Yeah, this shark is on a mission lmfao!! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema FIRST TIME WATCHING JUJUTSU KAISEN Tuesday. Enjoy the day!
Please react to --- THE TOWERING INFERNO --- ....... BTW: I am one of those that have NOT gone to swim in the ocean since 1975 !!!! .... I quickly go ankle dip for a second that's ALL!!! .... An actual line from the film: "Is it true that most people attack by sharks is in 3 feet of water, about 10 feet from the beach?" ......... Marine biologist answer played by Richard Dreyfuss ....... "YES!!!!!!"
Not so fun fact: the story that Quint tells of the Indianapolis is unfortunately true. The Indianapolis was transporting the parts for the nukes dropped on Japan, so it's mission was secret and the ship was sunk on its return. Eventually survivors were rescued, but due to the top secret nature of their mission no one spoke of it. This movie was the first time that story actually was brought to public knowledge.
It's actually even worse than that. Distress calls were sent from the Indianapolis but they were ignored at several bases that received them for various reasons. Along with a screw up regarding where the ship was supposed to be meant they didn't notice it was missing for some time. The navy didn't want to admit to such a colossal screw up so they pinned the whole thing on the Indianapolis' Captain. He ended up committing suicide over it.
@@brandonvaughn7255 In addition to all that, the captain relied entirely on faulty intel regarding Japanese submarine movements, and so he wasn't zig-zagging. For that alone he must bear the full responsibility for the disaster.
@@andrewcharles459 That is what the navy claimed, but surviving crew testified that they were zig-zagging according to regulations. He also requested a destroyer escort due to the sub threat but was denied. After the war there was even testimony from the captain of the Japanese sub who said that due to weather conditions and his proximity it would have been all but impossible for his attack to be avoided.
Bear in mind, the mayor in JAWS is the one who started the whole, officials who want to ignore the danger, trope. Some other films had similar themes but JAWS did it best and made it a standard mechanism of horror films.
Great movie! Fun fact: Peter Benchley the writer of the novel the movie is based on later started regretting writing about sharks in such a sensationalistic and quite untrue way and he became an advocate for marine conservation.
Ironically it was Jaws that upped the anti in shark science. The long term benefits of Jaws has been for the positive. The Asian shark finning industry was and is far worse for sharks.
Yes, it is true. Roy Scheider overhead the line from set builders, who complained to Spielberg that the Orca was too small to properly accommodate all of the cameras necessary for the interior shots. On a side note, the Orca was the typical size of a "large" fishing boat at the time of the production. A guy like Quint would not have had a bigger boat because he was not a commercial fisherman going for large catches.
Quints death scene is a perfect example of when no music is needed. Just the audio of him struggling and panicking, then the final crunch, more than enough to give you chills and any music added would've made it less impactful.
Sadly, Quint HAD to die that way. It fit in with his vivid description of the USS Indianapolis recounting. Thus, the audience had to physically experience what he was talking about.
@@leslauner5062 In 1975, the only ratings available were G, PG, R and X (later changed to NC-17). Jaws would have qualified for PG-13, but that rating was not introduced until 1984. Also, because the movie lacked gratuitous sex or gory violence or objectionable language, it did not meet the criteria for R. Then again, there was no way it could have been G, not with Alex Kintner's death scene.
@@geordischmidt No gratuitous gory violence?...Well...Ben Gardner's severed head, and Quint's spitting up blood while being eaten alive SHOULD have qualified it for an R...but it was another era.....
There was music written for the scene. Very good music, in fact. It's on the expanded soundtrack. But as you said, the scene played just fine without it.
The line "you're gonna need a bigger boat" was totally improvised by Scheider and became one of the most famous in movie history. And that monologue delivered by Shaw is probably the best scene in the movie. What a legend!
Fun fact: the “thing that flew by his head” was an actual meteor. They caught it on film without realizing at first, but the take was great - so they kept it in. Natural magic.
Spielberg is a master, even this early in his career. He took a similar approach in E.T., where he shot a good majority of the film from E.t's vantage point. You'll notice the camera looking at waist level in many shots. It's very cool to see how much thought Spielberg includes in his movies, that's what makes him a maestro of motion pictures.
I feel it is rather the other way around - Spielberg was a master early in his career and then he progressively lost his touch. In his early days he truly was a maestro - unconventional, creative, innovative, unique, groundbreaking. His films post 1984 I find - with a few exceptions here and there - mostly generic, undistinctive and forgettable. They are usually rock solid, some even excelling at certain aspects (especially at the technical level) and I wouldn't call any of them "bad" per se (insufferable, yes, some of them) - but they are no masterpieces either. Unlike his early work.
@@catrachocolo I don't know. Past 1984 there's Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies.... I think it's more accurate to say that his brand of childhood whimsy has become less applicable to the modern zeitgeist, and he's grown more adept at handling more mature subject matter. The flair of his more fantastical work feels outdated nowadays, but he remains highly adept at handling more grounded material.
@@catrachocolo - I don't agree that The Color Purple, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln or Munich are forgettable. Spielberg decided to put away his childish things and make grown-up movies. And no one can deny that he has inspired a generation of filmmakers. I'll stack his track record against any other director, alive or dead. He's the only director that automatically gets me to spend my money.
@@catrachocolo it was very much more coincidence that his actual skill. he hated idea of jaws, was afraid of being a horror movie director and wanted to pull out, but could not. the way movie was filmed was also a coincidence - the mechanical shark was breaking all the time, he was nervous and they told him he could film it through camera - shark pov. Not to mention he is jewish and always make movies for masses about popular things at the moment - aliens - ET, dinosaurs JP, holocaust - ww2 era. He is good at what he does, but in industries where everything is decided among friends and competition is really small I do not think he is a genius rather very good craftsman. Ingenuity comes much more from J. Cameron, P. Jackson, G. Ritchie, Pedro
Jaws and Alien are both almost perfect examples of "less is more" when it comes to their creatures. Both films you feel the presence ever lingering without the visual possibly ruining the effect
I always thought the boy's mother confronting Brody was one of the most naturalistic scenes/deliveries I've ever seen. Coming from a non-actor who basically never did anything again is even more impressive.
@@thegirlinquestion I mean, some mothers or parents don't have kids until their in their 40s or older. It's harder for women, but adoption was a choice back then. I always liked how real all the people looked and felt in the movie, not like supermodels!
@@thegirlinquestion i used to wonder that, too, but then i realized that while it's odd that she's old, modern movies have us believe that everybody is gorgeous and mid 20s to early 30s. Even high school actors look in their 20s. (The most realistic i've seen is Freak and Geeks) Currently, we rarely see characters that dont have sex appeal. Jaws came from an era where casting would put normal looking people, like the old wrinkly guy in the stupid hat on the beach, the dorky town mortician that lies to brody, the dim deputy, and the annoying female business owner in the town meeting ("are you going. to. close. the. beaches?) Old mother? Yeah...an outlier. But that's part of the genius of this movie: the town, the characters, they all feel real and lived in. I've always loved the relationship between the chief and his wife "wanna get drunk and fool around?" "oh yeah." on a lazy sunday afternoon. That scene felt so natural and lived in, i could almost feel the dusk sun on the side of my face and smell the evening salt air.
The genius way the movie was shot was apparently a happy accident - Bruce, the animatronic shark wasn't working properly, so they tried to use the shark as little as possible, which resulted in some of the most suspenseful scene in movie history.
I am a child of the 80's. Here in the UK, you're never more than an hour from the sea. This movie single handedly stopped many children from learning to swim. We were petrified of going in the water. Not only the sea...buy swimming pools too. I'm laughing as I type but to the mind of a child, any deep body of water, including the 'deep end' of a pool, may have had a great white laying in wait to eat you. Another hugely influential John Williams sound track. Speaking of which, try watching this movie without sound (subtitled are ok), and you'll see how well the incidental music influences your perception of danger. Brilliant!
I had blue carpet in my room and was convinced it became the sea at night lol, I was about 6 when I saw this in the early 80s , but lucky for me my bed was my raft and my teddies were my look-outs . I was the youngest kid in my family , and because there was nearly 9 years between me and my older sister I watched a lot of things before I probably should, lol .
I used to have a phobia of the deep end of a pool my grandma used to take me to. I would only go in any water if I had goggles on because I needed to be able to get a lay of the land and make sure it was safe. To this day if I cant see what's under the water I'm swimming in I get ultra panicky.
To all who replied, thank you. My point, that's great movie making! It frightened a generation and even today, we can recall the affect it had on us. I love the movies, pure escapism. My first ever visit to the cinema - Star Wars (later IV: A new hope) Followed by The Black Hole When old enough to go without parents/chaperone, Back to the Future. I saw it 7 times, consequentive weekends. I was keen on a girl, and it was the best place for a cuddle and kiss. Memories!
