When summer comes around, it’s time for the beach for most people. Then there are other people, like myself, who know better. We know better because we had parents that cared enough to make us watch Jaws when we were young and teach us some common sense. Sharks are in the water. Big sharks.
Most people (myself included) consider Jaws to be one of the finest films in cinema’s long and varied history. The film, released exactly 35 years ago, deserves every single second of praise it receives, but what’s most exciting about the original film from 1975 (considered one of, if not the first blockbuster movie) is how bad it could have been. Happy mistakes turned an ordinary big monster movie into the ultimate suspense experience. But we’ll get to that later. First we must discuss the history of the world’s most famous shark.
The story of Jaws originated in 1916 when the Jersey shore was terrorized by 5 shark attacks in one summer. While the actual species of shark has never been determined, it is most frequently attributed to either the Bull Shark or Great White. The entire incident has been the subject of multiple documentaries and the docudrama 12 days of Terror. However, its most infamous influence was when Peter Benchley took the story and turned it into his first novel: 1974’s Jaws.
Jaws is not a particularly good novel. Multiple readers and critics (as well as Jaws director Steven Speilberg) found the characters completely unsympathetic and claimed to have found themselves rooting for the shark to win. Multiple changes were made from the book to the screen, specifically dropping plot lines involving Chief Brody’s wife having an affair and the Mayor having mob connections (which made up over half the book) and focused the bulk of the story on a small island being terrorized by a shark.
It’s been well reported that the shooting of the original Jaws was plagued with mishaps and technical difficulties from start to finish. The movie was suppose to begin with the shark being visible in the first 10 minutes when the girl is attacked in the water. Due to technical difficulties they were forced to shoot around most of the attack scenes (including the iconic opening attack). It was the suspense and the tension born out of the unknown that moved this film to a higher emotional plane, but you also can’t also deny the general brilliance of the performances of the three leads.
Jaws opens with a girl swimming at night and being attacked and pulled underwater. It still remains one of the most infamous, terrifying moments in film history. Our hero, Chief Brody, then enters the aftermath, and despite being the chief officer of a resort island, hates the water. He immediately wants to close the beaches until the water is safe, but the Mayor does not allow it claiming that the shark has probably left already and the island needs the money from tourists.
A few days later, the shark causes the death of a young boy in front of a packed beach of swimmers and townsfolk. The Mayor reacts by sending out shark hunters, who capture and kill a shark. The shark expert that Chief Brody brings in, Matt Hooper, is not convinced the shark captured by the shark hunters is THE shark. Brody and Hooper continue to try to convince the Mayor that they MUST close down the beaches, but do not succeed.
On the fourth of July, the shark returns and takes out a local man and almost attacks Brody’s son. Finally, the Mayor has a change of heart and realizes something must be done. Brody and Hooper recruit the crazed shark hunter Quint, and the three of them set out on the ocean. For the next hour of the movie, these three characters (and the rubber shark, of course) execute classic, suspenseful, and sometimes terrifying scenes through superb acting and witty dialogue. The film concludes *SPOILER IF YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK* with Chief Brody blowing the fucking shark up! Clearly, the island is safe.
Enter Jaws 2. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, a new shark arrives. Let me start by saying this… Jaws 2 isn’t bad by sequel standards, but it is far from good. After the events of Jaws, it is confusing to me as to why the Mayor wouldn’t just accept the existence of a shark after two scuba divers disappear, and photographs of a shark appear. Regardless, the concept of a bunch of kids trapped in small boats without any way of escaping is what kept the movie exciting and moving along. And when a shark manages to eat a helicopter, you know shit is going down.
SIDE TRACK:
Now before I discuss Jaws 3-D I do want to draw attention to The Last Shark/Great White (depending what country you live in), the Italian Horror film with the worst looking shark ever. The film was released in the US for roughly a day until they were sued for Plagiarism and has never had an official US release since (although you can certainly get copies on bootleg at conventions and online). If you can get a copy of it (or find it online to watch, it’s worth watching because it makes you yell “Wow! I wish I was watching Jaws 3-D!”) definitely do so if only for camp reasons and to segue you back towards Jaws 3-D.
Seriously! Look at that fucking thing!
BACK ON TRACK:
Here we are at Jaws 3-D (or how a movie that’s probably half decent in 3-D does not work on home video at all). I have never had the honor of seeing Jaws 3-D. I have however, seen Jaws 3 multiple times. Horror films of the 80’s were created for the new invention of 3-D (new in the sense that it had been around since the mid-50s in much better films like House of Wax) and next thing you knew all the horror greats were in 3-D Jaws, Jason, The Amityville House… well… maybe not the greats, but they were definitely horror movies (I think). The problem (or the “highlight” to some people… for example: Me) is that when you take away the 3-D elements there is still the loads of stupid (hilarious) shit being thrown towards a camera. Every time I watch Jaws 3 (which is more times than I’d like to admit to) I can’t help but feel like I could ignore the complete lunacy of the concept of a giant underwater amusement park being attacked by a 30 foot long Great White (that just so happens to have both of Chief Brody’s children as employees) and at least enjoy some fun 3-D like a floating arm, a decapitated fish head or a pair of shark jaws (they blew the shark up again) flying at the screen and have a good time.
So yeah, Jaws 3(D) was pretty bad. In fact, even the studio said… “you know what… we’re going to give you another Jaws movie and we’re going to pretend that Jaws 3 never happened at all” with Michael Caine’s Jaws 4 (as we call it around here). It was like the original Reboot. The only problem: their solution in Jaws The Revenge (the actual title) is so unbelievably bad that it makes us LONG for Jaws 3(D)! Every aspect of the movie is idiotic from expecting us to believe a shark can hold a personal vendetta towards a family, that sharks can roar or that sharks will explode if you poke them hard enough. What’s even more impressive is that the “Shark Exploding Unexplainable Ending” was the RESHOOT ending! Originally it was something MORE outrageous involving the boat ramming into the shark that was hanging out half exposed from the water (as sharks often do when they’re just chilling in the middle of a revenge mission) and it then proceeds to bleed to death and take the whole boat down with it. No, really. That was the original ending. Don’t believe me?
What originated as one of cinemas greatest achievements ended in a sad (and confusing) exploding shark (which Batman and Robin totally already did about two decades previously). Successfully, the franchise has remained dead and blown up for over 20 years, although there are rumors of a reboot just around the corner. In most cases when you hear the rumor that Tracy Morgan is being considered for Matt Hooper, you assume it’s an April Fools joke, but this is the franchise that gave us the 45-foot long roaring shark with a vengeance so be careful next time you step foot in the water (or the multiplex). That might be a movie more horrifying than the original.