S.M. Douglas

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Tag: Jaws (page 1 of 2)

Mayor Larry Vaughn Award of the Month

Jaws is my favorite movie.  Lessons taught from Jaws are frequently applicable to today’s world. For instance, let’s consider the decision-making of the Mayor of Amity Island himself: Mr. Larry Vaughn.

What might prompt me to think of our favorite sleazy mayor? In answering that question I could easily start higher up the political food chain. However, what really prompted me to come off the bench (sorry about the lack of posts of late – life has been hectic) was something that happened last week. That being Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his decision to re-open Florida’s beaches. Let’s go to the Governor himself, who explained his justification by stating:

“I’m only trying to say that Amity is a summer town. We need summer dollars. Now, if the people can’t swim here, they’ll be glad to swim at the beaches of Cape Cod, the Hamptons, Long Island…I’m pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have in fact caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But as you can see, it’s a beautiful day, the beaches are opened, and people are having a wonderful time.”

Mayor Larry Vaughn

Whoops, wait a minute!

DeSantis was actually quoted as stating it was important for people to have outlets for getting exercise, sunshine and fresh air. “Do it in a good way. Do it in a safe way,” DeSantis said.

Chief Brody stated in response, “That doesn’t mean we have to serve them up as smörgåsbord!”

Whoops! There I go again.

Of course, this all leaves us with the real question on everyone’s mind: will the Florida Governor’s kids be on those beaches?

Jaws on the Big Screen

I’m still working my way through this year’s edition of shark week. Other than the Phelps fiasco (why must you start each season of Shark Week with such schlock, Discovery Channel), most of the episodes are quite good. I loved the early attention given to the Great Hammerhead, Mako, and Porbeagle Sharks. As I have commented before, recent seasons of Shark Week overall have been trending toward educational over sensationalism. That’s good – keep it up.

From there, and with sharks on the brain, I had no problem saying ‘yes’ when one of my friends asked me if I wanted to see Jaws at the local small-town theater. Of course I loved it (my all time favorite movie) but I also loved the experience. This fifty-plus-year old theater not only put actual butter on the popcorn but the ticket cost only three bucks – you can’t beat that! It was heartening to see quite a few teenagers and millennials in the packed theater. It’s great to know there’s a new generation of fans. Needless to say, Jaws was a huge influence on my life and my writing (with a certain police chief providing much of the inspiration for one of the leading characters from my werewolf book Apex Predator).

ARD DER WEISSE HAI (jaws), USA 1974, Regie Steven Spielberg, am Samstag (02.12.06) um 23:10 Uhr im Ersten. Brody (Roy Scheider) ist der Polizeichef des Badeortes Amity. © ARD Degeto - honorarfrei, Verwendung nur im Zusammenhang mit o. g. Sendung bei Nennung Bild: "ARD Degeto" (S2), Programmplanung und Presse (069) 1509-334 oder -335

What’s amazing is that even though I’ve seen the movie probably a hundred times on TV – it makes such a huge difference seeing it on the big screen. For instance, I just noticed that it was Old Spice Brody was dabbing on his handkerchief when he was chumming off the stern of the Orca. Or that Charlie’s ferry charges extra if you use it between 7pm and midnight – according to the sign in the background you can’t really read on TV and as seen in the film (when Brody is asking Charlie to take him over to the boy scouts and get them out of the water).

What a great movie. What a great experience. And yes, I saw Dunkirk at the IMAX big chain theater the week before (a solid effort with almost no CGI, real WWII aircraft and equipment, and some fantastic dog-fights between Spitfires and Me-109s). However, just like I support local used and new bookstores I also try and support the small town theaters that add so much to a community. I’m sure there’s quite a few of you who would agree.

BTW – if there’s anything in Jaws that didn’t catch your eye until recently please let me know. Otherwise, enjoy the behind the scenes movie pics I included with this post (and if you have any good one’s then please share).

Jaws Behind the Scenes 1 Jaws Behind the Scenes 2

Jaws Behind the Scenes Pic Jaws Cast Jaws_Behind the Scenes Pic

Twenty Things I Bet You Never Knew About The Making of Jaws

If you are a fan of the movie Jaws then you know that tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the film’s release (June 20, 1975). Last month I discussed some of the reasons Jaws may have been the greatest horror film ever as part of a follow up to a previous discussion of nature-horror films. What many people don’t know is that quite a bit of “movie magic” went into the making of Jaws.