@@eumaeus I, too, am an 80's kid, and somehow this movie is both responsible for my fear of and love of the water at the same time. I was a chubby kid, but a fantastic swimmer, and the water was the only place where I felt quick and graceful. Still...I always had to make sure I could see around me at all times, in the ocean, even rivers (once I found out that bull sharks could swim upriver into brackish water, that wasn't safe), lakes and swimming pools- anything bigger than a toilet bowl, basically. As an adult, I mostly feel sorry for sharks in movies, I love the ocean, would 100% go down to the depths rather than up into space. Swimming with sharks is on my bucket list. Except for bull sharks, they can go f themselves.
Sometimes I think "How the hell have you not seen this film before?". Then I remember I didn't watch Citizen Kane until I was in my late 30's. The younger you are, the more great music, films art etc you have to catch up on.
9:46 What the "24 hours is like 3 weeks" statement actually means is that for every 24 hours in which summer tourists can't go to the beach will result in a loss of 3 weeks income for the small business owners of Amity Island. Remember as the mayor said, Amity is a summer town in which all the residents' livelihoods depend solely on summer tourists, much like Cape Cod, MA or Cape May, NJ. It wasn't meant to be an exaggeration of how long a day without the beach feels.
Exactly. My older brother owned a fast food concession stand at an amusement park that was only open two weeks a year. Not only didn't he have to work the rest of the year, he put himself through university too.
@@d3l3tes00n I saw this movie like 100 times as a kid and always thought she was being dramatic as well. I think I figured it out just a few years ago.
Fun fact: the stunt performer that played Hooper as he was in the shark cage when the shark slammed into it was Dick Warlock, who also played Michael Myers in ‘Halloween II’ 6 years later.
The only part that wasn’t true was that most of the sailors died of exposure and not from shark attacks. But that’s one of the best monologues in movie history.
I saw a documentary about one of the surviving sailors and he told about the shark attacks, watching some of his crew mates being taken by sharks. It was horrific. 60 years later and he still had tears.
My first shared scream at a movie was for this one. When that head pops out, the audience screamed thinking it was the shark and then screaming again when we realized it was a head.
9:50 Her point is that closing the beach on the weekend of 4th July is like closing it for three weeks at any other time - it is the one time of the year where they make the most money.
Ok I've seen this movie a ton of times and have seen several reactions. You're the first to suggest Quint was scared/suffering from PTSD. Never thought about that but makes perfect sense. I always figured he was just being hard headed. Nice call out
One of my absolute favorite movies. The entire theme in the boat starting with the comparing of wounds and ending with the attack is an absolute masterclass in acting. The monologue that Shaw delivers is one of my favorites in cinema history.
Spielberg had such a bad experience shooting on open water during the production of this movie, that he vowed to NEVER shoot on open water again. All subsequent scenes that include the ocean in other movies of his, are all shot in a watertank. And he was offered to direct "The perfect Storm" and declined for that exact reason.
Y'know something I only realized recently, Chief Brody used Quint's rifle to blow up Hooper's air tank. So they each contributed to killing the shark. AND in the scene when Chief is saying goodbye to his wife, in-between them, in the background is the exact moment the rifle and air tank are loaded on the boat. That's some Master-level setup.
The object in the sky that flies by Roy Scheider's head was an actual shooting star. They're not too uncommon, but the chances of Spielberg catching one that clearly on film, in frame is insane.
I love that the big reason for the tension is we don’t see much of the shark which was a result of the shark not working. Had the animatronic worked like intended the whole time then Spielberg would have shown the shark way more which in hindsight might have not played the same way. This is what happens when you have a great filmmaker surrounded by a great crew and an amazing composer to create something epic.
Jaws is my favorite film of all time and is the reason why I want to become a filmmaker, so when I saw you were reacting to it I got very excited :) Keep up the great work!
There was a huge amount of tension on the set between Shaw and Dreyfuss. They didn't get along at all which might have worked out well since the characters they are portraying have that same tension between them. However, years later Dreyfuss spoke about Shaw with a ton of respect
The two of them at each other throats, but making up with each other after the Indianapolis scene sounds suspiciously like a couple of method actors letting things get out of hand. Were either method actors?
@@TheBTG88 OR...he was just being a dick to him, but since he's dead now, nobody wants to say anything negative about him, so it's more comforting to just believe he did it for noble reasons. Like...COME ON! You'd have to be a douche to even PRETEND to be a douche to someone for the amount of time it takes to shoot a movie. And that's not just during takes; it's all the time waiting around between takes, during lunch breaks, at any promotional committments... An actor's working day is long as Hell, and you have to make someone else feel like shit the entire time, just cus you believe it will make for a better movie? I don't buy it. It just sounds like typical Hollywood legend-making. It's 20X the work, for no extra money
@@ashscott6068 CLEARLY, you are not aware of all the shit actors do to make for a better movie. William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, once fired a pistol without actor Jason Miller expecting it, just to get a REAL reaction out of him instead of an acted one. People working on film do shit to get the best possible result even if it may not be "nice." You're not there to make friends.
The dolly zoom and the split diopter lens are so good in this movie! Also this was based on a book by Peter Benchley, and seeing the huge negative reaction to sharks after the movie, he became much more of a vocal, supportive activist on behalf of sharks.
@@jp3813 and all done in Verna Fields' swimming pool. Her house was put on the market maybe a year ago, a cute little bungalow in Southern California, complete with the pool that scene was filmed in AND the little sunporch where she edited the movie. I hope that the person who bought it appreciates the significant film history that occurred there.
I watched Spielberg talk about the scene when hooper was in the cage. That shark that was caught on top of the cage was real which changed the scene because hooper was supposed to die there. Pretty cool. Ron and Valerie Taylor (shark experts) invited Speilberg to Australia and film in an area where there would be great whites😂
And this is why Spielberg is such a lauded director. His vision and execution are just fantastic. You should watch the making of documentary for this film. They went through some really difficult times trying to get this made, but it's amazing to see how they achieved it all.
My father took us to the cinema on a vacation at the beach. I was like 6 years old. You can imagine that nobody enter the sea. I think I didn’t even take a shower I was so frightened. Big hug from Mexico City.
Great movie, 3 things , 1. The ideas for Jaws were based on actual events that happened in New Jersey (as mentioned in the movie) in the summer of 1916. 4 people were killed by sharks. 2. Quint is based on a real person, his name is Frank Mundus(dude is awesome, look him up), he actually caught a 4,550 lbs. Great White in 1964 off the tip of Long Island NY, with a harpoon (but hand throne , with barrels) like in the movie. Then he caught another (many years after the movie) in 1986, 3,427lbs, this one he reeled in on a fishing pole. 3. The story Quint tells about the Indianapolis sinking (being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine) in WW2 and the shark attacking the crew is 100% true.
I really like early Spielberg, especially"Jaws" and "Duel". You should react to the latter one if you haven't seen. It's a fantastic example how to make an exciting thriller on a shoestring budget. Great reaction as always.
High key I wonder what kind of movies PRIME Steven Spielberg would make today 🤔. Because he’s made more “kid-friendly” films over the years. Though I’m sure there’s people who still like some of his recent movies and there’s nothing wrong with it. Maybe it’s cause he got older and mellowed out. Or because of Schilnder’s List. I know he was REALLY shaken up by it, possibly even traumatized from what I read about his experience filming it back then. I’m not sure. 🤔
THANK YOU for being one of the first reactors I have ever seen that mentioned just how cool and clever it was of Spielberg to use the pier turning around and float back to signify that the shark was coming. That is one of my absolute favorite moments in cinema and most reactors don't give it its due credit.
20:33 -- Shooting star.. Which became a trademark of Spielberg films.. Ever since Jaws, there's been at least one in every single movie he's made.. It's like a good luck charm.
Robert Shaw did not want to do the movie, but his wife read the script and told him he had to. He recalled that the last time his wife had pushed him to do a movie was when he was offered From Russia With Love, which definitely turned out alright for him. So, he agreed to do it and after Jaws massive success he had to admit she was right again
Lee Marvin was originally offered the role. I guess his wife didn't read the script. (Though a lot of the actual script was written while they were filming.)
A few things: This movie is a masterclass in building tension and suspense. The first 2/3 of the movie is great and on it's own would be a good movie. It becomes a masterpiece in the final third when they go hunting the shark. Quint is one of the greatest movie characters ever and he is only in 1/3 of the movie. The scene where Quint questions Hooper about the shark cage is my favorite. It is memorable, funny and cleverly tells you how the end of the movie will go. Hooper goes in the cage, goes in the water and Quint never sees him again.
Great reaction. Nearly 50 years later, and having watched this film dozens and dozens and dozens of times, I STILL jump when that head floats out of the hull of that boat.
