I try to imagine Jaws being released now and how Twitter would have responded to it. Would they complain about how fake the shark looked? Would they think Quint was a cliche? Would women like me complain that the role of Ellen Brody had been greatly diminished in the adaptation? Would animal rights activists be up in arms about the personification of the shark — sharks kill just five people a year compared to hippos that kill 2,900. Winning Twitter is no easy game these days. For every Inside Out that comes out to raves there are dozens of others that are snarked within an inch of their life.
It’s a good thing, then, that Jaws came out when so many of us hadn’t yet gotten ourselves in the clutches of social networking. Jaws resonates still because it’s a great movie. Period. Yes, the shark looks fake but that isn’t near enough to derail its prominence. This is the master Steven Spielberg at the top of his game working with a team of actors who nail their characters, to say nothing of John Williams’ score, which is so much of what makes the movie work.
I was ten years old when Jaws came out and it remains the only movie I stood in line to see roughly 14 times when it played. Since then, I probably watch it at least once a year. At least. Jaws is great because it treats the shark like a character. It’s great because its plot derives not from the visual effects but from the internal conflicts of its three main leads. All three men – Brody, Hooper and Quint are given backgrounds, pasts, demons to overcome, and most importantly, there is conflict between them when thrown together. Hooper and Quint are rivals down economic and professional lines. Brody holds the whole thing together but is inexperienced and afraid of the water. He’s an ex-New York cop coming at the shark problem like he would a common criminal on the streets. Credit for building mythology around the shark must be given to Hooper (a scientist) and Quint (a fisherman). We see beautiful symbols of this mythic shark — its jaws, its fin. The dramatic tension is driven not by seeing the shark at all but by watching the barrels shot into him bob to the surface. We know where the shark is because we can see the barrels. Our imaginations does the rest. The barrels pop up then start to move. We have to guess where they are moving and where they’re heading.
Spielberg plays with our imaginations and fears about the shark from the very first scene with Chrissie swimming at nighttime. This vicious attack we see only from the surface — we see no blood, we see no teeth ripping into flesh — we see only her reaction to the vicious mutilation happening to her from below. We connect with our own fears from swimming at night or swimming at all of what might be swimming beneath us.
So many of us came of age on Jaws and have loved it faithfully ever since. I personally know at least four or five people who have committed the film to memory. I challenge you to try to stump me with quotes on it as I know it backwards and forwards. I think of Jaws as so much of a part of my childhood it always seems strange to me when I meet so many others who felt the same way. In a sense, the popularity of Jaws is wrapped up with that — nostalgia. But in another sense, has there ever been a better movie?
Jaws and Star Wars altered the path of summer movies forever. They were the first blockbusters. Though they didn’t really get it at the time they were the first tent poles. Imagine any film made today that waited as long on the character development as it did on the suspense. That was what the greats of the 1970s did better than any of the filmmakers today making similar films — Ridley Scott’s Alien, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist and Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. The fear was rooted in worry for the characters we had come to know so well, not so much from the horrors of what computer graphics could achieve. Because of that, there is nothing dated or embarrassing about any of these films except perhaps the effects themselves which are the only elements of these films that could be improved upon.
The two best sequences in the film are the shark attacks themselves, specifically the Alex Kintner attack, but you have to add in “Michael’s in the pond.” Both are examples of why Spielberg was one of the greatest directors. The scene is first set on a typical summer’s day. Brody is on the beach with his wife. The kids are splashing around in the water. A young man plays fetch with his dog until the dog disappears. The stick turns up but the dog doesn’t. Alex Kintner is given one more chance to swim even though his fingers are beginning to prune. Brody is on edge already because he knows there was already a shark attack that the mayor told him to quash. He sees Harry’s swim cap and thinks it might be a shark. He’s watching and nervous. Once again we see things from the shark’s point of view. We see the legs and the raft. We hear the shark’s theme. Then we get our first glimpse of the big fish — just fins and blood and a screaming child. Then the famous rack zoom shot of Brody — his worst fear confirmed. As the parents rush to the shore to rescue their children we see Brody unable to put his feet in the water. Finally, poor Mrs. Kintner is the last frantic parent on the beach — looking for her son. Finally, we see evidence of a torn up raft awash in bloody seawater.
