Posted on 07/05/2015 8:32:58 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Forty years ago Saturday saw the release of Jaws, an adaptation of a beach-read made by a promising but relatively untested young director, Steven Spielberg. Forty years later, Jaws‘ impact can be felt across moviegoing. The shark tale is perhaps most notable for its box-office success; Jaws became the top-grossing film of all time after its release (and did so more quickly than had its predecessors, with a marketing plan based on blanket advertising rather than a slow rollout).
Jaws, with its technical mastery and ability to manipulate the audience into fearing something that for so much of the film’s running time they could not see, was a movie that demanded to be seen as soon as one could, just like later blockbusters including Star Wars (which, two years after Jaws, replaced it at the top of the all-time box office list).
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Gosh... has it been 40 years?!! We’re getting old, Joe. I saw it again a few months ago and it is still frightening to me. Definitely a great movie!
I watched it Friday night. I missed the first 10-15 minutes.
I was a teenager the first time I saw it. Theater was packed. Sitting on the second row. The first time that shark jumped up from the water when they were trying to kill it . . . I had a fairly full large cup of soft drink that was accidentally spilled on the people in the row behind me when I jumped in my seat and my arms went up and out went the Dr. Pepper I think. haha
They didn’t yell at me or anything . . . thank goodness . . . nowadays they might have not been so nice.
“but its impact as the first true blockbuster in Hollywood history”
Evidently, this writer has never heard of Gone With the Wind (1938). I caught a little of the Today show last week and Boy George was on. Matt Lauer claimed that Boy George had changed the musical world and, therefore, the world in the 80s. Peoples’ use of mindless hyperbole when discussing entertainment knows no bounds. It is amazing.
This was the first ‘R’ rated movie I snuck in to at age 16. Boy, I got what I deserved for being dishonest, LOL! Terrifying!
My Mom gave me the book to read when I was 15 or so. She also introduced me to Stephen King about that time.
I blame her, LOL!
You’re gonna need a bigger thread.
“Jaws” invented the summer blockbuster.
I STILL cannot watch the ‘Robert Shaw being eaten by the shark’ scene to this DAY!!
When I saw it, we were vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. For weeks, no one got into the water. (maybe up to their knees for the truly brave). I remember my Mom laughing because she said when her generation saw Psycho... women were afraid to take showers (chose baths instead). Dad and Mom went on a business trip and the motel ONLY had a shower.. she made Dad stand in the doorway till she was done. :)
“Little shaking. Little tenderizing, down you go.”
THAT is the scene that still makes me jump! I know it’s coming.. try to prepare for it but still JUMP straight up like a cat. :)
I believe Robert Shaw did his great USS Indianapolis story in one take (and with a hangover).
Jaws, with its technical mastery and ability to manipulate the audience into fearing something that for so much of the film’s running time they could not see...
That is part of the accidental brilliance of Jaws. You don’t see the shark that much, but you anticipate the shark. That anticipation is often more terrifying.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.