I just watched "Jaws" for the first time

08/10/2010 | me

[BuckeyeTexan]

I know. Big Deal. Who cares? Why post a vanity about it? I don't know.

Jaws came out when I was five years old. I just watched it for the first time. I had heard that the special effects weren't that great. So I never bothered watching it. It was actually pretty decent.

I don't know about Jaws 2 - 4. Should I bother?

Did you know that Spielberg was worried Jaws would be a big failure?

[I still care]

North by Northwest is great. Of course, it has Cary Grant in it, and everything that has Cary is great.

It just came out on blu-ray, and my friends and I had a big movie night watching it. It’s got some good features too.

There is a scene in it where Cary walks up the steps to the UN. Hitchcock could not get permission to shoot Grant in the UN, so he filmed him from a laundry truck undercover.

[Rome2000]

Joseph Sargent directed it.

Stuck to TV work after that.

[chris37]

I hadn’t heard of it at all. I imagine it’s because the book may be a little bit before my time, however, after reading a brief overview of the plot, it seems like something that would be very interesting to me.

I also haven’t heard of Pillars of the Earth. I was going to be ordering a handful of Dean Koontz books from amazon, so I am going to see about adding both of these titles to that order when I place it.

I really appreciate the suggestions given to me this evening. As much as I enjoy movies, quality television shows as well as quality video games, I still believe that the book is the best way to share a good story, and when I get a good book, I cannot put it down even to sleep it seems.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Definitely. All great movies.

What about Raging Bull? I haven’t seen that one.

[Rummyfan]

I was pleasantly surprised by "There Will be Blood" from several years ago, especially considering that was a director with little or no motion picture experience. I don't know what else he's working on, but I'll be interested to see if he improves upon his maiden picture.

Same director did Boogie Nights and Magnolia.

[Rome2000]

The Critics Rave:

“I’m not sure who greenlighted this thing, but I’d bet they’re not working in the film industry anymore. Simply put, the script is awful—my seven-year-old daughter makes up better stories than this when she’s trying to avoid getting in trouble.” – Mike Bracken, Culturedose.com.

“Zero Stars…Jaws the Revenge is not simply a bad movie, but also a stupid and incompetent one…The screenplay is simply a series of meaningless episodes of human behavior, punctuated by shark attacks….” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.

“[N]aturally, the shark — the same shark — follows them, swimming all the way from Amity to the Caribbean. Unless of course he flew, which is the only way he could have gotten there in time.” — Hal Hinson, Washington Post.

“The only jaws to watch out for in this film are yours, hitting the floor.” — BBCi.

[Rummyfan]

Glad I skipped that one! Of course if Michael Caine is in it, chances are it's terrible (with the exception of ZULU and a couple Len Deighton-based thrillers from the seventies, and The Man Who Would Be King).

[Rummyfan]

Not familiar with Slaughterhouse Five?

My favorite Vonnegut novels were Cat's Cradle (bokonon and Ice-9 doncha know!) and The Sirens of Titan.

[donna]

It’s supposed to be good. I avoid boxing stories every chance I get, LOL.

[Rummyfan]

Let me add one more: One, Two, Three, James Cagney's final starring role. Set in Berlin of the early sixties, directed by Billy Wilder. Wonderfully politically incorrect by today's standards.

[BuckeyeTexan]

I still believe that the book is the best way to share a good story, and when I get a good book, I cannot put it down even to sleep it seems.

Absolutely. My idea of a relaxing vacation is me and a good book with no interruptions.

If you like Dean Koontz, check out Dan Simmons. He's better than S. King, IMHO. (And King thinks so too!) Simmons is one of the few authors who can write in multiple genres: SciFi, Horror, Thriller, Historical Fiction. He's that good. My favorite Simmons' books: The Terror, Drood, Hyperion, Summer of Night, A Winter Haunting, Song of Kali.

And if you end up liking Follet's Pillars, read all of Edward Rutherford's books. (SARUM and New York are my favorites.)

[I still care]

I watch with friends that grew up without movies. It is SO much fun bringing all the great ones over there and watching with people that have never seen ANY old movies.

I can’t go through all of them here, but here is a partial list:

The African Queen
Casablanca
The In-Laws (with Falk and Arkin)
Second Hand Lions
Tons of Cary Grant, including Father Goose and Mr Blandings Builds his Dream House
The Maltese Falcon
The Guns of Navarone
All About Eve
The LadyKillers (with Alec Guiness)
The Thin Man Movies
Casablanca
Harvey

It is absolutely a rip watching with newbies. Every other line in Casablanca, they said, “Oh, that’s where that came from!”

[Semper Mark]

"The DeNiro scenes of Godfather II are the exact scenes that my mind envisions whenever I think of this film.

They could have made an entire movie of just the early years of Vito Corleone, from Sicily to N.Y., and I would've been happy with it.

Of the first two films (my all time favorite movies) those are my favorite parts.

(I didn't care that much for "The Godfather III".)

[I still care]

Michael Caine and Robert Duval were wonderful in Secondhand Lions. It’s about two eccentric TX brothers who lived a secret, remarkable life, and have millions of dollars hidden in the barn.

I’ve never met anyone that didn’t like that movie, unless of course you are a lib and kids with guns make you nervous. :)

[BuckeyeTexan]

Haven’t read those. I’ll have to check them out. Thanks.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Good movie. Good thread. Thanks for sharing, y’all.

‘Night,
Tex

[donna]

Oh, you are so right, LOL. I love all of those. Here is one of my favorite scenes:

Mrs Blandings Chooses Paint Colors For House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZwOGVWqHAw

[skr]

The best thing to come out of J3—the BBCi review of it. The second best thing, no more Jaws’ sequels.

I wonder how many times “jumped the shark” has been used in connection with J3?

[Little Pig]

Agreed. Other than finally getting to see what real, trained Jedi could do in their prime, rather than the arthritic fight scenes from ep IV-VI, and other than the Jedi Interceptor starfighters (the ones with the TIE fighter front window) from ep III, the rest of the series was a waste, and I’d even go so far as to call it dreck.

[I Drive Too Fast]

Pillars miniseries is good so far. I have not read the book.