A couple of months ago while watching TMC I saw a promo about the 40th anniversary of the release of Jaws. It stated Jaws was being shown in theaters across the country on June 21st and 24th. That piqued my interest because I love Jaws and Jaws 2 and watch them whenever they are shown on TV. I knew I wanted to go but didn't know if anyone else would be interested. I've started going to the movies by myself in the last year because the people in my life are busy. I figured since I love going to the movies I may as well go alone. I wasn't afraid to go alone, it just had always seemed like an activity that was more fun if shared with someone. But I enjoyed my first solo outing which included a lunch of Korean spicy beef soup after the movie. When I got home I told my mom that I had enjoyed myself, I was a good date and got to pick the movie and where I had lunch.
Why my fascination with Jaws? For me it isn't about the shark. It's the setting of the movie, the landscape, the technicolor, the CinemaScope (look it up) the characters, the dialogue and a glimpse into a simpler, less complicated time (well, except for hippies, drugs, assassinations, the Vietnam war, the economy, protest marches, the civil rights movement to name a few). But I had watched those events on the nightly news and living in a small town I was insulated from the impact of the turmoil happening in the world. I was in my twenties in the seventies and have fond memories of those years.
Strangely, I didn't see Jaws when it first came out. At the time there were constant news stories about people fainting in the theaters or people being left in a catatonic state. It seems silly now but I was afraid to go. Funny that I went to see The Exorcist, Carrie and Halloween. I guess I didn't really believe in supernatural stuff but the thought of a shark appearing while I was playing in the surf seemed possible.
As the date for the Jaws viewing got closer I was starting to chicken out. I thought it would be packed with young kids and teenagers since school is out. I probably wouldn't have gone except that I realized I had a hair appointment scheduled two hours before the movie started and the theater is only a few blocks from my hair salon. It was fate.
At my hair appointment that day I was telling my hairdresser about going to the movie and she gave me a kind of quizzical look. People generally have a reaction somewhere between eww and ugh when I speak fondly of Jaws. I told her I was leery about going because I thought there would be a lot of young people. She looked at me and said, "I don't think so." I realized she was right, they probably wouldn't be interested.
I arrived at the mall with time to spare and bought my ticket. I bought a coffee at Starbucks and sat down in front of the theater entrance. As I sat waiting I saw my cousin walking by and waved him down. He takes walks at the mall. We sat and talked for a while. He said he had never seen the movie but read the book. We spoke for a while then I looked at my cell, it was 1:50, ten minutes before show time. I stood up said my goodbyes and took the escalator to the theater.
I was directed to theater 16. As I entered I noticed most of the people in the sparsely-filled seats were around my age. There were a few younger people and maybe a child or two. I didn't see any teenagers. Their bad.
The lights dimmed then darkness. The screen filled with color and soon the familiar ominous sequence of notes that generate terror to anyone who has ever seen the movie. Da-Dum...Da-Dum...Da-DumDa-DumDa-Dum. I was in heaven, I think I actually smiled. There is nothing like seeing a film on the big screen.
I watched as if seeing it for the first time. There were scenes I didn't recognize and dialogue I didn't recall. I felt like it was 1975 and this was the first showing. The audience was with me as they gasped with fear at shocking scenes or laughed with delight at the interplay of characters.
I got a kick out of watching the chief type his report of the shark attack on a typewriter. Mostly everyone in the film smoked, that's how it was then. And of course there was a little weed passed around by teenagers at a beach party, it was 1975 after all. At one point they couldn't reach someone because there was no phone. We're talking land lines of course.
Despite the intentional horror of the movie there are other elements such as the heart-rending scene in which the mother of the child killed by the shark slaps the chief for not warning people of the first attack. The chief knows he did advise the town officials but he feels responsible anyway. There is the touching scene at the dinner table when the chief's youngest child mimics his every move. The chief asks the boy to "give us a kiss," the boy asks, "why?" The chief says, "cause I need it." The poignancy in the voice of Shark killer Quint as he tells the story of the lives lost during the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.
But most enjoyable for me are the many funny moments in a film described as horror/thriller. Quint had an arrogant attitude with a flippant delivery. He would launch into a verse of Spanish Ladies as his way to dismiss the incompetency around him. He sang "Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women."
Chief Brody had a couple of memorable lines. After the great white almost overturns the boat carrying the shark-hunting threesome, he says, "You're gonna need a bigger boat." When he is trying to shoot the tank in the shark's mouth he says, "Smile you son of a bitch."
But my favorite is Richard Dreyfuss. As oceanographer Matt Hooper his acerbic one liners add a light and witty touch to a scary and sometimes gruesome film. Upon his arrival there are some men in a small boat who are going after the shark. The chief asks Hooper to tell the men to get out of the boat because it's overloaded. When Hooper relays Brody's message they basically tell him to buzz off. He turns away and says, "ha ha ha, they're all gonna die." Later when the chief and his deputy are discussing how to handle the carloads of men coming to kill the shark after a reward was offered Hooper says, " 'Scuse me. You know those eight guys in the fantail launch out there? Well, none of 'em are gonna get out of the harbor alive."
Brody and Hooper both attempt to get the town mayor to close the beaches but he is adamant about keeping them open. It is the 4th of July weekend and the town relies on tourist money generated in the summer months in order to keep the town going during the off season. After a few tries at convincing the mayor Hooper turns away frustrated. He says, "I'm not going to waste my time arguing with a man who's lining up to be a hot lunch."
During the showing I saw a young woman running to the exit. It crossed my mind that she was running because she didn't want to miss any of the movie. She came back in a few minutes, empty handed, running back to her seat. I guessed she went to the restroom but I think I was right about her not wanting to miss any of the movie.
One scene began at the beach with an obese woman in a bathing suit walking to the water. Someone in the audience snickered. Fat is the one thing about which people don't feel the need to be politically correct. Well, at least only one person laughed.
When the movie ended the audience clapped, myself included. I'd always wanted to clap at the end of a movie but didn't want to be the only one. The credits began to roll and no one got up to leave. Near the end of the credits a few people got up but it wasn't until the screen faded to black and the theater lights came on that the rest of us stood up. What is it about this movie? I've tried to explain why I like it so much but I was glad to find out that I am not the only one.
I noticed in the TV listings that Jaws is showing this weekend. Yeah, you guessed I am recording it.
Test.
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