"24 Hours is like 3 weeks".. it's a summer town. They make their profit for the year in 3 months. Closing down for even a day would take a bite out of their profits. So she was basically right, for the wrong reasons.
20:24 That was a *real* shooting star captured accidentally in the shot. Works to emphasize the reality of how these characters are set alone in the theater of a living, unimaginably vast natural world.
The rod, reel, and harness are completely accurate for the time, and what big shark fishermen used. Fenwick rod with mildrum rollers, penn 16/0 reel, dacron line, and a leather and brass shoulder harness in the fighting chair.
I was 7 years old when my dad took me to see this during its original theatrical run in the summer of 1975. I loved it. Loved it! BUT, I refused to go on a boat fishing with my cousins for a looooong time after that.
From a filmmaking point of view, the innovation was shooting all the boat scenes on the actual ocean off Martha's Vineyard. And that means that every shot on the boats was handheld! The majority of it was filmed (as primary operator) by Michael Chapman, who would go on to be a leading cinematographer in his own right.
I was on Nantucket when the film opened up. Since I was too young to see it, I was really excited about the story. People were amazed at the shark and tourists were very afraid that there were dozens of sharks, just like this one, cruising around the island. Of course, the Islanders thought it was really funny. This film really started the summer movie experience. I was about 5 years younger then the girl at the beginning of the movie but I do remember it.
Now that you mention it, it may have been the very first "summer blockbuster". I can't remember an earlier one - maybe a James Bond movie, but I can't remember if they released in the summer or not.
The book is a bit different than the movie but it is also fantastic. Fun fact, I was a borderline highschool drop out and I was in a summer school reading class and the summer school teacher introduced me to the book (I was already a huge fan of the movie so I was excited to read it). This ended up igniting a passion for reading in me which went from fiction to non-fiction and I ended up going to graduate school.
"I wanted you to know that." Don't concentrate too much on the text, when the obvious subtext is that she is projecting her grief at Brodie. Best. Leo.
25:53 - That is the funniest thing anyone's ever said at the end of "Jaws"! That would have been a great ending! LOL!!!! There are countless "Jaws" reactions, this was one of the best!
That streak in the sky I’m pretty sure was just a shooting star that coincidentally made it into the shot (can’t confirm but I’m pretty sure I heard that). Makes for a 1 in a million shot, I’m sure there was no way they were leaving that out of the movie.
So many amazing backstories to this film. One of my faves was the actress who played Mrs Kittner went back to the area for a Reunion Convention...She stopped in a local restaurant and had lunch - only to discover the owner of the place played her son Alex. They actually had not seen each other since shooting the film!
This film struck a nerve with me when it was released because I lived in Florida and we went out fishing all the time. So the ocean and the boats and the sights and sounds were all familiar. The night time shots on the boat are absolutely realistic. If you’ve ever been on a boat at night with no moon or clouds. The sky is breathtaking.
Same. My best friend's dad was a commercial fisherman and we spent a ton of time either on the river or on beach. I actually am afraid of the ocean at night. It is so black and vast. I wonder if that came from this movie. I hadn't thought of that. hahah. Sunrises on the Atlantic are my favorite thing, though.
@@daffy8995 - sitting out near the jetties in our small boat at night was eerie. You’d here sounds you didn’t in the daytime and it travels a long way over the water.
There was an actual stat within a couple years after this movie coming out that shows how effective this movie was. It physically effected beach tourism all around the US and some of the world for 2 to 4 years after release.
I grew up on the Atlantic Ocean in Florida and was a teenager when this came out. It *definitely* had an effect on us! We were all a bit freaked out and did not want to go into the water. But we also had black flags that warned us of sharks in the area and were not stupid enough to go in when the black flags were up.
Classic film…. The chemistry between the three leads is excellent and also still realistic. Favourite scene is the bone chilling description when Quint tells the true story of the USS Indianapolis. Gives me goosebumps every time.
3:02 it also helps that Steven Spielberg is a phenomenal director with multiple gems and highly praised films in his name. "Back to the Future", "Saving Private Ryan", "Jurassic Park", "Men in Black", "Who framed Rodger Rabbit "- so many classics!
in the book it goes into a lot more detail about how depressed the economy in Amityville is, they rely almost entirely on the summer beachgoers from New York state for making it through the rest of the year. it also goes a lot more into the characters, Chief Brody being a barely functional alcoholic and struggling with his marriage, and Matt Hooper having an affair with Brody's wife behind his back (they knew each other in college i believe). Also Hooper dies at the end. one of the rare cases that i prefer the film to the book.
Actually, Hooper and Ellen had lunch, during which Ellen mostly asked how the old neighborhood was. I don't know why writer Peter Benchley had Hooper lying and obfuscating about the whole thing, making Brody think he and Ellen were cheating. It took up too much of the book.
@@geordischmidt no they definitely meet up at a hotel and have sex. i clearly remember it because i was so shocked, having seen the movie many times before then.
you know...i've worked in a public office and can tell you how spot on all the politics in this movie are: decisions are based on (1)money (2)public opinion. If the decisions are good for one person or the public in general.....that's a bonus, but mainly they dont happen if the money or public opinion arent appeased. Moreover, the people who work in these public offices are normal people (good and bad) just trying to keep their jobs. The mayor makes flawed decisions the same way a guy who's hungover lies about why he's late to his job at McDonalds or for the same reason we make up excuses to the police officer about why we exceed the speed limit: because people often do things to save their own butt. common self-interest. I never blamed the mayor: he's doing what people in his position do. Moreover, from HIS point of view, the Mayor only saw the shark twice, so he might have lived in that town his WHOLE life and think...."2 shark victims in 50 years....nah, we'll be fine. But...we NEED summer dollars or my voters/childhood friends lose their businesses and homes to foreclosure. " He was wrong, of course. And made the wrong decision. But he's not watching himself in a movie, WE ARE...so he's a man making rational decisions based on a lifetime of experience in a sleepy, peaceful, beautiful beach town.
20:23 That was a shooting star randomly filmed. Spielberg was already a fan of them after stargazing with his dad as a kid, but after using this cut in the movie, he started putting them in a lot of his films.
This whole "public leader more interested in the bottom line than the safety of the public" goes back to the 19th century play "An Enemy of the People", about a doctor who discovers that a town that relies on tourists for its spring waters has polluted water and the water isn't safe, and the mayor tries to get him fired.
Certainly it's a common theme with movies... Greed taking precedence over lives, but I often think it's a bit unnuanced and the greedy people are too easy to hate. I'm from a small town myself. It used to have a trainstation, 2 banks, car repainting, a mechanic, smith, grain facility, bakers, multiple hair dressers, grocery store etc. ... Now there's barely a school and a grocery store left. And evolution is simply down to more people getting cars and allowing for centralizing those things in bigger stores/factories etc. No shark attacks, toxic water or other people scaring things... But my point is that, sadly, there is also a real danger of towns dying from bad economy, which also has grave consequences for people... So I kind of understand people getting desperate and stubborn (not to the point of idiocy / maliciousness tho).
Think the shark has only 4 minutes of screen time and yet we are scared of the shark from minute one and the lack of time on the screen does not effect the film in anyway. In fact, I think it takes the film to the next level. The way Spielberg used other objects and that famous music to "show" the shark without actually seeing it was genius. That and of course......our imagination. My favourite film of all time.
This film made me fear taking baths when I was little. That being said the most scariest part of this film is Quint talking about the Indianapolis scene. Top tier acting and heard he was drunk for most of this movie. Still. Amazing. Love your reactions man. Hopefully get to see you reacting to Blade Runner at some point. Have a awesome day
I found it interesting during that shark attack at around the 8:30 mark, whenever the camera cuts it happens to occur whenever somebody passes by chief Brodie’s vision. This is giving somewhat of a POV from him cause he knows some thing bad is going to happen and he’s trying to pay attention to the the people in the water
The brilliance of John Williams’ score for this film goes far beyond the two-note motif everyone knows. For example, he uses a wide assortment of techniques in composition for the barrel chase, Quint’s monologue, and the assembly of the cage, providing cues which continue to inspire me to this day.
"... and then you hear all that high-pitched screaming... and despite all the pounding and hollering, they all come in and rip you to pieces..." The Indianapolis story is in the top 10 monologues in the history of film.
Richard Dreyfuss was very good in this. He and Robert Shaw were great together in this movie because of how Shaw was a prick at time to him on set. It helped when the two were going at it on film.
Love that dialogue scene just before the final confrontation! Also this a completely different film but I think you would love Life Of Pi if you haven't seen it already!
@@JamesVSCinema The Patreon version of the reaction should absolutely have the ten minutes you'll spend staring at the last frame of the movie trying to figure out what' what.
