Briare
11-05-2007, 11:52 PM
Watched this one for the first time in a few years- its one that never leave ya.
The effect Jaws has had on the film industry and the perception of its audience is perhaps greater than any in history. Credited with creating the summer blockbuster, this was only Steven Spielberg's second theatrically released film, this is still perhaps his finest film even after all of his seemingly more important efforts. The effect Jaws had on audiences has proven to have taken an unsurmountable toll on its audiences. While Psycho gave some people paranoia when taking a shower, Jaws made them afraid of the entire ocean- we must remember that our oceans cover over 70% of the earth's surface.
While horror films like Psycho and Halloween dealt with those evils that were inherantly human, Jaws is one of those rare films that takes forces which we humans cannot control- nature. Jaws has a respect for nature, an almost gaping awe [Spielberg would later use this in Jurassic Park]. Those who don't respect nature die. The teenagers partying on the beach, littering it with garbage, one of their own is taken and indeed Quint, the infamous shark hunter who only appears fleetingly during the attacks rattles on about money and giggles, cracking jokes with an almost perverse glee until we are given our first look at the shark. He dies because he is direspectful of nature, he has lived through enough years at sea that he doesn't think he needs to take precaution. He is stubborn, underestimating the shark- thinking he is above everybody else and nature because he has never been hurt by it. As seen in this film, one never gets used to nature. She is always changing- always changing and always adapting.
From the moment Brody, Hooper and Quint step into the small craft until the credits roll, Spielberg puts up suspense quite unlike I've ever seen. He doesn't let the cat out of the bag until the film is nearly 2/3's over, and this moment is characteristically masterful- the reaction by Roy Scheider, the angle of the shot, everything is nearly perfect and Spielberg manages to create the illusion that the shark looks real, even if on later shots it doesn't. It is truly one of the scariest moments on film.
The music is course as much of a character as Brody or Quint or the shark. It is first introduced in the first scene, the music bone chilling and entirely perfect for the film. In the later sections, an entirely new take is assembled, using lighter music to highlight the fact that the shark is playing with the three men, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Everything else about the movie is nearly perfect; most of the scenes on the boat are shot at angle that puts the viewer at the centre of the action. Behind Brody and Quint, sitting in a corner of the room and facing all three, looking at one when the other two are speaking, and Spielberg seems to especially enjoy focusing on Roy Scheider who has the most expressive face of anybody on the cast. His face seems a gage in all of the most intense situations throughout the film and even as an inexperience director, Spielberg seems to know how to create a truly chilling image. The juxtaposition of the sun setting on the first night in the boat leaving the trio to start singing songs in a sort of calm before the storm and perhaps none more so than a man and woman hold hands with their children and walk down the beach toward the water, almost as if walking toward death.
The effect Jaws has had on the film industry and the perception of its audience is perhaps greater than any in history. Credited with creating the summer blockbuster, this was only Steven Spielberg's second theatrically released film, this is still perhaps his finest film even after all of his seemingly more important efforts. The effect Jaws had on audiences has proven to have taken an unsurmountable toll on its audiences. While Psycho gave some people paranoia when taking a shower, Jaws made them afraid of the entire ocean- we must remember that our oceans cover over 70% of the earth's surface.
While horror films like Psycho and Halloween dealt with those evils that were inherantly human, Jaws is one of those rare films that takes forces which we humans cannot control- nature. Jaws has a respect for nature, an almost gaping awe [Spielberg would later use this in Jurassic Park]. Those who don't respect nature die. The teenagers partying on the beach, littering it with garbage, one of their own is taken and indeed Quint, the infamous shark hunter who only appears fleetingly during the attacks rattles on about money and giggles, cracking jokes with an almost perverse glee until we are given our first look at the shark. He dies because he is direspectful of nature, he has lived through enough years at sea that he doesn't think he needs to take precaution. He is stubborn, underestimating the shark- thinking he is above everybody else and nature because he has never been hurt by it. As seen in this film, one never gets used to nature. She is always changing- always changing and always adapting.
From the moment Brody, Hooper and Quint step into the small craft until the credits roll, Spielberg puts up suspense quite unlike I've ever seen. He doesn't let the cat out of the bag until the film is nearly 2/3's over, and this moment is characteristically masterful- the reaction by Roy Scheider, the angle of the shot, everything is nearly perfect and Spielberg manages to create the illusion that the shark looks real, even if on later shots it doesn't. It is truly one of the scariest moments on film.
The music is course as much of a character as Brody or Quint or the shark. It is first introduced in the first scene, the music bone chilling and entirely perfect for the film. In the later sections, an entirely new take is assembled, using lighter music to highlight the fact that the shark is playing with the three men, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Everything else about the movie is nearly perfect; most of the scenes on the boat are shot at angle that puts the viewer at the centre of the action. Behind Brody and Quint, sitting in a corner of the room and facing all three, looking at one when the other two are speaking, and Spielberg seems to especially enjoy focusing on Roy Scheider who has the most expressive face of anybody on the cast. His face seems a gage in all of the most intense situations throughout the film and even as an inexperience director, Spielberg seems to know how to create a truly chilling image. The juxtaposition of the sun setting on the first night in the boat leaving the trio to start singing songs in a sort of calm before the storm and perhaps none more so than a man and woman hold hands with their children and walk down the beach toward the water, almost as if walking toward death.