After 'Jaws' My Tranquil Childhood Was Never The Same
I Saw Jaws First Run In A Theater As A Kid. Thank You Peter Benchley & Steven Spielberg For Gloriously Jarring & Scarring My Childhood So Wonderfully.
"I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, Chief. I'll find him for three, but I'll catch him, and kill him, for ten." - Captain Quint - Jaws
Movies are bigger when you’re a kid. Right? They just are. I don’t care how childlike - or childish - you are or think you are now, you’re no munchkin in size nor innocence anymore. Your sheer adult size and the trials you’ve prevailed through during adulthood have taken enough of a toll to make movies just not as special. Not nearly as powerful nor as life shaping.
Well, that is, for most movies. But, of course, this thrilling shark fest now at the half century mark is not most movies. Maybe it would always be thunderous to view first at any age. Maybe…
It’s in a class by itself. It’s the one that made us all afraid to go back in the water - for some, it made us not want to even go anywhere near the water. Psycho made people stink from not taking showers. Jaws made the bathing suit industry hate Misters Benchley and Spielberg.
Bruce - A Shark Among Sharks
Jaws remains a truly special film in all measurable ways. Ask any fan or even casual movie goer and they’ll probably agree with my high praise. For me it’s a bit personal, and that’s a definite defining element for me, but list after list of best of films will always sport that familiar dorsal film swimming about in the top depth.
And now it’s time for celebration, as the big Great White turns 50 this year. The iconic shark has made it to the half century mark. What a wild swim we’ve taken with Bruce (Spielberg’s mechanical shark nickname) and Quint, Hooper and Chief Brody for five decades now.
Not to mention of course for launching the career of one of America’s most important filmmakers. Spielberg had already directed Duel and The Sugarland Express before, but it was this oceanic carnivore which propelled him into Hollywood’s blockbuster global stratosphere,
Call me cynical, but even watching the greatest new movie offering today never makes me feel like I did back 50 years ago watching Spielberg’s Moby Dick styled masterpiece. I must wonder though, if I could somehow blast back in time and prevent my little kid self from seeing Jaws would it prove illuminating?
A Time Travel Sunshine Scrub Of The Jawless Mind
After my temporal tinkering, would I still get the same kick I did back then seeing it with fresh scrubbed eyes today? How could I? Granted I could still see all the Jaws tributes - clones or knock-offs - and so my cinematic shark exposure would still be something inspirationally compelling. Still, I just can’t see how anything can measure up to Jaws to me now as an adult 50 years later.
Deep Blue Sea and The Shallows are two great later, modern shark romps. Both flicks quite powerful and fun, yet different enough from Spielberg’s to not even dismiss as clones - just fantastic shark focused thrillers. Jaws swims - and probably always will do so - in an ocean all its own.
National Geographic Documentary Tribute
As I write this, I’m watching the Jaws At 50 Steven Spielberg Introduction for a new National Geographic documentary on the seminal film. The doc is said to have loads of never before seen footage - along with a host of celebrities and creative luminaries such as directors Cameron Crowe and James Cameron paying homage to the terrific toothy blockbuster. It premieres on Nat Geo coming this July 10 and then will stream on Disney and Hulu the next day.
Throughout my childhood, then later highlighting my career as a Hollywood screenwriter, television shows marked my interest and really my extreme obsession. The Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Star Trek, Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Space: 1999, Battlestar Galactica, The Incredible Hulk were just some of the shows which made me a TV fan and influenced my television writing for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
Now looking back to 50 years ago, I can clearly see my big movie moment was and still is Jaws. I’ll be taking a big bite out of the shark once again this summer - probably more than a mouthful. I’ll also watch Jaws 2, which for a sequel to something so incomparable as the original, is still pretty darned satisfying.