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Jaws

linkster

By linkster,
in Film, TV & Radio

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zy

zy

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Posted
I can't help thinking that a lot of sharks have been killed as a result of the fear this film generated.

This same irritation occurred to me last night, but on reflection I had to come to a slightly different conclusion. Sharks didn't exactly have a good press before the movie. They were always killers of the deep in Boy's Own adventure stories and the comic books I read before Jaws came along. If you watch cartoons from the 1930s-40s you'll see the familiar image of 'three fins circling' as an instant cipher for death on the seas. And according to early Bonds like Thunderball (1965) or the closing credits of Captain Scarlet (1967), sharks are the reason for packing a harpoon gun.

In the decades since Jaws, I've genuinely lost count of the number of documentaries that have all referenced the film in order to draw an audience, only to deliver the familiar message that few sharks are man-eaters or even capable of such and incidences are very rare. Is there anyone on this forum who hasn't seen such a documentary? And I bet plenty of those programmes can owe their commissioning to the success of Jaws.

Yes, I'm pretty sure I recall a glut of shark-killing immediately after the film, but I also think it sparked a new level of awareness and desire for understanding in the generations since. All of them clued up on sharkfax.

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linkster

linkster

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Yes. But if I'd have seen the film when young then I'd probably see it through rose tinted glasses too.

Yes he shark did look fake, but thats not the point I'm referring to. It wasn't scary and the storyline was pretty poor. 3 men in a boat attaching barrels to a shark...blah blah....

Jaws was more funny than anything else. Scheiders constant mentioning of a bigger boat was the best :(

It was scary, and that's not rose tinted glasses - cinema has moved on, naturally those scares now look quite quaint, but they had massive impact then. You're right, I find it funny too, but laughing with it, not at it - the direction and narrative is flawless. As said before, it's about the people more than the shark, and the various group dynamics (policeman, expert, wife; policeman, mayor, coroner; policeman, grieving mother; policeman, expert, nutcase boat captain) are just brilliant.

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The Ass Festival

The Ass Festival

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You can also pick up the Jaws 2, 3 and 4 box set for £7.49.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B...4889878-5366803

£2.50 a film? What a steal. Well, maybe if they had bonus features, which I'm guessing they don't. When I was younger and didn't appreciate all the little nuances that set Spielberg's film apart from the sequels, I thought they were all good fun. Seriously :)

I particularly liked the concept of Jaws 3, with the underwater 'Sea world' complex - I remember thinking how exciting it was when the shark broke into it. You can't get back that kind of naivety, sadly.

Deep Blue Sea was the best Jaws sequel that never was.

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Wickedkitten

Wickedkitten

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I saw a documentary lately called Anatomy of a shark bite that was excellent, it basically had to do with Great White's and Tiger sharks and they constructed a mechanical shark to do bite testing on, pretty interesting as well is the actual book Jaws. I used to be quite interested in Shark and Crocodile Attacks and it's a shame that they never made a movie about the latter that is up on the same level as Jaws.

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SeanR

SeanR

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I love Jaws and have seen Jaws 2, 3 and 4. I thought Jaws 3 was OK, and thought Jaws 4 was awful, but I cannot remember a single thing about Jaws 2.

Was Jaws 2 any good, and what happened in it?

It's

the one where the Orca gets washed up on the beach with the big bite

the shark attacks the boating party and the the helicopter, and gets electrocuted at the end

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/sharksonfilm/Jaws2.htm

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Commander Jameson

Commander Jameson

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thebigboss said:
Was Jaws 3 the one that was also Jaws 3D ?

The 3D parts of that are SO laughable (especially without the 3D goggles) :D

←

Yes. That's the one. It's really poor, but strangely addictive. Whenever its on, I just find myself watching the whole thing. You do get to see some cool stuff (Manimal getting chomped is a particular favourite of mine), but you also get to see some really, really shoddy shark models. The worst bit is towards the end when the shark is moving really slowly towards the underwater control room. The shark model is appalling. There is a token mouth-opening towards the end of that, but that's it.

I do like the roars that the shark somehow makes. Plus, it's got Lou Gossett Jr in, so it can't be all bad.

 

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