Welcome to the first installment of The Steven Spielberg Retrospective. How this will work is very simple - every post Sean will kick things off with his insights and new discoveries for the film at hand. Then J.J. (Jeanette, Jamie, whatever you want to call her) will post her first time viewing reactions below. You will be getting two different accounts on the same film. We may not always agree, but it will be interesting nonetheless. Without further ado, our first film of The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 1: The 1970's - Jaws.
Jaws
Release Date: June 20, 1975
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture
Won 3 Academy Awards: Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Music
Read on after the jump...
By Sean Knight
In 1975, Steven Spielberg directed a film that would change the course of filmmaking, and ignite his career as one of the top directors in the industry. Jaws didn’t just change the way that movies were made; it changed the cultural landscape and coined the term – Summer Blockbuster. For better or for worse, Spielberg’s career will forever be linked with that “scary shark picture”. When one thinks of the film Jaws, there are two things that come to mind fairly quickly – the unforgettable music and the mounting dread as we, the audience, anxiously await to see the shark. Jaws is a master class in building suspense, but anyone who knows anything about movie lore knows that it’s almost the film that wasn’t. You see, Jaws was supposed to involve a lot more of the shark, but they could never get the damn thing to work. Spielberg had to find a way to keep the film interesting and the suspense ramped up without the aid of his malfunctioning mechanical beast. The answer was simple – the camera is the shark. Every single one of those underwater shots looking up at swimmers feet fills the audience with dread. And Spielberg employed plenty of “gotcha” moments to keep the audience on their toes and ultimately out of the water.
When watching Jaws on this recent viewing I was struck by a great many things. The first, being how brave Spielberg was to film this on open water and not in a studio controlled tank. In fact, almost all of the work on the film is on location making it much more authentic. It makes you believe that this is happening in the real world. And then I realized it wasn’t so much that Spielberg was brave, but rather remarkably naive and stupid. Spielberg didn’t know any better than to shoot on location where his control against Mother Nature and the sea would be nonexistent. He was 25 years old when he directed Jaws. He was young and dumb and full of energy. He was willing to take the risks that a seasoned Hollywood filmmaker would never have taken on such an expensive picture. Spielberg himself has stated that he would never shoot a film on open water again. Only experience can teach someone that. But if Spielberg hadn’t been young and dumb, the thrill of Jaws and the reality of the picture would be lessened. It simply wouldn’t be as scary. The success of Jaws depended on so many happy (not at the time) accidents that came together to push a filmmaker to be the most creative director that he could be.
Another thing that struck me was that even at this early stage in his career, Spielberg had a gift for working with children and building an interesting family dynamic on screen. Take for instance, the scene where Chief Brody (played by the late and great Roy Scheider) sits at his kitchen table grieving over the loss of several townspeople that his inaction failed to save. He sits at the table stroking his face and sitting in silence and his youngest son sits across from him mimicking his every move. Like father like son. It’s such a simple, quiet, and honest moment. There are many more like it with Brody and his family, until the second half of the picture, when we are whisked away at sea and Jaws becomes an all out adventure film.
The most striking scene in Jaws, and the one that is arguably the most famous, is where Captain Quint (played by Robert Shaw, in one of the greatest performances to not be nominated for an Academy Award) describes the aftermath of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Through this monologue Quint becomes a Captain Ahab of sorts and his demise at the hands of great white is even more potent because of it. What is interesting with this scene is the build. It starts very lighthearted with lots of drunken talk and manning each other up with displays of battle scars – and that is when the scene takes its turn into the monologue. And from that monologue comes a drunken song. It’s Spielberg toying with his audience, slowly letting them off the hook, then bringing them back in, then letting them off the hook again right before the final bloody act is about to begin. It’s a brilliant progression.