Fun Fact (which may have already been told) : Years after the film came out the actress that slapped Brody went into a random restaurant and saw a dish called the Alex Kittner Sandwich. After she told the waitress she had played his mom in the movie she went in the back and suddenly the owner ran out and hugged her. It turned out he was the child actor that played her son. They hadn't seen each other since the film wrapped.
This movie made it so that I never could swim at night again. I was a crazy kid who would swim anywhere anytime because we would spend the summers down the shore but after jaws shit definitely changed😳iwonder if it would be that scary if I saw it as a kid now?
Hello. First time viewer here. I was browsing for JAWS movie reactions on TH-cam and came upon your channel. You did an awesome reaction to the movie. One of my favorite classic horror movies. The scare you got from the head appearing out of the destroyed boat was the same reaction as the audiences' when JAWS first came into theaters. The whole theater had the audiences literally jumping from that scare. ^_^
This was a great reaction statement from you, James, that cracked me up: "I would get the hell off that so quickly, man... all that primal instinct would just lead me to be Michael Phelps in the water." LOL! Perfect.
The intro to this film gave me such chills and nightmares as a kid. I'm talkin fear in the pool, fear when I was in bed at night. Full on terror bro lol like a shark was gonna come out of my bathtub or somethin! True classic right here, I have endless love for this film. Cheers man, love and respect!
@@lino522 what’s a better one then? Tho I must bring this up, Mulholland Drive is up there in masterclass tension building. And if you’ve seen it then you know what I mean 🥶
@@JoJo-zd5tm let’s just state the obvious: halloween Don’t get me wrong, i still love this movie and it’s tension, but i just prefer the way the built the tension in halloween
" I love that we haven't seen this shark yet." I'm sure someone before me has mentioned that the biggest reason "Bruce" wasn't onscreen much more was because the salt water did not play well with the electronics of the shark. So Steven Spielberg had to figure out another way to build the tension and shoot his film and I think he did it very well. I saw this film when it first came out in theaters: scared the crap out of me! I've often wondered what kind of film we would have got if Bruce had worked correctly and if it would have still been as intense and amazing as this one has been.
I looove this movie. The doc turning direction in the water is so brilliant and IMO the Quint scene about the Annapolis (true story) is the best movie monologue there is. If you want to perfectly insult a politician just call him the mayor in Jaws. The first sequel is fine but don’t go any further than that.
One of Spielberg's best filmmaking lessons comes from this movie; when it was pointed out that a normal scuba tank would never "detonate" like that (a puncture in the tank might make it injure the animal considerably but not explode like a grenade), that it wasn't realistic, he explained it didn't have to be realistic, it was "believable". It was the payoff the audience would want and be satisfied by.
The very opening scene with the initial attack, the actress actually broke a rib from the rig and was attempting to get the team to stop. Which rewatching brings a different feeling to the intro
@20:35 Legend has it, that was a real meteorite that was caught on camera. Spielberg loved it so much, he often incorporates one into his other movies.
I'd love to see your reaction to a couple of Brian DePalma's films - 'Carlito's Way', which is a bit of a spiritual successor to 'Scarface', and the woefully underrated 'Body Double', which is full of film buff catnip. Hope you are doing well James!
14:02 10/10 for the most chilled out reaction to a jump scare. When I first saw il, the noise that came out of my mouth was neither male nor female, and there were scratch marks in the ceiling.
They look like brother and sister? Now, now, James. We don't all look alike. 😉 That was a meteor that went behind Chief Brody's head. A happy accident. The story borrows a lot from Moby Dick. In one story, the captain wants revenge against a giant white whale. In the other, the captain wants revenge against all sharks, and in this case it's a giant white shark. Their obsessions lead them to take unnecessary risks, and both end up being killed by what they're pursuing.
Listen. I'm a self-proclaimed horror fan, and yet I haven't seen The Shining, Halloween, Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Silence of the Lambs, The Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead... etc. So I get it, sometimes you feel like a fraud for not having seen all these infamous classic, like Indiana Jones, The Godfather, and Jaws. But you're not, you just need to catch up in your own time. Good luck to you.
True. I’m a movie buff myself but only recently watched Snatch. Awesome movie but at the time of release I just couldn’t stand all the hype and then more or less forgot about it. It happens.
@@JamesVSCinemaI'm new to your channel and have to say I'm loving reliving the 'first view' of these movies. There's a vast catalogue of incredible movie waiting for you, and us taking the journey with you. Movies, as with books create a period of escapism from daily life.
YYOO if you ever watch Halloween then please avoid any spoilers of the film. Man what I would give to see it for the first time without any outside influence 😩. Hopefully you can have an experience like this. Just wanted you to know.
There is so much about this film that I love. The story telling, the cinematography, the music, etc. And I'm pleased to say that I actually got to see the film in a cinema when it came out in '75. Film schools should make the study of Jaws (and all the problems it had behind the scenes) a mandatory class. One of my favorite stories is the filming of the Ben Gardner boat scene. SPOILER: The moment with the head was actually filmed in the swimming pool of Verna Fields, the editor of the film!
Yeah, this shark is on a mission lmfao!!
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FIRST TIME WATCHING JUJUTSU KAISEN Tuesday. Enjoy the day!
Hi, James!
If you haven't seen Jurassic Park yet, I would suggest you do it next.🦖🦕 Please?
That includes its sequels and two Jurassic World movies.
Most of The jaws Sequels are great,so if you wanna check all The 3 sequel movies,be free to do so.
Please react to --- THE TOWERING INFERNO --- ....... BTW: I am one of those that have NOT gone to swim in the ocean since 1975 !!!! .... I quickly go ankle dip for a second that's ALL!!! .... An actual line from the film: "Is it true that most people attack by sharks is in 3 feet of water, about 10 feet from the beach?" ......... Marine biologist answer played by Richard Dreyfuss ....... "YES!!!!!!"
DUDE! You _gotta_ watch *American Graffiti.* I feel like it is _your_ kinda movie!
James have you seen and or reviewed Forbidden Planet , Andromeda Strain1969-70 or Moby Dick 1956? If not I recommend Forbidden Planet as a must see
Not so fun fact: the story that Quint tells of the Indianapolis is unfortunately true. The Indianapolis was transporting the parts for the nukes dropped on Japan, so it's mission was secret and the ship was sunk on its return. Eventually survivors were rescued, but due to the top secret nature of their mission no one spoke of it. This movie was the first time that story actually was brought to public knowledge.
It's actually even worse than that. Distress calls were sent from the Indianapolis but they were ignored at several bases that received them for various reasons. Along with a screw up regarding where the ship was supposed to be meant they didn't notice it was missing for some time. The navy didn't want to admit to such a colossal screw up so they pinned the whole thing on the Indianapolis' Captain. He ended up committing suicide over it.
@@brandonvaughn7255 In addition to all that, the captain relied entirely on faulty intel regarding Japanese submarine movements, and so he wasn't zig-zagging. For that alone he must bear the full responsibility for the disaster.
@@brandonvaughn7255 It has been so long since I heard the story I forgot those details. Thank you for adding it. 😄
Well damn.
@@andrewcharles459 That is what the navy claimed, but surviving crew testified that they were zig-zagging according to regulations. He also requested a destroyer escort due to the sub threat but was denied. After the war there was even testimony from the captain of the Japanese sub who said that due to weather conditions and his proximity it would have been all but impossible for his attack to be avoided.
Bear in mind, the mayor in JAWS is the one who started the whole, officials who want to ignore the danger, trope. Some other films had similar themes but JAWS did it best and made it a standard mechanism of horror films.
The 19th century play "an Enemy of the People" started it.
And you can argue the TV movie "The Night Stalker" also did it to some degree in 1972.
Actually, I think that trope began a couple of years earlier in disaster movies like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno.
@@44excalibur - it did. But jaws did it so well that every movie thriller since has an antagonistic mayor or someone who is all about the tourism.
@@anthonymunn8633 Very good point.
Great movie!
Fun fact: Peter Benchley the writer of the novel the movie is based on later started regretting writing about sharks in such a sensationalistic and quite untrue way and he became an advocate for marine conservation.
Oh snap! That’s actually really cool!
He's also in the movie. Reporter on the beach
Yeah, he basically spent the rest of his life trying to undo the damage he did.
This, I actually knew.
Ironically it was Jaws that upped the anti in shark science. The long term benefits of Jaws has been for the positive. The Asian shark finning industry was and is far worse for sharks.
If I'm correct, the famous "We're going to need a bigger boat" line was improvised.
That’s actually super badass hahaha like all things improvised and approved
Actually the line says “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” To be fair, almost everyone remembers “we’re”. Look into the Mandela Effect.