You could go to film school on that scene (and many others in this film). The second magnificent scene is the 4th of July celebration on Amity Island. It’s the one where Brody’s own son is endangered by the shark. He builds the suspense once again with Brody’s fear. He’s on the beach but this time he has the support of law enforcement who are EVERYWHERE. Michael is told to go in the pond because the pond is supposed to be safe. “The pond’s for old ladies,” his son says. “Well do it for the old man,” Brody says. Once again Brody is trying to do the right thing but forces oppose him leaving him helpless. When a family is pressured to go in the water to set an example for the beachgoers it seems as though things might go back to normal. But no, kids prank the crowd with a fake fin creating mass chaos. Next we get a glimpse of the shark swimming and we hear the young woman shout, “The shark! In the pond!” Brody brushes it off until his wife says “Michael’s in the pond.” Yes because Brody sent him there. He begins to walk to the pond, then run, then finally he gets to the shore and this time he does go in the water to help pull his frightened son out. During this attack we see the shark — the hugeness of it (watch here for an continuity blip in the shoe being off the coach’s foot then back on). What makes the scene so powerful isn’t the shot of the shark — it’s Brody’s fear of his son being killed.
One scene after another in Jaws is top-notch directing, acting and editing. They didn’t get much better then and they certainly don’t get better now. Jaws sinks into its story, not leaning only on the first hour for suspense but driving the suspense throughout the second half, when Hooper and Quint are introduced. It succeeds because it never sacrifices the people for the thrills.
Jaws taught us all about corporate greed over public welfare. 40 years later it re-emerges in theater when corporate greed has all but choked the life out of America. It innocently set aflame our collective fears about sharks, which sadly led to their slaughter. It re-emerges now with better awareness of how to allow endangered creatures to share the planet with us.
My summer the year Jaws came out was haunted. It was haunted by the paperback cover, the movie poster and then the film. We would have gone to see it no matter if it was good or not. We probably wouldn’t have gone back to see it if we hadn’t connected so personally as we all did then and as we all do now.
Jaws was only nominated for four Oscars, Picture, Sound, Score and Editing, winning all but Picture. Spielberg, of course, was shut out. It was so much — and is so much — bigger than the Oscars. It represents some of the best American filmmaking then and now.
This was great! I was in college when both Spielberg and Lucas came on the film scene with their first blockbusters. I loved all of their films and was happy to see Oscar agreed for the most part. There are very few entertainment films today that reach the same level, and that is why I believe tent poles are not getting Oscar BP nods. It’s one blockbuster sequel after another. But Jaws has survived to 40 & is still loved. Cheers!
I still get chills when I hear that iconic theme music.
Not much to add, great piece on one of my favorite movies and one of the best movies of all time…just wanted to say how much I love the unfiltered Spielberg we get to see in the clip…I’ve seen it before and I always wonder if that one clip cost him nominations and wins later on
Go ahead. Make fun of the way I talk. lol
I think this movie is the reason I don’t know how to swim. When i was growing up nobody went in the water. You get the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard from here. So you can imagine everyone was particularly freaked out. I was too little when it came out so I saw it later on TV. Oddly enough the thing I found most impressive was the boat’s captain. He’s exactly what local fisherman are like. Uncanny.
Great piece, Sasha.
‘Jaws’ is and always will be a masterpiece, and the scenes you discuss are precisely the reason why. I still get chills when I think about the shark disappearing under the water as it heads toward the pond. The quiet calm before the attack. Just brilliant.
On a side note, what a fantastic year for cinema 1975 was. So many of my favorite movies came out in that year, and the Oscars, for the most part, got the nominations right.
1975 was one of the all-timers in both the Best Picture and Best Director category. For Picture, you had “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” as the winner, and a deserving one as one of the films of the 1970’s. The other nominees were such classics as Jaws, Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon and Barry Lyndon….admittedly, Barry Lyndon has its flaws, but that movie is so beautiful and such a technical marvel that I’m willing to overlook the fact that it could’ve/should’ve been 30-60 minutes shorter.
And the Best Director list, wow. You can definitely argue that Spielberg should’ve been nominated but it’s not like he was being snubbed in favour of some Morten Tyldum-esque nobody. The nominees that year were Forman, Altman, Kubrick, Fellini and Lumet.