There is fearlessness in the vision of Spielberg that is apparent from the first frames of the film ‘til it’s last moments. But, in the film, the time you realize that anything can happen is when he kills the child on his raft. The water is completely crowded and Spielberg goes for what he knows would repulse his audience the most – the murder of a child. The raft goes under; you see the child flip over and a geyser of blood shoots up from the water. It’s a visceral, shocking, and completely real moment. It takes balls to shake up an audience that badly during a film. It’s the kind of thing, that if Spielberg were to make the movie today, he probably wouldn’t do. But it’s exactly why Spielberg, at his young age in his career, was at the top of his craft. He was willing to take the risks others weren’t willing to take.
Jaws has many more tiny moments that are complete Spielberg magic, but the most telling of which comes in two seemingly meaningless moments. There are two different shots of shooting stars during the second half of Jaws. Here Spielberg leaves a brief clue that he may have been thinking ahead to two movies that would end up defining his career. Spielberg was already lost in the stars. And soon we would be too.
By J.J.
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Sean had the brilliant idea of watching every Spielberg movie before seeing War Horse. This got no argument from me, as I still have a lot to learn about film and think that studying different directors is a great way to learn about the art form. We decided we would watch his films in chronological order. First up: Jaws.
I have been avoiding watching this movie since I saw the trailer for the first time way back in the 90’s. The thought of a shark attack scares the crap out of me and is the main reason why I hate the ocean…well, that and I don’t look great in a bikini. So why did I finally grow some balls and watch it? I didn’t. Sean forced me to watch it.
Jaws tells the story of a Great White Shark that wreaks havoc on Amity Island, a small Long Island tourist destination. Chief Brody (Roy Schneider), Quint (Robert Shaw), and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) set out to kill the monster and restore order to their little town.
The movie opens with a group of teenagers enjoying a nice “Bible Study” on the beach. We meet sweet Christine. She catches the eye of a drunk admirer who looks at her with that “we’re totally going to bang” look. Off she runs across the beach stripping her clothes off without a care in the world. The drunk dude chases after her trying to keep up but just can’t seem to run in sand. Sweet Christine jumps into the water and swims out a ways. Oh Christine. Christine. Christine. Christine. This isn’t going to end well for you. The haunting score composed by John Williams gives us a heads up that danger is approaching. Cut to an underwater shot. We are seeing Christine from the sharks perspective. Cue Jamie retreating to the inside of her shirt because she knows at any moment this shark is going to attack. Cut back to Christine’s sweet face and BAM. She is pulled under. She pops back up and is then flung back and forth while screaming for help. Cut to her drunk suitor passed out on the beach. Sorry doll, you’re on your own.
I have been forced (by Sean) against my will to sit through some intense movies but this opening sequence was almost too much for me. Where was the damn shark??? Why didn’t Spielberg at least show the fin moving toward Christine? Why did he then cut to a shot of still water? We’re 10 minutes into the movie and I already have a laundry list of questions.
The 2nd encounter we have with our villain happens while the beach is packed with people enjoying the holiday weekend. A fatty waddles her way into water (I totally was expecting the Precious lookalike to be the next victim.) A little boy named Alex is allowed into the water for 10 more minutes. Our hero, Chief Brody (Roy Schneider) sits on the beach keeping a watchful eye over all the revelers. A man throws a stick for his dog. Alex floats further out. What’s that music we hear? Ah yes, the suspenseful score which can only signal one thing! The camera cuts quickly back and forth from above water to underwater cutting through legs. The man calls for his dog but only the stick returns to the shore. Wait a second! Is that? What is that? (this is what I was screaming while Sean yelled at me to shut up). Is that a fin? It is!!! Has he set his sights on sweet little Alex? BAM. Alex is pulled under. “WHAT?” I shrieked. “The kid? You’re going to kill the kid but let Precious live?” I yelled at the TV. A beachgoer remarks, “Did you see that?” Blood pours out of Alex’s body and spills into the water. He screams and is dragged under. Blood gurgles to the surface. RIP kiddo.
Holy. Shit. We had to pause the movie for a second. 1) I was still in shock that Steven would make a child the second victim and 2) I needed another glass of wine.
