"Jaws" is perhaps the greatest monster movie of all time. And there's probably less than 1 percent of it that is phony special effects. The movie is almost 33 years old and remains as fresh as the first time I saw it in 1975. The increasingly uncreative powers that be in Hollywood must be salivating at the thought of remaking it. I can hear the dimwitted discussions now.
"With CGI, we could six or seven more sharks."
"Quint's boat has to loaded with nuclear explosives, so that the last fifteen minutes is nothing but one blast after another."
"Let's get Will Smith so he can mother f*cker the shark to death."
Hopefully, none of those dialogues are happening. Because if the suits actually watched young people get exposed to this movie for the first time, they will realize that they don't need to turn it into some X Box game.
Two years ago, the magnificent Aero Theater in Santa Monica ran "Jaws" on an appropriately warm summer's Saturday night. The place was jammed and they were dragging chairs in from the manager's office to accommodate the throng. On line for my Goobers before the movie, some choice eavesdropping tipped me to the fact that several of the kids there had never seen the film. Parents were reliving their youth by scaring the bejeezus out of their offspring.
And they were. At all the appropriate scream moments, the crowd reacted on cue. It reminded me of the first time I saw "Jaws."
I actually went on its opening day. June 20, 1975. With a bunch of school chums. I even remember the venue, but I forgot the name of the theater which has long since been converted to some discount drug store befitting the Fordham Road ghetto that now surrounds it. I am betting that my good friend, Mr. Anonymous from the Barbara Judith Deluxe Furnished Apartments on Hollywood Boulevard, can illuminate us all on the specifics. It was a movie house on Fordham Road just underneath the Jerome Avenue subway. And probably the worst constructed theater ever. The place was long and rectangular. It was like watching a film down a bowling alley. The whole experience was claustrophobic. And, in hindsight, this probably contributed to why the movie worked so well right from the first frame.
Back in that day, moviegoers were not subjected to constant spoilers from the media. Beyond some glowing reviews in the Daily News, none of us knew what to expect when we sat down in those gum-laden seats. It all unfolded before us and every second was unexpected. For me, there has never been a scarier and more exhilerating film moment than when the shark makes its first appearance to Roy Scheider. Even now, when I revisit the DVD every other year or so, my heart still skips a beat when I see that sequence.
Steven Spielberg has certainly made a lot of terrific films since "Jaws." But, I will gladly argue that this is his very best storytelling in a tight, compact two hours that he can never ever surpass. Indeed, "Jaws" is the only one of his movies that is showing up on my list of favorites. Hell, even the damn trailer was an example of expert editing.
Whether you've seen "Jaws" once or 50 times, if it ever plays in a theater near you, go see it. And make sure there are plenty of kids in the audience. Because you will become one all over again.
Dinner last night: Fettuccini with garlic, broccoli, and olive oil at Miceli's prior to seeing another gem "The Grapes of Wrath" at the Egyptian.
5 comments:
You never cease to surprise me Len. I love this movie too, but I'm surprised you both picked it and it made your top ten!
Nice timing. It was obviously too much for Scheider to take.
By the way, I'm pretty sure the theater you are referring to was called the "Capri."
I know that boxy theatre well. I just can't remember its name. (The Lido?) I remember seeing Planet Of The Apes there with my mother. It was shaped like a shoebox and about as comfortable. It was bare bones moviegoing, the polar opposite of its nearby competitor, the plush Paradise.
I remember seeing Jaws in Peekskill in 1975 and the joint was jumpin'. Our trip to the Aero was a time warp revisit to one of the ultimate popcorn movies. See it in a theatre if you never have!
Let's give a plug to John Williams for the score and Dede Allen for the sharp editing. Spielberg had help. R.I.P. Roy.
Happy birthday. I missed the mailman Saturday so the card will be late.
Bibster's right again. It was the Capri. Was the Lido on the Concourse, south of the Paradise?
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