Yes, it is true. Roy Scheider overhead the line from set builders, who complained to Spielberg that the Orca was too small to properly accommodate all of the cameras necessary for the interior shots. On a side note, the Orca was the typical size of a "large" fishing boat at the time of the production. A guy like Quint would not have had a bigger boat because he was not a commercial fisherman going for large catches.
@@DerekScottOHara I love the Mandela Effect.
Mandela effect can be explained as a psychological phenomenon (a false memory), but people get too sucked up into supernatural explanations.
Quints death scene is a perfect example of when no music is needed. Just the audio of him struggling and panicking, then the final crunch, more than enough to give you chills and any music added would've made it less impactful.
Also really makes you wonder just how this film got a "PG" rating....That guy was eaten from the feet up by a freaking shark!
Sadly, Quint HAD to die that way. It fit in with his vivid description of the USS Indianapolis recounting. Thus, the audience had to physically experience what he was talking about.
@@leslauner5062 In 1975, the only ratings available were G, PG, R and X (later changed to NC-17). Jaws would have qualified for PG-13, but that rating was not introduced until 1984. Also, because the movie lacked gratuitous sex or gory violence or objectionable language, it did not meet the criteria for R. Then again, there was no way it could have been G, not with Alex Kintner's death scene.
@@geordischmidt No gratuitous gory violence?...Well...Ben Gardner's severed head, and Quint's spitting up blood while being eaten alive SHOULD have qualified it for an R...but it was another era.....
There was music written for the scene. Very good music, in fact. It's on the expanded soundtrack. But as you said, the scene played just fine without it.
The line "you're gonna need a bigger boat" was totally improvised by Scheider and became one of the most famous in movie history. And that monologue delivered by Shaw is probably the best scene in the movie. What a legend!
Fun fact: the “thing that flew by his head” was an actual meteor. They caught it on film without realizing at first, but the take was great - so they kept it in. Natural magic.
And it got caught on screen twice.
It's animated. The scene was filmed day for night.
@@adamdallas6096 the Making of Jaws documentary shows that it’s real. Not an optical effect.
Speilberg liked it so much he then put a shooting star in all of his next movies using special effects
I always figured it was a UFO... 🛸
Robert Shaw. Unbelievable performance
Facts
One of the best monologues ever imo.
@@TheRadScientist_ You ain't wrong. Top 5 on my list.
@@TheRadScientist_ literally my all-time favorite monologue.... utterly brilliant performance
Spielberg is a master, even this early in his career. He took a similar approach in E.T., where he shot a good majority of the film from E.t's vantage point. You'll notice the camera looking at waist level in many shots. It's very cool to see how much thought Spielberg includes in his movies, that's what makes him a maestro of motion pictures.
I feel it is rather the other way around - Spielberg was a master early in his career and then he progressively lost his touch. In his early days he truly was a maestro - unconventional, creative, innovative, unique, groundbreaking. His films post 1984 I find - with a few exceptions here and there - mostly generic, undistinctive and forgettable. They are usually rock solid, some even excelling at certain aspects (especially at the technical level) and I wouldn't call any of them "bad" per se (insufferable, yes, some of them) - but they are no masterpieces either. Unlike his early work.
@@catrachocolo I don't know. Past 1984 there's Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies.... I think it's more accurate to say that his brand of childhood whimsy has become less applicable to the modern zeitgeist, and he's grown more adept at handling more mature subject matter. The flair of his more fantastical work feels outdated nowadays, but he remains highly adept at handling more grounded material.
@@catrachocolo - I don't agree that The Color Purple, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln or Munich are forgettable.
Spielberg decided to put away his childish things and make grown-up movies. And no one can deny that he has inspired a generation of filmmakers. I'll stack his track record against any other director, alive or dead. He's the only director that automatically gets me to spend my money.
@@mgeek1 what? Jurrasic park is forgettable? You just lost all credibility with me.
@@catrachocolo it was very much more coincidence that his actual skill. he hated idea of jaws, was afraid of being a horror movie director and wanted to pull out, but could not. the way movie was filmed was also a coincidence - the mechanical shark was breaking all the time, he was nervous and they told him he could film it through camera - shark pov. Not to mention he is jewish and always make movies for masses about popular things at the moment - aliens - ET, dinosaurs JP, holocaust - ww2 era. He is good at what he does, but in industries where everything is decided among friends and competition is really small I do not think he is a genius rather very good craftsman. Ingenuity comes much more from J. Cameron, P. Jackson, G. Ritchie, Pedro
Jaws and Alien are both almost perfect examples of "less is more" when it comes to their creatures. Both films you feel the presence ever lingering without the visual possibly ruining the effect
Yeah. And both had completely unnecessary cash-grab follow-ups that add nothing, but take away what's great.
I always thought the boy's mother confronting Brody was one of the most naturalistic scenes/deliveries I've ever seen. Coming from a non-actor who basically never did anything again is even more impressive.
it was good. but i always wondered why his mother was so old.
@@thegirlinquestion I mean, some mothers or parents don't have kids until their in their 40s or older. It's harder for women, but adoption was a choice back then. I always liked how real all the people looked and felt in the movie, not like supermodels!
@@jiminsjimjams9477 i understand that and not trying to be offensive but she was old
@@thegirlinquestion i used to wonder that, too, but then i realized that while it's odd that she's old, modern movies have us believe that everybody is gorgeous and mid 20s to early 30s. Even high school actors look in their 20s. (The most realistic i've seen is Freak and Geeks)
Currently, we rarely see characters that dont have sex appeal. Jaws came from an era where casting would put normal looking people, like the old wrinkly guy in the stupid hat on the beach, the dorky town mortician that lies to brody, the dim deputy, and the annoying female business owner in the town meeting ("are you going. to. close. the. beaches?)
Old mother? Yeah...an outlier. But that's part of the genius of this movie: the town, the characters, they all feel real and lived in.
I've always loved the relationship between the chief and his wife
"wanna get drunk and fool around?"
"oh yeah."
on a lazy sunday afternoon.
That scene felt so natural and lived in, i could almost feel the dusk sun on the side of my face and smell the evening salt air.
@@slchance8839 listen i don’t think every character needs to have sex appeal i’m just like why she so old
The genius way the movie was shot was apparently a happy accident - Bruce, the animatronic shark wasn't working properly, so they tried to use the shark as little as possible, which resulted in some of the most suspenseful scene in movie history.
Great happy accident indeed!
I am a child of the 80's. Here in the UK, you're never more than an hour from the sea.
This movie single handedly stopped many children from learning to swim. We were petrified of going in the water. Not only the sea...buy swimming pools too. I'm laughing as I type but to the mind of a child, any deep body of water, including the 'deep end' of a pool, may have had a great white laying in wait to eat you.
Another hugely influential John Williams sound track. Speaking of which, try watching this movie without sound (subtitled are ok), and you'll see how well the incidental music influences your perception of danger. Brilliant!
I had blue carpet in my room and was convinced it became the sea at night lol, I was about 6 when I saw this in the early 80s , but lucky for me my bed was my raft and my teddies were my look-outs . I was the youngest kid in my family , and because there was nearly 9 years between me and my older sister I watched a lot of things before I probably should, lol .
YEP ......... AS SOON AS MY TOE GOES IN THE WATER - a red light goes on at great white central .................
I used to have a phobia of the deep end of a pool my grandma used to take me to. I would only go in any water if I had goggles on because I needed to be able to get a lay of the land and make sure it was safe. To this day if I cant see what's under the water I'm swimming in I get ultra panicky.
To all who replied, thank you.
My point, that's great movie making! It frightened a generation and even today, we can recall the affect it had on us.
I love the movies, pure escapism.
My first ever visit to the cinema -
Star Wars (later IV: A new hope)
Followed by The Black Hole
When old enough to go without parents/chaperone, Back to the Future. I saw it 7 times, consequentive weekends. I was keen on a girl, and it was the best place for a cuddle and kiss.
Memories!
@@eumaeus I, too, am an 80's kid, and somehow this movie is both responsible for my fear of and love of the water at the same time. I was a chubby kid, but a fantastic swimmer, and the water was the only place where I felt quick and graceful. Still...I always had to make sure I could see around me at all times, in the ocean, even rivers (once I found out that bull sharks could swim upriver into brackish water, that wasn't safe), lakes and swimming pools- anything bigger than a toilet bowl, basically.
As an adult, I mostly feel sorry for sharks in movies, I love the ocean, would 100% go down to the depths rather than up into space. Swimming with sharks is on my bucket list.
Except for bull sharks, they can go f themselves.
Remember to vote in your local elections. The mayor in Jaws 2 is the mayor in Jaws.
Sometimes I think "How the hell have you not seen this film before?". Then I remember I didn't watch Citizen Kane until I was in my late 30's. The younger you are, the more great music, films art etc you have to catch up on.