The 3rd time we cross paths with our villain I was certain we would finally see him in all his glory. Nope. This attempted attack was, in my opinion, the scariest moment of the whole movie. Two local fishermen have concocted a genius plan to coax the shark close enough to the dock so they can kill it. This had bad news bears written all over it. They throw a piece of roast that one of them stole from his wife into the water and tie the end of the chain to the dock. These two really are smart. It is only a matter of time before the shark bites into the roast and swims away. Did I mention that the gangsta shark swims off with the roast and half the dock. One guy manages to stay on the remaining half, but poor Charlie falls into the water. The shark quickly makes a U-turn and heads directly toward him. He swims for his life. Meanwhile all we see is a dock being dragged through the water. No sight of the shark. Charlie must have had Jesus on his side because he makes it out of the water in just the knick of time.
It isn’t until an hour into the movie that we finally get a clear shot of the shark. Chief Brody (Roy Schneider), Quint (Robert Shaw), and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) have set out to kill the shark. Brody is throwing chum into the water when the great white nearly takes his hand off. We have the first full glimpse of the shark!!! Holy smokes! This thing is huge!! Quint estimates that the shark is 25 feet long. Hooper attaches a barrel to the shark in an effort to tire the shark out. (It doesn’t work). The shark disappears only to return a short time later. He makes his presence known by swimming straight in the boat causing some damage. The men scramble to shoot it but it doesn’t work. He gets away. I’m stressing out.
So, why did Spielberg wait so long to reveal the shark? I learned that wasn’t the intention. He had intended to show the shark but due to technical problems while filming the shark never really worked properly. He was forced to work around that and the outcome was much better. What makes the first half of the movie so scary is that we never see the shark. This film would not be the same if we see Jaws from the very beginning. The suspense wouldn’t be there. The suspense comes from the underwater shots where we see things from the shark’s perspective. We see legs wiggling around and we know that at any minute he could claim his next victim. I must tip my hat to Mr. Spielberg. I am now obsessed with how he handles the camera.
The final showdown between the three men and the shark will forever hold a place among the “Best Ending to a Movie” list. Hooper yells out that the shark has returned for his noon feeding. They launch another harpooned barrel at the shark only to have him launch at the boat. It is in this moment that you really see how great of a filmmaker Steven Spielberg is. Brody stands in the cabin and you see the barrel moving toward the boat in the reflection of Brody’s glasses. It’s this gift for camera work that places Spielberg ahead of anyone else. We don’t lose sight of the action but we also get to see Brody’s reaction.
In a last ditch effort to kill the shark, Hooper lowers himself into the water in a shark cage. Yeah…it doesn’t go as planned and when Quint and Brody lift the cage out of the water they find it empty and assume that Hooper has fallen victim to the shark. The shark keeps attacking the boat and is causing it to sink. Try as they might to stay on their feet Quint finds himself sliding right into the shark’s mouth. Now, ok. That was one of the grossest things I have ever seen in my entire life, but I must admit that I like that Spielberg does not sugar coat death. He didn’t cut away from Quint while he was bitten in half. If he had I feel it would have cheapened the moment and made it something you would see in a B-list horror film. He kept the camera on him for his final moments really capturing the power of that moment and what it symbolized.
Brody saves the day by throwing an air tank into the sharks mouth and then shoots it with a gun. BOOM. The shark is blown up. The man who was afraid of the water just saved the day. I love the irony of that. Here is this guy who has avoided the ocean his whole life and now finds himself fighting to kill a shark. Hooper pops back up much to the surprise of Brody and learns that Quint didn’t make it. The men swim back to shore.
Brody: I used to hate the water.
Hooper: I can’t imagine why.
I don’t know why I was so afraid of this movie. It’s a story about survival and overcoming your biggest fear. It just happens to feature a great white shark that likes to eat people instead of seals. NO BIGGIE.
Bring on Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind! I’m really interested to see how Spielberg tops this.
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