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Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Peter Benchley (screenplay), Carl Gottlieb (screenplay)
Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Genre: Adventure, Thriller
A hungry shark feeds on human tidbits as New Englanders on Amity Island get ready for their big summer tourist season.
In 1975 Spielberg became a household name with his exciting thriller featuring a huge shark that scared the bejesus out of movie goers. And it gave us some of the most memorable scenes from a movie, and memorable dialogue too. Anybody remember, "you're gonna need a bigger boat!"
I watched this for the first time in 30 years and was impressed with the care that went into the staging of the scenes and the cinematography.
A good example of that is this famous scene from the beginning of the movie. Not only is the whole shark attack done frighteningly real with the girl being pulled under water only to pop up again screaming. But look at that buoy in the background. She's so close and that buoy gives us hope that she can reach it and climb to safety. It also gives scale and makes the scene look all the more real. The twilight setting with it's dark shadows makes the attack all the more potent.
The entire movie is constructed for maximum effect, that's why the three shark hunters go out on a small rickety old boat. Spielberg is a genius.
And the score? I don't even have to mention how amazing it is and how much the music adds to the tension.
From left to right: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
I liked all three of the main cast and they're an odd mix, which also creates tension on the cramped quarters of the boat.
Roy Scheider is out of his element as he hates the water and is an outsider to the small island where he's come to be their local sheriff. Robert Shaw as the hard drinking, half crazed sea captain puts the meaning into colorful! But it's Richard Dreyfuss who's always been my favorite. Even when I saw this first run at the theater as a kid, it was the marine biologist played by Richard Dreyfuss who I could relate to. He's for many people a proxy on the shark hunt.
Oh and almost forgot to say after over 40 years the mechanical shark still looks real!
Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)
Writers: Peter Benchley (screenplay), Carl Gottlieb (screenplay)
Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Genre: Adventure, Thriller
A hungry shark feeds on human tidbits as New Englanders on Amity Island get ready for their big summer tourist season.
In 1975 Spielberg became a household name with his exciting thriller featuring a huge shark that scared the bejesus out of movie goers. And it gave us some of the most memorable scenes from a movie, and memorable dialogue too. Anybody remember, "you're gonna need a bigger boat!"
I watched this for the first time in 30 years and was impressed with the care that went into the staging of the scenes and the cinematography.
A good example of that is this famous scene from the beginning of the movie. Not only is the whole shark attack done frighteningly real with the girl being pulled under water only to pop up again screaming. But look at that buoy in the background. She's so close and that buoy gives us hope that she can reach it and climb to safety. It also gives scale and makes the scene look all the more real. The twilight setting with it's dark shadows makes the attack all the more potent.
The entire movie is constructed for maximum effect, that's why the three shark hunters go out on a small rickety old boat. Spielberg is a genius.
And the score? I don't even have to mention how amazing it is and how much the music adds to the tension.
From left to right: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Roy Scheider is out of his element as he hates the water and is an outsider to the small island where he's come to be their local sheriff. Robert Shaw as the hard drinking, half crazed sea captain puts the meaning into colorful! But it's Richard Dreyfuss who's always been my favorite. Even when I saw this first run at the theater as a kid, it was the marine biologist played by Richard Dreyfuss who I could relate to. He's for many people a proxy on the shark hunt.
Oh and almost forgot to say after over 40 years the mechanical shark still looks real!