Spielberg’s 1975 film is a symbol of the undeniable change that took place in international cinematography at that time. The production became one of the first blockbusters, and years later the director was hailed as one of the most important figures of the New Hollywood era. Even Alfred Hitchcock himself complimented him for “thinking beyond the visual dynamics of theatre.”
And this innovation (for those times) can be felt from the first minutes of the film. From the beginning I was sure that I was dealing with something impressive. However, I was a bit surprised to start the movie with the scene where the girl is killed by a shark. I expected the beginning to be much calmer – first we get to know the main character, and then there will be more action. But Spielberg at the start of the thick pipe served us a substitute for what we can expect later in the film.
“Jaws” is a timeless cinema not only because of breaking the rules in cinematography
As a person who does not like thrillers with elements of disaster movies, I must admit that the psychological issues that we are dealing with here drew my attention the most. The conflict of interest embodied in the film by Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider) and Mayor Amity (Murray Hamilton) is extremely universal. I immediately remembered the main plot of the series “Wielka Woda”, in which all decision-makers downplayed the comments that the hydrologist gave them. There, too, the stakes were between human life and maintaining a flawless image.
In “Jaws”, a good moment that shows the irrational nature of this situation is the scene on the beach, in which the resort’s mayor encourages, or even suggests, the frightened sunbathers to finally get into the water. The feat of daredevils has a domino effect and suddenly the ocean is swarming with thirsty vacationers. This, of course, ends tragically, and the main character of the production almost suffered directly, whose son could have been eaten by a shark. That’s when Sheriff Brody decides to take fate into his own hands and decides to end the shark once and for all.
And so, in the second part of the film, we are transferred to the boat of a certain shark hunter, Quint, accompanied by the main character and a young oceanologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss). In this character’s relationship with the owner of the boat, Spielberg once again uses a contrast in ideological issues. Both men come from different worlds. Hooper calls Quint a “working class” while the latter calls him a “college rich city boy.” Over time, they manage to find a common language, but still have another idea to get rid of the shark. There is also an important historical context in this thread that explains the ex-soldier’s bloodlust. However, the film’s ending seems to show which line of reasoning pays off, although this is in no way moralizing.
“I couldn’t forget it for two hours and think, ‘It’s just a movie'”
It was an interesting and intriguing screening, but I couldn’t have fun during this film, like most viewers of “Jaws”. The story itself seems very contrived to me. It’s hard to believe that suddenly there was a shark-psychopath who decided to kill all people who dare to enter the ocean. In fact, these fish are not that dangerous and they kill very few people. Of course, it’s an entertainment movie, and it’s based on a novel, but with all that we know now how damaging the movie was to the sharks, I couldn’t hours to forget about it and think, “It’s just a movie.”
However, those were completely different times, and the author of the novel as well as the director of the film themselves now say that if they had known the tragic consequences of their work for sharks, they would not have created them. However, ending this thought, I believe that it was worth seeing this film and experiencing Spielberg’s genius with my own eyes and ears. The music, frames and special effects deserve great recognition. I enjoy watching films made in this way much better than those full of computer-generated animations. I know that there are many mishaps related to this in production, but for the first time it didn’t catch my eye at all. The acting is also very good, and the very story of the policeman, who initially stands at the crossroads, makes this production a timeless work.
The only thing that still puzzles me is the fact that many of the families with children depicted in this film were played by actors who looked more like grandparents than the parents of these children. I have elderly parents myself, but when I went on holiday with them in early school age, they still looked like my parents, not grandparents. That’s why it caught my eye so much, and I don’t think Americans were aging much faster in the 1970s than they are now.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