Jaws is my favorite movie of all time. I watch it every year and am very excited for its small re-release for the 40th anniversary. My wife and I are getting a sitter and going to the special screening on Wednesday. It will be my first time seeing it on the big screen.
I love your writing on Jaws. You’ve written some great articles on this topic over the years and your love of it shines through. Thanks for the great article.
Marshall, I’ve definitely come to appreciate Shakespeare in Love as a great film as well. At the moment I prefer Saving Private Ryan, but Shakespeare in Love is very re-watchable. It’s a great mix or romance and comedy like you mentioned. The characters are likeable, and yes, the ending was fantastic.
Saving Private Ryan > Shakespeare in Love (Sorry Sasha)
“You see – comedy. Love, and a bit with a dog. That’s what they want.” Ryan is a technical achievement and a great war film, but for the record I’ve been on the Shakespeare side of that particular BP debate from the first moment I heard Joseph Fiennes utter “You will never age for me, nor fade, nor die” at the end. I don’t mind being in the probably infinitesimally small minority on that one.
I’ll go with Jaws, Raiders, Schindler’s, and Lincoln as the 4 Spielberg BP winners.
Thank you Ms. Stone for this article. On this film’s anniversary too many articles have focused on how the film changed the business and we’re also saturated with the legends of its making. What you’ve given here is a clear and concise article attesting to HOW and WHY the movie worked: the emergence of a genius who, in the words of Alfred Hitchcock, “is the first one of us who doesn’t see the proscenium arch.”
If I may be so bold:
http://www.stevenbenedict.ie/2015/06/jaws/
Thanks Robin. I should have realized that you’re a big fan of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest since your Avatar is Jack Nicholson. To be fair to that movie, I’ve seen it just once, and that was a few years ago. It didn’t make that big of an impression on me at the time, but it might now.
I think Spielberg’s films have been nominated for Best Picture a record 9 times, but he’s only won 1 time, for Schindler’s List. That’s a fucking joke! He should have won Best Picture for:
Raiders of the Lost Ark > Chariots of Fire
E.T. > Gandhi
Saving Private Ryan > Shakespeare in Love (Sorry Sasha)
and yes, in my current opinion:
Jaws > One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Nice one Al. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest has always been one of my very favorite films of all time, often my No.1, so can’t share the sentiment wholly. But my God what a film experience Jaws is. It might very well get better with each viewing. That might be something to do with age too. Is it like wine? Classic without any doubt,and will never age.
Was sorting my 1985 film list out today as it goes and it still astonishes me what happened to Spielberg at the Oscars that year. Coming off the back of the DGA win he was not nominated by AMPAS in spite of The Color Purple’s 11 nominations. And 0 wins. Jaws and the Oscars continue to astonish us for very different reasons.
Some great lines:
Quint: “Quit playing with yourself Hooper!”
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Hooper: “I can’t take this abuse much longer.”
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Quint: “Here lies the body of Mary Lee; died at the age of a hundred and three. For fifteen years she kept her virginity; not a bad record for this vicinity.”
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Quint: “I don’t want no mates, there’s just too many captains on this island. $10,000 for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.”
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Hooper: “I’m not going to waste my time arguing with a man who’s lining up to be a hot lunch.”
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Quint: “Here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women.”
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Brody: “It doesn’t make any sense when you pay a guy like you to watch sharks.”
Hooper: “Well, uh, it doesn’t make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island either.”
Brody: “It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.”
Hooper: “That makes a lot of sense.”
Jaws is my 2nd favorite movie of all-time. I watch it at least 2 or 3 times a year. It truly amazes me how amazing the visuals are along with that fantastic screenplay, and editing choices. In my opinion, it’s better than One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, so it should have won Best Picture, but it’s okay. At this point, it’s all about legacy anyway. Happy 40th Birthday JAWS!!!
Let’s drink to our legs…. Cheers!
I saw Jaws for the first time maybe a little over a year ago and loved it. It’s scary, entertaining, and a perfect example of what a blockbuster can and should be. Out of Spielberg’s filmography I think only Schindler’s List and E.T. are superior.
Also worth mentioning that the screenplay was snubbed in addition to Spielberg’s direction. But whatever. The movie’s presence in pop culture and film history will always be worth more than the awards it did or didn’t win.