: "I don't think either one of you are familiar with our problems!"
Matt Hooper: "Uh, I think that I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and bites you on the ass! Now wait a second, wait a second! There are two ways to deal with this problem! You're either going to kill this animal or you're going to cut off its food supply!"
Martin Brody: "Larry, we have to close the beaches!"
Larry (pointing to defaced billboard): "Brody, sick vandalism! That is a deliberate mutilation of a public service message! Now I want those little paint-happy bastards caught and hung up by their Buster Browns!"
Matt: "That's it. G'bye! I'm not gonna waste my time arguing with a man who's lining up to be a hot lunch! I'm gonna see you later."
Martin: "Come on now, please, don't do this."
Matt: "Mr. Vaughan, what we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, uh, an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks and that's all. Now why don't you take a long, close look at this sign. Those proportions are correct."
Larry: "Love to prove that, wouldn't you? Get your name into the National Geographic."
Eric, You are the man. Everything you said about this movie is right on. I know a little about how you felt because my folks would not let me see Rosemary's Baby when it first came out, and no Bonnie and Clyde either. But in 1975, I was 17, I just graduated from High School and I was finally the one solely in charge of my movie going. You bet I was there opening day. I remember it vividly. If you have not looked at my post on this from the original Movie A Day Project, here is the link: http://kirkhamclass.blogspot.com/2010/07/jaws-1975-movie-day-day-33.html
ReplyDeleteI know your parents must have seemed over protective, now here is a story for you of just plain bad judgement on my part, that has resulted in a 24 year obsession. When my kids were two and four, we watched movies all the time. I had JAWS on Laser Disc, and they saw the cover and wanted to see it. No way is it appropriate for a kid at that age, but I compromised and let them watch big sections with us, and when the scary or gory stuff came on, we covered their eyes and hummed out loud so the screaming was not too terrifying. OK, maybe not the best choice but they were precocious and insistent and I thought we did a good job. Unfortunately, when my wife and I were out on a date night, my mother who was baby sitting, asked them what they wanted to watch. They said "JAWS" and she said, "No your parents wouldn't want that." They then told her truthfully that we had let them see it so she relented. She did not know however that we had covered up their eyes and sang out loud during the scary parts, so she just let it run. So before they were three or five, they saw the whole thing in glorious letterbox, crystal sharp (for the time) color. My youngest became so obsessed, that when she wrote her admissions essay to USC to be a Communications student with minors in Cinema and Advertising, she wrote it based on her love of the Indianapolis monologue. Here is a link to a blog post she did on Robert Shaws performance in that scene: http://hollywoodconsumer.blogspot.com/2011/06/best-scene-ever.html
Like you, we watch this every July Fourth, just like "It's a Wonderful Life" is Christmas eve, "Jaws" is the morning of Independence Day. Of course we probably watch it six other times a year also.
So much has been written about this movie that there is not much left to explore, except every time I turn around, I see something else to talk about. If you never read the original book, I suggest you don't. It is inferior in most ways to the film. How often can anyone ever say that?
I had a friend in High School who graduated a year before me. He was a go getter type and right out of High School he opened his own T Shirt Business, doing custom printing or putting Iron Ons on tee shirts. I knew how big JAWS was as a marketing phenomena because I went with him in July of 1975 to pick up a dozen cases of Jaws tee shirts and Iron On Stickers down in the Long Beach Area. He sold out in just a couple of weeks and I went with him a second time to pick up more.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago on my daughters birthday I sprang for the deluxe edition of this: http://kirkhamclass.blogspot.com/2011/06/jaws-memories-from-marthas-vineyard.html
It came with a two inch piece of the actual Orca. I think she would grab it in a fire before she came to check on me. So still thirty years latter, the movie has the ability to move us. I took her to a screening of "The Shark is still Working" and The writer, the production designer, the cinematographer and a couple of the actors (the deputy from Amity PD) were there and answered questions. She took a class on Spielberg's Films when she was at USC, I got to go to the screening of JAWS but she could not get me in for the day Spielberg came and talked to their class. She still lords that over me a little.
I know I've gone on too long but this movie is so special that I want to share as much as I can with everyone. I love that you like the re-issue posters even better than the originals. It was great when they would do that on a regular basis. I still think a week of JAWS in theaters for the Fortieth Anniversary would bring in some crowds. If they do it on July 4, 2015, I'd be willing to meet you somewhere and watch it together. Thank you for sharing your opinions and memories. I'm going to share your post on both my personal Facebook page and the movie blog page. Till next time. [Two posts were required to get your comment page to accept it all]
Sorry, One more link for you.
ReplyDeletehttp://hollywoodconsumer.blogspot.com/2011/07/best-movie-ever.html
Richard, this is what makes me proud to write my blog! It's very easy for anyone with good film knowledge to simply write about a film's story and give their opinions on it. True, you can't really write an effective film blog without some of that, but it's the personal stories and treasured memories that keep movies alive in our minds and in our hearts. Thanks always for everything you've contributed to these great films!
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