A Celebration of the Jaws Series
Watch out Brody, Bruce is creeping up on you!
Introduction
Seeing as it is National Shark Week in the USA, and also apparently here in the UK, I thought to myself, what better time than to revisit one of my favourite film series, I'm talking about Jaws of course!
To say that I like the Jaws series would be a serious understatement. I don't just like it, I absolutely love it. Yes, that includes the mixed bag of sequels too!
So what I thought I would do is just write a little blog sharing my love for all four of the films in the series, the good, the bad, and the very ugly!
Jaws 3-D has a memorable ending for all the wrong reasons!
Jaws - The Greatest Film of All Time?
The first film in the Jaws series is completely sacred in my opinion. It is literally the holy grail of filmmaking. To my mind, not many films come remotely close to it.
Why do I feel this strongly about it? Oh so many reasons! Firstly, the director. This film would never have happened if it wasn't for the fantasic crew led by the creative mind of Steven Spielberg. Universal Studios took a big gamble on the young up-and-coming director, who many called crazy, for such directive decisions like shooting on the ocean instead of studio water tanks. Safe to say, the gamble most definitely paid off.
Young Steven Spielberg taking a break from filming with Bruce!
One of the biggest things I have to compliment Spielberg on is how he worked around the many behind the scenes issues, of which most prominent was a malfunctioning shark, Bruce as he was affectionately known by the cast and crew. The large shark animatronic was initially supposed to feature a lot more prominently in the film, however, as the shark barely worked, Spielberg had to use his creative techniques to show tension on screen. In my mind, some of the best scenes are when you can't physically see the shark but you know it is indeed hidden in the depths, the scene with the chasing broken pier comes to mind. Anyway, what a director! He certainly went to do some pretty special things, didn't he!
The moment that pier turns around, you know you're in trouble!
Though many would quite rightly say that the real star of the show is the shark, I would disagree. For me, the real stars of the film are the three male leads, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss. A lot of films boast good casts but Jaws is really exceptional in the fact that all three male leads are just as good as each other. If I was pushed, I would argue that Robert Shaw as Quint just has the slight edge over the other two. Male leads aside, the supporting cast are also fantastic, particularly Murray Hamilton as the despicable Mayor of Amity.
Shaw, Scheider and Dreyfuss. The ultimate dream team!
It wouldn't be a discussion on Jaws without mentioning the truly iconic musical score by the maestro that is John Williams. The main theme is so iconic that many people who haven't even seen the film know what it is from. That iconic theme really is an awesome piece of music, yet, it is so incredibly simple. In fact, it's so simple that when John Williams first played it for Steven Spielberg, he thought that it was a joke. I guess it was a blessing in disguise, as that oh so simple theme would help John Williams pick up the Oscar for Best Original Score.
John Williams, the Mozart of our generation!
So that's just a little bit about the first film in the series. Let's get to the sequels, because you know what, I do believe that they deserve some love!
Jaws 2 - Just When You Thought It Was Safe...
Jaws truly was a box office smash. In fact, it was so successful that it is quite often cited as being the first real big Summer box office blockbuster. In the world of Hollywood, box office success normally leads to studio executives wanting sequels. Jaws was no exception of course. However, Steven Spielberg simply wasn't interested, as in his mind he had already made the definitive shark film.
The film would end up comprising of a mostly new cast and crew, as well as some returning faces from the first film, most noticeably Roy Scheider as Chief Brody. I truly believe that the film would have been a complete failure without the fantastic Scheider as Brody, who always oozes charisma on screen. Interestingly, Scheider didn't actually want to do the film but he was under contract by Universal Studios, so had no choice but to do it.
Roy Scheider totally makes Jaws 2 all the more enjoyable!
The film itself is quite a departure from it's predecessor. Gone is all the suspense and tension created by Spielberg. Jaws 2 takes a more 'in your face' approach, and in all honesty, it does actually work for the film. Released in 1978, when many horror films were now beginning to showcase violence, it could be argued that Jaws 2 is actually a slasher horror itself, with the shark picking off the characters as Michael Myers would in Halloween. This film does indeed have some of the best 'kills' of the series. After all, that's why we watch the Jaws films, for the death scenes, right?
Now that's definitely going to hurt!
