Jaws
1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard
Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw
I
think there is a distinct gap between the public’s impression of Jaws
and what the film actually is. The
general impression of Jaws is that it’s a horror film
about a monster rampaging shark. While I
would never wholly disagree with this statement, if that is all you want from Jaws, you will probably
be rather bored for most of the movie.
In reality, this is a film that defies classification, offering up bits
and pieces of multiple genres, all delightfully blended together into a helluva
rollercoaster.
Police
Chief Brody (Scheider) is still kind of a newbie on Amity Island, a resort town
in the Northeast that relies on summer dollars for its economy. When mangled human remains are found on the
beach, Brody tries to convince an unbelieving mayor that he has a shark problem
on his hands. When panic starts to
spread, Brody calls in help from the oceanographic institute in the form of Hooper
(Dreyfuss) along with the salty sea captain Quint (Shaw) in an effort to kill
the shark.
I’m
a bit of a wimp when it comes to horror films and violent films and war
films. I don’t have the best tolerance
for violence, blood, and gore. However,
I am a huge fan of suspense films and thrillers. I was scared to see Jaws the first time – I
remember that I was in middle school.
There are certain scenes that scared me then (and that still scare me
now), but I remember a distinct feeling of “Is that all?” where the blood was
concerned after that first viewing. For
all its hype as a man-eating shark horror film, there is little (but not zero!)
graphic violence and blood in it, especially by today’s standards.
Despite
the moderate amount of blood, the film has some very scary moments. The opening prologue – following a
skinny-dipper as she is eaten by the shark – is truly terrifying to me. Her fear is so primal and all-encompassing,
and watching her bob up and down in the water, being pulled back and forth
against her will, and then finally pulled down for good… ACK! Susan Backlinie played the girl who drowned,
and her brief performance is my favorite scream queen sequence from any film. It really wigs me out. There is so much lore around the making of
the movie, how Spielberg had to rely on fear of the unknown instead of a
frightening monster, I won’t bother going into detail about it, except to add
on that this opening sequence is a prime example of that. You don’t see the shark here. The camera, right at water level, only shows
you the girl’s head, and you don’t know what’s happening just under the
surface. It’s so visceral, so guttural,
and really, REALLY scary. I’ve seen that
sequence dozens of times, and it still gets under my skin.
So
after scaring the pants off you in the opening, Spielberg then introduces you
to his seventies small town dramedy that is the majority of Jaws. The interaction of Brody with not only the
mayor but the rest of his town, and certainly his family, provides a substantial
heart and heft to the film. Spielberg
devotes a great deal of time giving you insight into Brody’s life and
relationships, but never doing it in a prosaic or predictable manner. Brody argues with the townspeople in a
decidedly chaotic manner; Spielberg has people talk over one another constantly
in this movie, to the point where I thought I was watching a Robert Altman
film. It works, though; it emphasizes
that no one really understands what’s going on.
With Brody’s family, Spielberg doesn’t give us staged dialogue between
Brody and his wife where they tell each other how much they love each
other. Instead, we see Brody’s wife rub
his shoulders, hand him a glass of wine, and purr, “Wanna get drunk and fool
around?” Instead of presenting a scene
where Brody hugs his sons and tells them tearfully just how much he cherishes
them, Spielberg gives us the incredibly tender mimicking sequence, which speaks
volumes about the family dynamic.
Scheider is fantastic as Brody, the police chief of an island community
who hates the water.
From
time to time, I forget what a funny film Jaws is. So many great lines, so many funny moments. It’s not primarily a comedy, but Spielberg
freely laces in light laughs, mostly in the form of Richard Dreyfuss. Whether he’s cackling under his breath,
“You’re all gonna die!” to a group of ignorant islanders or pulling ridiculous
faces at Quint, he’s a great character.
The
finale of the film, where the trio embark on their ultimate hunt for the great
white shark, is a great piece of filmmaking.
Spielberg doesn’t rush the final encounter. Instead of one long battle, he breaks it up
into much smaller fights between the shark and the men. In between these fights, there’s a great deal
of waiting and preparing and drinking and bonding. As the men sit around, they swap scar
stories, drink apricot brandy, and worry.
The feeling of brotherhood between three men who would otherwise have
precious little to do with one another is one of the reasons that this is one
of my husband’s favorite films. And
then, just when Spielberg has lulled us into thinking we might be watching a
buddy film, the shark appears out of nowhere and everyone jumps out of their
seats.
John
Williams’ score is a large part of the success of Jaws. The deep, throbbing shark theme (shamelessly
ripped off from Dvorak, by the way) is established early on a signifier of the
shark. We hear the music, then realize
the shark is near. The rules are
established. Well, then, what happens
next? The rules change, we see the shark
without ever hearing the music, and jump out of our seats yet again! The rest of the score, the non-shark parts,
are typical triumphal John Williams in his classic Americana style; rousing and
charming.
Jaws is a rollercoaster of a film,
and it’s so much fun. I don’t wonder
that movie-goers flocked to it in droves when it came out. Spielberg knows how to take you on really terrific
ride.
Arbitrary
Rating: 9/10
Addendum:
I saw Jaws last summer at the Dryden because the Dryden is awesome,
but unfortunately, I had a less than stellar theater experience while
there. First of all, the Dryden showed
an original print of Jaws, and while this sounds awesome in concept, the original
print was in what can only be described as mediocre condition. There were a lot of small skips and scratches
and faded color. The person doing the
introduction described the print as “having character,” which is a nice way to
say it’s crap. Additionally, there was a
rather obnoxious group sitting in front of us who consisted of two middle-aged
men, presumably brothers, an elderly woman, presumably their mother, and a
child who looked no older than 8, more like 6, presumably daughter of one of
the men. I was “lucky” enough to be
sitting right behind the poor girl, so I got to witness her excruciating
boredom at the first two thirds of Jaws. Best part of her boredom? Her vocalization of said boredom at all
opportunities and her inability to sit still in her seat. I THEN got to witness the young girl being
utterly traumatized by the final sequences in the film, her shrieks of terror
and her quiet sobs as she again couldn’t sit still in her seat, while the
adults repeatedly told the girl to “Be quiet!”
They were completely unsympathetic to both her boredom and her terror, and
were also rather loud in their indignance toward her. All of this severely tainted an experience I
had really been looking forward to: Jaws on the big screen. Really, who takes their young child to see
this movie? I am certain there are young
kids out there who would enjoy this movie, but not many. Not the majority. Thanks, idiotic family. I know we all have those shitty theater
experiences; I’m still really bummed that I had to have such a crap experience with
this movie, because Jaws is an awesome movie.