Hahaha I’ve watched Citizen Kane muhahaha. But yes you are absolutely correct. A lot of people forget I’m 23
@@JamesVSCinema having tons of movies to catch up on is a blessing! I'd be interested to see/hear your take on Spielberg's AI
@@JamesVSCinema Wait hold up im older 😭 im 24
9:46 What the "24 hours is like 3 weeks" statement actually means is that for every 24 hours in which summer tourists can't go to the beach will result in a loss of 3 weeks income for the small business owners of Amity Island. Remember as the mayor said, Amity is a summer town in which all the residents' livelihoods depend solely on summer tourists, much like Cape Cod, MA or Cape May, NJ. It wasn't meant to be an exaggeration of how long a day without the beach feels.
Thank you!
Exactly. My older brother owned a fast food concession stand at an amusement park that was only open two weeks a year. Not only didn't he have to work the rest of the year, he put himself through university too.
I always thought she was just being dramatic lol
And a summer holiday to boot. Closing on or around July 4th, up north, in a beach town? You can't make up the money.
@@d3l3tes00n I saw this movie like 100 times as a kid and always thought she was being dramatic as well. I think I figured it out just a few years ago.
Fun fact: the stunt performer that played Hooper as he was in the shark cage when the shark slammed into it was Dick Warlock, who also played Michael Myers in ‘Halloween II’ 6 years later.
Dick Warlock.... What a great fucking name!!!
Oh and by the way, the USS Indianapolis storey, was a true story.
The only part that wasn’t true was that most of the sailors died of exposure and not from shark attacks. But that’s one of the best monologues in movie history.
I saw a documentary about one of the surviving sailors and he told about the shark attacks, watching some of his crew mates being taken by sharks. It was horrific. 60 years later and he still had tears.
The real story is so much scarier and fucked up though
My first shared scream at a movie was for this one. When that head pops out, the audience screamed thinking it was the shark and then screaming again when we realized it was a head.
The fact you remember that moment is so damn cool!
9:50 Her point is that closing the beach on the weekend of 4th July is like closing it for three weeks at any other time - it is the one time of the year where they make the most money.
Ok I've seen this movie a ton of times and have seen several reactions. You're the first to suggest Quint was scared/suffering from PTSD. Never thought about that but makes perfect sense. I always figured he was just being hard headed. Nice call out
One of my absolute favorite movies. The entire theme in the boat starting with the comparing of wounds and ending with the attack is an absolute masterclass in acting. The monologue that Shaw delivers is one of my favorites in cinema history.
So damn good!
Spielberg had such a bad experience shooting on open water during the production of this movie, that he vowed to NEVER shoot on open water again.
All subsequent scenes that include the ocean in other movies of his, are all shot in a watertank.
And he was offered to direct "The perfect Storm" and declined for that exact reason.
Y'know something I only realized recently, Chief Brody used Quint's rifle to blow up Hooper's air tank. So they each contributed to killing the shark.
AND in the scene when Chief is saying goodbye to his wife, in-between them, in the background is the exact moment the rifle and air tank are loaded on the boat.
That's some Master-level setup.
The object in the sky that flies by Roy Scheider's head was an actual shooting star. They're not too uncommon, but the chances of Spielberg catching one that clearly on film, in frame is insane.
That’s amazing! I’m glad I saw your comment
I love that the big reason for the tension is we don’t see much of the shark which was a result of the shark not working. Had the animatronic worked like intended the whole time then Spielberg would have shown the shark way more which in hindsight might have not played the same way.
This is what happens when you have a great filmmaker surrounded by a great crew and an amazing composer to create something epic.
Jaws is my favorite film of all time and is the reason why I want to become a filmmaker, so when I saw you were reacting to it I got very excited :) Keep up the great work!
Ay that’s so awesome to hear man!
"Fear of the ocean???" I was a kid when I watched this - it made me afraid of the *bathtub!!*
LMFAOOO
There was a huge amount of tension on the set between Shaw and Dreyfuss. They didn't get along at all which might have worked out well since the characters they are portraying have that same tension between them. However, years later Dreyfuss spoke about Shaw with a ton of respect
Happy they could work it out!
The two of them at each other throats, but making up with each other after the Indianapolis scene sounds suspiciously like a couple of method actors letting things get out of hand. Were either method actors?
@@TheBTG88 OR...he was just being a dick to him, but since he's dead now, nobody wants to say anything negative about him, so it's more comforting to just believe he did it for noble reasons. Like...COME ON! You'd have to be a douche to even PRETEND to be a douche to someone for the amount of time it takes to shoot a movie. And that's not just during takes; it's all the time waiting around between takes, during lunch breaks, at any promotional committments...
An actor's working day is long as Hell, and you have to make someone else feel like shit the entire time, just cus you believe it will make for a better movie? I don't buy it. It just sounds like typical Hollywood legend-making. It's 20X the work, for no extra money
@@ashscott6068 CLEARLY, you are not aware of all the shit actors do to make for a better movie. William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, once fired a pistol without actor Jason Miller expecting it, just to get a REAL reaction out of him instead of an acted one. People working on film do shit to get the best possible result even if it may not be "nice." You're not there to make friends.
@@TheBTG88 I've seen it. Dreyfuss really gets choked up talking about Shaw and meeting his granddaughter
Robert Shaw is a legend for that monologue. One of those things that raises the film to be more than just another horror flick. It's a great movie.
The dolly zoom and the split diopter lens are so good in this movie!
Also this was based on a book by Peter Benchley, and seeing the huge negative reaction to sharks after the movie, he became much more of a vocal, supportive activist on behalf of sharks.
That moment he sees the shark for the first time 0_o
The dolly zoom was Hitchcock's invention. He used for great effect in Vertigo. Spielberg perfected it in this film.
The reporter on the beach is Peter Benchley.
@@JamesVSCinema You also joke about a related shark -- but that's a premise for a later sequel
Jaws: "MOST ICONIC JUMPSCARE EVER!"
James: " Jumps out of his chair!!!"
Me: ... GOTEEM!!!!
@@saviourself687 I think he's referring to the head that pops out of the boat.
@@jp3813 and all done in Verna Fields' swimming pool. Her house was put on the market maybe a year ago, a cute little bungalow in Southern California, complete with the pool that scene was filmed in AND the little sunporch where she edited the movie. I hope that the person who bought it appreciates the significant film history that occurred there.
Oh man.....I literally watched this last night, for the first time ever in HD, and YES it looked great and stands the test of time.
I watched Spielberg talk about the scene when hooper was in the cage. That shark that was caught on top of the cage was real which changed the scene because hooper was supposed to die there. Pretty cool. Ron and Valerie Taylor (shark experts) invited Speilberg to Australia and film in an area where there would be great whites😂
You're gonna need a bigger reaction, James.
😂😂😂
And this is why Spielberg is such a lauded director. His vision and execution are just fantastic. You should watch the making of documentary for this film. They went through some really difficult times trying to get this made, but it's amazing to see how they achieved it all.
My father took us to the cinema on a vacation at the beach. I was like 6 years old. You can imagine that nobody enter the sea. I think I didn’t even take a shower I was so frightened. Big hug from Mexico City.
Hahaha the trauma this movie did is actually hilarious haha much love my friend! 🇲🇽
Great movie, 3 things ,
1. The ideas for Jaws were based on actual events that happened in New Jersey (as mentioned in the movie) in the summer of 1916. 4 people were killed by sharks.
2. Quint is based on a real person, his name is Frank Mundus(dude is awesome, look him up), he actually caught a 4,550 lbs. Great White in 1964 off the tip of Long Island NY, with a harpoon (but hand throne , with barrels) like in the movie. Then he caught another (many years after the movie) in 1986, 3,427lbs, this one he reeled in on a fishing pole.
3. The story Quint tells about the Indianapolis sinking (being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine) in WW2 and the shark attacking the crew is 100% true.
That second fun fact is WILD!! Thank you for sharing!
I really like early Spielberg, especially"Jaws" and "Duel". You should react to the latter one if you haven't seen. It's a fantastic example how to make an exciting thriller on a shoestring budget. Great reaction as always.
Appreciate that!
High key I wonder what kind of movies PRIME Steven Spielberg would make today 🤔. Because he’s made more “kid-friendly” films over the years. Though I’m sure there’s people who still like some of his recent movies and there’s nothing wrong with it. Maybe it’s cause he got older and mellowed out. Or because of Schilnder’s List. I know he was REALLY shaken up by it, possibly even traumatized from what I read about his experience filming it back then. I’m not sure. 🤔
Yep Duel is also amazing from his early career, such a simple premise for a movie but you will LOVE it, from a Directing point of view
Duel. Yes, 1000%.