Making of Jaws

Let’s take a look at some fun facts about the making of Jaws even hard core fans of the film might not know:

1. Peter Benchley (author of the novel Jaws) spent his summers on Nantucket (where his parents lived). Yet prior to the movie’s filming he had never set foot on Martha’s Vineyard (the location chosen for filming) even though it was literally the island next door.

2. Though Jaws Production Designer Joe Alves immediately fell in love with Martha’s Vineyard it was the island’s underwater charms that sealed the deal. The seabed off Martha’s Vineyard’s eastern shore has a flat sandy bottom crucial for deploying the platform that would move the mechanical shark they had designed.

3. Steven Spielberg was not the first choice to direct Jaws. However when the original director chosen first met with Peter Benchley and the producers he completely alienated Benchley by constantly referring to Jaws as a whale. Producer Richard Zanuck promptly turned to Spielberg, whom he had worked with on the film The Sugarland Express.

4. The mechanical shark was named “Bruce” after Steven Spielberg’s attorney Bruce Ramer.

5. Led by Casting Director Shari Rhodes, the Jaws team ended up using Martha’s Vineyard locals for the overwhelming majority of the roles in the film. In fact, other than Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton, pretty much everybody else cast in the film was a local – including all of the kids, most of the fishermen, and even Jeffrey Kramer who played Deputy Hendricks.

6. Quint’s boat, the Orca, is actually a 30 foot retired lobster boat named Warlock. The pulpit, mast, and big plate glass windows seen in the movie were all add-ons. This was much to the detriment of the vessel’s seaworthiness. The big plate glass windows were a particular no-no. A wave could easily punch right through the windows and swamp the boat. Surprisingly the Orca actually survived the filming process (a replica was produced for the sinking scenes).

7. Much of the script was reworked during principal filming (which began on May 2, 1974). Carl Gottlieb was the principal writer, but Scheider and Shaw made now legendary contributions to the script. A dozen more had a hand in creating some of the film’s best lines. For instance local resident Henry Carreiro played “Felix” in the film. During the fishing armada scene when Richard Dreyfuss (playing Hooper) asks where he can find a good restaurant Carreiro ad-libbed the line about walking straight ahead (and off the dock). Everyone laughed, and Spielberg decided to go with it. Though Spielberg takes flack for his work on Jaws, he should actually get considerable credit for creating such an open collaborative process and knowing when a good line worked no matter who it came from.

8. Local Vineyard waitress Andrea Muir “played” Chrissie’s hand during the scene when her remains are discovered on the beach. Muir spent hours laying on the beach with her hand made-up to look like it had been floating all night at sea.

9. Robert Shaw modeled Quint’s salty language and personality off two of the most colorful islanders: Craig Kingsbury and Lynn Murphy. Both played key roles in helping with production of the film. Murphy in particular was an expert sailor who time and again bailed out the production team; particularly involving the filming of the movie’s third act.

10. Roy Scheider was slapped in the face seventeen times filming the scene where he is confronted by Alex Kintner’s mother. Luckily he was a former Golden Gloves boxer and could take it.

11. The scene at the dinner table where Roy Scheider and Jay Mello (the six year old local boy playing his son) are copy catting each other initially occurred during a break in filming. Scheider brought it to Spielberg’s attention, and Spielberg liked it so much he put it in the movie.

12. The filming technique “day for night” is used to do most of the night scenes, whereby they actually film during the day but with a special filter on the camera. It was popular in the sixties and seventies, but didn’t work all that well. In Jaws it was more convincing by using techniques such as filming on overcast days and doing additional work in the lab to create the feel of night.

13. Great efforts were put into making the mechanical sharks look realistic. This included spray-painting them with a rubberized paint to make the skin like rough shark skin. The teeth were actually made out of a substance that was similar to rubber. There were two sets, one hard for biting boats and one softer for biting people. The sharks ended up quite impressive looking for the day, but obviously were lacking in many ways. I would love to see what someone could do today instead of relying on all the cartoonish CGI bullshit. Sorry for the editorializing, but sometimes creating real physical special effects works wonders for making a movie an experience. If you don’t believe me then you should go see the new Mad Max (pure movie making with almost no CGI) and then watch the new Jurassic Park (a cartoon fest).

14. Robert Shaw really was hammered off his ass for the Indianapolis scene (all three actors were drinking). And he still rocked it. The man was a genius (plus he could hold his liquor).

15. The dirty ditty sung by Quint about the lady who died at 103 and “for fifteen years she kept her virginity….not a bad record for this vicinity” came from a gravestone Robert Shaw saw in England and added into the script.