Jaws 3-D, or Jaws 3, depending on which version you're watching, is definitely a film that in my mind had so much potential to be a great sequel. The film's setting at SeaWorld Orlando was such a great location but it ended up being wasted. The story just ended up being very lacklustre. This wasn't helped by it's script, which is why I can't really slate the actors, as there was only so much they could do with the scripts they were given. One of the funniest things that came out of the film was reading that Dennis Quaid was high on cocaine in nearly every single scene he was in. Still, Quaid and the rest of the cast (including a pre-Back To The Future Lea Thompson) somehow make the film worth watching.
Lea Thompson and John Putch wondering what they're doing in this film!
The biggest problem for the film is rather ironically the fact that it was made for 3-D. Now in the 1980s, 3-D films were quite the gimmick and would draw hefty audiences to cinemas. Strangely, studio executives thought that a new Jaws film would be the perfect fit for a 3-D film. Why? God only knows! They definitely proved to be wrong, very wrong!
3-D films require a lot of hard work and they did so even more back in the 1980s. With gimmicks needed to wow audiences, practical special effects had to suffer. Most of the special effects for Jaws 3-D were re-shot, and if you're ever lucky enough to see the originals, I think you'd agree that we could have had a much better film. The final product of special effects had a cartoon feel to them, which really takes you out of the film, the submarine scenes are particularly jarring. However, the ending scene with the shark has become synonymous for just how bad the 3-D effects look. It really is THAT bad! I must say though, the animatronic shark in this film was arguably one of the best in the series. Still, at least it didn't do something as outlandish as roaring. Oh wait a minute, I know a film where a shark roars...
Jaws: The Revenge - Do Sharks Hold A Grudge?
You're gonna hear me roar! Just like Katy Perry!
Yes, the final film in the Jaws series does indeed feature a roaring shark! I mean at this point, studio executives were clearly off their faces and didn't give a shit about the intelligence of film audiences. The title itself "The Revenge" is just so god damned cringy that it's actually laughable. Still, the last entry in the Jaws series does get some love from me. Why? Because it's a contender for the best 'So Bad It's Good' film!
The basic premise of the film is that a shark is picking off the Brody family one by one. Hm, almost sounds like the slasher style of Jaws 2! Oh no, this film is nowhere near the quality of Jaws 2! Returning from the first two films is Lorraine Gary as the now paranoid Ellen Brody. Maybe most surprisingly in the cast is everyone's favourite cockney, Michael Caine! The funniest thing I ever read about Michael Caine's involvement was that he never saw the film after it was made, however, he did see the house that his salary from the film built, and it was lovely! What a legend!
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner!
The film's semi-decent cast can't detract from just how bad the script is. Yes, it's even worse than the previous film! The other problem is it's special effects. While there's no 3-D gimmicks in this one, the animatronic shark can actually be seen in a couple of scenes with it's mechanisms on show, and no one wants to see a shark's modesty like that! Potentially the saving grace with the film is that the hammy acting makes it a good laugh. It does also feature one great kill scene too, I'm talking about the infamous banana boat scene!
All he wanted was just a tasty little snack!
Now if you thought the ending of Jaws 3-D was bad, I would argue that Jaws: The Revenge has an equally bad (if not worse) ending! The film actually has two different endings depending on which version of the film you are watching, and both are pretty terrible. This is the scene where the shark roars it's head off like Simba on Pride Rock. In one version, the shark is pierced to death by a boat, in the other, it is blown up. The effects in both versions really are a joke. Perhaps the strangest part of these endings is when Ellen Brody has a flashback of Chief Brody blowing up the shark in the first Jaws film. I mean, how the hell can a character have a flashback of an event they weren't even there for! Oh well, I guess that is yet another part of what made this the final nail in the coffin for the Jaws franchise.
Conclusion - The Shark Is Still Working
As I've already stated, the first Jaws film is an undisputed classic. In a world where a majority of people love the world of film, I think it's safe to say that most people like Jaws, heck, many love it like I do, and I'm sure there are others out there who like the sequels too.
With the dawn of social media, it is still clear to see that Jaws has a big effect on society. You've only got to see a short video of a shark on Facebook and someone would have overdubbed it with the Jaws theme. That's just one example of the everlasting power of Jaws. It is a true piece of film history. It's sequels, maybe not so. Still, there was never gonna be a sequel that could better the first film. Let's just keep everything crossed that no one will ever attempt to remake the first film. Nobody wants to see that. Never, ever!
We couldn't have done it without you Steven and Bruce!
So for now, I would just like to thank every single person who worked on the whole Jaws series, because it has played a very big part in my love for film and it always will.
Michael
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