The one thing that annoyed me about Duel is the dude constantly looks over his shoulder instead of his rear view mirror haha
They captured a real shooting star on film at 20:24 and kept it in the film, that's what flies across the screen
THANK YOU for being one of the first reactors I have ever seen that mentioned just how cool and clever it was of Spielberg to use the pier turning around and float back to signify that the shark was coming. That is one of my absolute favorite moments in cinema and most reactors don't give it its due credit.
The thing in the sky you noticed was a shooting star, Spielberg has added one to quite a few of his movies but this one was pure chance.
The shooting star was added on an animation stand. The scene was shot in the middle of the day. It is not being shot at night
The news reporter on the beach is Peter Benchley who wrote the book
Oh sweet!
20:33 -- Shooting star.. Which became a trademark of Spielberg films.. Ever since Jaws, there's been at least one in every single movie he's made.. It's like a good luck charm.
Robert Shaw did not want to do the movie, but his wife read the script and told him he had to. He recalled that the last time his wife had pushed him to do a movie was when he was offered From Russia With Love, which definitely turned out alright for him. So, he agreed to do it and after Jaws massive success he had to admit she was right again
Damn good wife right there!
Lee Marvin was originally offered the role. I guess his wife didn't read the script. (Though a lot of the actual script was written while they were filming.)
Unfortunate that she never got to see its success and her husband’s newfound stardom 😞. She died in 1974.
I only know him for those two roles. And he's a legend to me from those two performances alone.
@@okradiohead7430 Check him out in: A Man For All Seasons (although his part is not huge), The Sting and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
A few things:
This movie is a masterclass in building tension and suspense. The first 2/3 of the movie is great and on it's own would be a good movie. It becomes a masterpiece in the final third when they go hunting the shark.
Quint is one of the greatest movie characters ever and he is only in 1/3 of the movie.
The scene where Quint questions Hooper about the shark cage is my favorite. It is memorable, funny and cleverly tells you how the end of the movie will go. Hooper goes in the cage, goes in the water and Quint never sees him again.
The story the shark hunter tells is one of the best "some one telling a story" moment in movies
Great reaction. Nearly 50 years later, and having watched this film dozens and dozens and dozens of times, I STILL jump when that head floats out of the hull of that boat.
"24 Hours is like 3 weeks".. it's a summer town. They make their profit for the year in 3 months. Closing down for even a day would take a bite out of their profits. So she was basically right, for the wrong reasons.
20:24 That was a *real* shooting star captured accidentally in the shot. Works to emphasize the reality of how these characters are set alone in the theater of a living, unimaginably vast natural world.
Spielberg always has one in his movies.
@@TheBTG88 Not sure if they're via CGI though.
Fyi the scene was shot smack in the middle of the day. The night is created by under exposing the film and lab timing. There is no night here at all.
The rod, reel, and harness are completely accurate for the time, and what big shark fishermen used. Fenwick rod with mildrum rollers, penn 16/0 reel, dacron line, and a leather and brass shoulder harness in the fighting chair.
I grew up on the ocean and when this came out the beaches were a little less crowded for a bit. It was wonderful.
I was 7 years old when my dad took me to see this during its original theatrical run in the summer of 1975. I loved it. Loved it! BUT, I refused to go on a boat fishing with my cousins for a looooong time after that.
From a filmmaking point of view, the innovation was shooting all the boat scenes on the actual ocean off Martha's Vineyard. And that means that every shot on the boats was handheld! The majority of it was filmed (as primary operator) by Michael Chapman, who would go on to be a leading cinematographer in his own right.
I was on Nantucket when the film opened up. Since I was too young to see it, I was really excited about the story. People were amazed at the shark and tourists were very afraid that there were dozens of sharks, just like this one, cruising around the island. Of course, the Islanders thought it was really funny. This film really started the summer movie experience. I was about 5 years younger then the girl at the beginning of the movie but I do remember it.
Now that you mention it, it may have been the very first "summer blockbuster". I can't remember an earlier one - maybe a James Bond movie, but I can't remember if they released in the summer or not.
The book is a bit different than the movie but it is also fantastic. Fun fact, I was a borderline highschool drop out and I was in a summer school reading class and the summer school teacher introduced me to the book (I was already a huge fan of the movie so I was excited to read it). This ended up igniting a passion for reading in me which went from fiction to non-fiction and I ended up going to graduate school.
"I wanted you to know that." Don't concentrate too much on the text, when the obvious subtext is that she is projecting her grief at Brodie. Best. Leo.
25:53 - That is the funniest thing anyone's ever said at the end of "Jaws"! That would have been a great ending! LOL!!!! There are countless "Jaws" reactions, this was one of the best!
That streak in the sky I’m pretty sure was just a shooting star that coincidentally made it into the shot (can’t confirm but I’m pretty sure I heard that). Makes for a 1 in a million shot, I’m sure there was no way they were leaving that out of the movie.
So many amazing backstories to this film. One of my faves was the actress who played Mrs Kittner went back to the area for a Reunion Convention...She stopped in a local restaurant and had lunch - only to discover the owner of the place played her son Alex. They actually had not seen each other since shooting the film!
This film struck a nerve with me when it was released because I lived in Florida and we went out fishing all the time. So the ocean and the boats and the sights and sounds were all familiar. The night time shots on the boat are absolutely realistic. If you’ve ever been on a boat at night with no moon or clouds. The sky is breathtaking.
Same. My best friend's dad was a commercial fisherman and we spent a ton of time either on the river or on beach. I actually am afraid of the ocean at night. It is so black and vast. I wonder if that came from this movie. I hadn't thought of that. hahah. Sunrises on the Atlantic are my favorite thing, though.
@@daffy8995 - sitting out near the jetties in our small boat at night was eerie. You’d here sounds you didn’t in the daytime and it travels a long way over the water.
There was an actual stat within a couple years after this movie coming out that shows how effective this movie was. It physically effected beach tourism all around the US and some of the world for 2 to 4 years after release.
I grew up on the Atlantic Ocean in Florida and was a teenager when this came out. It *definitely* had an effect on us! We were all a bit freaked out and did not want to go into the water. But we also had black flags that warned us of sharks in the area and were not stupid enough to go in when the black flags were up.
Classic film…. The chemistry between the three leads is excellent and also still realistic. Favourite scene is the bone chilling description when Quint tells the true story of the USS Indianapolis. Gives me goosebumps every time.
3:02 it also helps that Steven Spielberg is a phenomenal director with multiple gems and highly praised films in his name. "Back to the Future", "Saving Private Ryan", "Jurassic Park", "Men in Black", "Who framed Rodger Rabbit "- so many classics!
in the book it goes into a lot more detail about how depressed the economy in Amityville is, they rely almost entirely on the summer beachgoers from New York state for making it through the rest of the year. it also goes a lot more into the characters, Chief Brody being a barely functional alcoholic and struggling with his marriage, and Matt Hooper having an affair with Brody's wife behind his back (they knew each other in college i believe). Also Hooper dies at the end. one of the rare cases that i prefer the film to the book.
Actually, Hooper and Ellen had lunch, during which Ellen mostly asked how the old neighborhood was. I don't know why writer Peter Benchley had Hooper lying and obfuscating about the whole thing, making Brody think he and Ellen were cheating. It took up too much of the book.
@@geordischmidt no they definitely meet up at a hotel and have sex. i clearly remember it because i was so shocked, having seen the movie many times before then.
@@Ladylubber i can back that up. i read their affair and was soo glad they left it out.
you know...i've worked in a public office and can tell you how spot on all the politics in this movie are: decisions are based on (1)money (2)public opinion. If the decisions are good for one person or the public in general.....that's a bonus, but mainly they dont happen if the money or public opinion arent appeased.
Moreover, the people who work in these public offices are normal people (good and bad) just trying to keep their jobs. The mayor makes flawed decisions the same way a guy who's hungover lies about why he's late to his job at McDonalds or for the same reason we make up excuses to the police officer about why we exceed the speed limit: because people often do things to save their own butt. common self-interest.
I never blamed the mayor: he's doing what people in his position do. Moreover, from HIS point of view, the Mayor only saw the shark twice, so he might have lived in that town his WHOLE life and think...."2 shark victims in 50 years....nah, we'll be fine. But...we NEED summer dollars or my voters/childhood friends lose their businesses and homes to foreclosure. "
He was wrong, of course. And made the wrong decision. But he's not watching himself in a movie, WE ARE...so he's a man making rational decisions based on a lifetime of experience in a sleepy, peaceful, beautiful beach town.
this was the first summer blockbuster movie and yes there are several shooting stars in the background of this movie
20:23 That was a shooting star randomly filmed. Spielberg was already a fan of them after stargazing with his dad as a kid, but after using this cut in the movie, he started putting them in a lot of his films.
This whole "public leader more interested in the bottom line than the safety of the public" goes back to the 19th century play "An Enemy of the People", about a doctor who discovers that a town that relies on tourists for its spring waters has polluted water and the water isn't safe, and the mayor tries to get him fired.
Certainly it's a common theme with movies... Greed taking precedence over lives, but I often think it's a bit unnuanced and the greedy people are too easy to hate.
I'm from a small town myself. It used to have a trainstation, 2 banks, car repainting, a mechanic, smith, grain facility, bakers, multiple hair dressers, grocery store etc. ... Now there's barely a school and a grocery store left.
And evolution is simply down to more people getting cars and allowing for centralizing those things in bigger stores/factories etc.
No shark attacks, toxic water or other people scaring things...
But my point is that, sadly, there is also a real danger of towns dying from bad economy, which also has grave consequences for people... So I kind of understand people getting desperate and stubborn (not to the point of idiocy / maliciousness tho).
Think the shark has only 4 minutes of screen time and yet we are scared of the shark from minute one and the lack of time on the screen does not effect the film in anyway. In fact, I think it takes the film to the next level. The way Spielberg used other objects and that famous music to "show" the shark without actually seeing it was genius. That and of course......our imagination.
My favourite film of all time.
This film made me fear taking baths when I was little. That being said the most scariest part of this film is Quint talking about the Indianapolis scene. Top tier acting and heard he was drunk for most of this movie. Still. Amazing. Love your reactions man. Hopefully get to see you reacting to Blade Runner at some point. Have a awesome day
I found it interesting during that shark attack at around the 8:30 mark, whenever the camera cuts it happens to occur whenever somebody passes by chief Brodie’s vision. This is giving somewhat of a POV from him cause he knows some thing bad is going to happen and he’s trying to pay attention to the the people in the water
The story Shaw tells about the USS Indianapolis is a true story. And talk about acting with a capital A.
The brilliance of John Williams’ score for this film goes far beyond the two-note motif everyone knows. For example, he uses a wide assortment of techniques in composition for the barrel chase, Quint’s monologue, and the assembly of the cage, providing cues which continue to inspire me to this day.
16:24 This shot right here is responsable for my deepest fear
The ocean
"... and then you hear all that high-pitched screaming... and despite all the pounding and hollering, they all come in and rip you to pieces..." The Indianapolis story is in the top 10 monologues in the history of film.
Richard Dreyfuss was very good in this. He and Robert Shaw were great together in this movie because of how Shaw was a prick at time to him on set. It helped when the two were going at it on film.
Quint's Indianapolis speech is one of the greatest monologues ever committed to film. Delivered perfectly by Robert Shaw.
Love that dialogue scene just before the final confrontation! Also this a completely different film but I think you would love Life Of Pi if you haven't seen it already!
I’ve heard of that! I’ll add that!
@@JamesVSCinema The Patreon version of the reaction should absolutely have the ten minutes you'll spend staring at the last frame of the movie trying to figure out what' what.
Fun Fact (which may have already been told) :
Years after the film came out the actress that slapped Brody went into a random restaurant and saw a dish called the Alex Kittner Sandwich. After she told the waitress she had played his mom in the movie she went in the back and suddenly the owner ran out and hugged her. It turned out he was the child actor that played her son. They hadn't seen each other since the film wrapped.
This movie made it so that I never could swim at night again.
I was a crazy kid who would swim anywhere anytime because we would spend the summers down the shore but after jaws shit definitely changed😳iwonder if it would be that scary if I saw it as a kid now?
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Hello. First time viewer here. I was browsing for JAWS movie reactions on TH-cam and came upon your channel. You did an awesome reaction to the movie. One of my favorite classic horror movies. The scare you got from the head appearing out of the destroyed boat was the same reaction as the audiences' when JAWS first came into theaters. The whole theater had the audiences literally jumping from that scare. ^_^
This was a great reaction statement from you, James, that cracked me up: "I would get the hell off that so quickly, man... all that primal instinct would just lead me to be Michael Phelps in the water." LOL! Perfect.
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The intro to this film gave me such chills and nightmares as a kid.
I'm talkin fear in the pool, fear when I was in bed at night.
Full on terror bro lol like a shark was gonna come out of my bathtub or somethin!
True classic right here, I have endless love for this film. Cheers man, love and respect!
The ultimate masterclass in building tension 🔥
I think I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that one
Super good! Was not expecting the suspense to be THIS GOOD.
@@lino522 what’s a better one then? Tho I must bring this up, Mulholland Drive is up there in masterclass tension building. And if you’ve seen it then you know what I mean 🥶
@@JoJo-zd5tm let’s just state the obvious: halloween
Don’t get me wrong, i still love this movie and it’s tension, but i just prefer the way the built the tension in halloween
@@lino522 Agreed
" I love that we haven't seen this shark yet."
I'm sure someone before me has mentioned that the biggest reason "Bruce" wasn't onscreen much more was because the salt water did not play well with the electronics of the shark. So Steven Spielberg had to figure out another way to build the tension and shoot his film and I think he did it very well. I saw this film when it first came out in theaters: scared the crap out of me! I've often wondered what kind of film we would have got if Bruce had worked correctly and if it would have still been as intense and amazing as this one has been.
I looove this movie. The doc turning direction in the water is so brilliant and IMO the Quint scene about the Annapolis (true story) is the best movie monologue there is. If you want to perfectly insult a politician just call him the mayor in Jaws. The first sequel is fine but don’t go any further than that.
Yeah... the first sequel is watchable. It's /not/a Spielberg film. The rest of the sequels don't rise to the level of "watchable".
One of Spielberg's best filmmaking lessons comes from this movie; when it was pointed out that a normal scuba tank would never "detonate" like that (a puncture in the tank might make it injure the animal considerably but not explode like a grenade), that it wasn't realistic, he explained it didn't have to be realistic, it was "believable". It was the payoff the audience would want and be satisfied by.
The very opening scene with the initial attack, the actress actually broke a rib from the rig and was attempting to get the team to stop. Which rewatching brings a different feeling to the intro
@20:35 Legend has it, that was a real meteorite that was caught on camera. Spielberg loved it so much, he often incorporates one into his other movies.
I'd love to see your reaction to a couple of Brian DePalma's films - 'Carlito's Way', which is a bit of a spiritual successor to 'Scarface', and the woefully underrated 'Body Double', which is full of film buff catnip. Hope you are doing well James!
I’ll be hitting Scarface soon!
Untouchables... Blowout...
14:02 10/10 for the most chilled out reaction to a jump scare. When I first saw il, the noise that came out of my mouth was neither male nor female, and there were scratch marks in the ceiling.
The behind the scenes drama is facinating.
real fact : this is the first movie to be considered a blockbuster and started the staple wave of summer movies success
They look like brother and sister? Now, now, James. We don't all look alike. 😉
That was a meteor that went behind Chief Brody's head. A happy accident.
The story borrows a lot from Moby Dick. In one story, the captain wants revenge against a giant white whale. In the other, the captain wants revenge against all sharks, and in this case it's a giant white shark. Their obsessions lead them to take unnecessary risks, and both end up being killed by what they're pursuing.
Easily among my top 5. I use this every semester in my intro to film and screenwriting courses.
Listen. I'm a self-proclaimed horror fan, and yet I haven't seen The Shining, Halloween, Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Silence of the Lambs, The Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead... etc.
So I get it, sometimes you feel like a fraud for not having seen all these infamous classic, like Indiana Jones, The Godfather, and Jaws. But you're not, you just need to catch up in your own time. Good luck to you.
Best comment. Appreciate the understanding! At the end of the day im having a damn good time with these films I’m finally getting too!
Beautifully put.
True. I’m a movie buff myself but only recently watched Snatch. Awesome movie but at the time of release I just couldn’t stand all the hype and then more or less forgot about it. It happens.
@@JamesVSCinemaI'm new to your channel and have to say I'm loving reliving the 'first view' of these movies. There's a vast catalogue of incredible movie waiting for you, and us taking the journey with you.
Movies, as with books create a period of escapism from daily life.
YYOO if you ever watch Halloween then please avoid any spoilers of the film. Man what I would give to see it for the first time without any outside influence 😩. Hopefully you can have an experience like this. Just wanted you to know.
There is so much about this film that I love. The story telling, the cinematography, the music, etc. And I'm pleased to say that I actually got to see the film in a cinema when it came out in '75. Film schools should make the study of Jaws (and all the problems it had behind the scenes) a mandatory class. One of my favorite stories is the filming of the Ben Gardner boat scene. SPOILER: The moment with the head was actually filmed in the swimming pool of Verna Fields, the editor of the film!
Save yourself and don’t watch the other Jaws movies lol. But if you do I will watch regardless.
Sharks just want to give us mouth hugs. Such loving creatures.