16. The guitar player on the beach at the beginning of the film is playing a stylized version of Otis Redding’s “The Dock of the Bay”.

17. The scenes shot on the sinking Orca were mostly done within one hundred yards of the beach.

18. Robert Shaw and his stunt double had to wear a special padded vest to protect themselves from the shark teeth during the filming of Quint’s demise. Though the teeth were rubber they and the jaws snapped hard enough to deliver quite a chomp.

19. Not all water scenes were shot at Martha’s Vineyard. The shark cage sequence was a composite of real sharks shot in Australia and a swimming pool in California. Ben Gardner’s boat discovery scene was also shot in the same pool, as were the scenes of the swimmer’s from below.

20. To get the sea gulls to swarm around after the shark is blown up and Brody and Hooper are kicking to shore potato chips were scattered all over the water (which apparently sea gulls love).

 

 

Was the Greatest Horror Movie Ever Really a Horror Movie?

Last month we discussed the topic of “nature-horror” and as part of that discussion the movie Jaws came up. Given we are fast approaching the forty year anniversary of the film’s release (June 20, 1975) let’s revisit one big reason why it was able to become a massive blockbuster, unlike Grizzly, Orca, Piranha, and so on….

Jaws_Movie_Poster_

First off, remember that Jaws is widely regarded as one of the best horror films ever, with the opening scene rated by Bravo as the scariest moment in film history.

People were so terrified by Jaws many spoke of being afraid to even take baths. Now some of this is hyperbole, but as a kid I more than once found myself peeking under the water in fear when in a swimming pool or lake, no less the ocean. That didn’t stop me from watching the movie over and over again. To this day it is my all-time favorite, and a huge influence on my life – including a primary reason behind my twenty plus years as a scuba diver.

When people discuss why Jaws became such a cultural phenomenon they often point to the strong cast, John William’s great score, the superb editing done by Verna Fields, the decision to leave the shark unseen for most of the movie (though this can backfire as anybody who has seen the latest Godzilla film will attest), and other such elements. But I believe there is another reason Jaws achieved the cross-over appeal most other horror flicks can only dream about; and that’s because Jaws was more than a horror movie.

Now, many of my readers will blanch at such a statement. After all what is more quintessentially horror than a giant man-eating shark laying siege to an entire town? But careful viewers of Jaws will note that it’s really two movies. The first half is an unquestionable scare fest featuring numerous gruesome deaths capped by the bloody shark attack in the estuary. The second half is more of a man versus nature adventure film. Don’t get me wrong the final act is also filled with classic horror techniques, including many “gotcha” moments to make the audience jump – plus Quint’s ghastly death. But that’s also why the film works so well where others fail.

In combining the genres of horror, adventure, and even comedic aspects Jaws connects with the viewer in ways standard horror movies struggle to emulate. The strong character development, intense pacing, and story don’t hurt either. But without blending genres as he did I seriously doubt Steven Spielberg and the immensely creative team of actors, screenwriters, editors, and so on working with him would have been able to so viscerally tap into our most primal fears. And before you say “well if mashing together different genres is the ticket to the big-time then why doesn’t everybody do it” note that doing it in a way that works is far from an easy task. One need look no further than Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name.

Sure Jaws the book was a best seller that achieved tremendous success, but when measured against the movie version it is one of the few books that comes out the loser in such comparisons. For instance, and for whatever reason (perhaps to piggyback on the Godfather’s coattails) Benchley included a mafia related sub-plot that simply did not work with the horror/adventure genre’s he tied together and Spielberg’s team improved upon. That’s why come June 20th I will plop down on my couch, dim the lights low, and not crack open my early edition hard cover copy of Jaws. Instead, and for the hundredth time, I will pop into my Blue-Ray player this all-time classic. And I will love every minute of it.

 

Nature, Horror, and 1981

Last week there was a tremendous amount of buzz about the 1981 horror movie Roar.  As I will discuss below, and if one were going to single out the best nature-horror movie of that year, it would not be Roar. But before we get to that point I just want to clarify what I mean by ‘nature-horror’.

On June 20, 1975 perhaps the greatest horror movie of all time was released – Jaws. I will have much more about Jaws in the months to come, my all-time favorite film. Jaws was immensely influential for a number of reasons. One of these being that it spawned a slew of imitators based on the concept of man eating beasts, or as referenced here: nature-horror. In the late 1970’s to early 1980’s horror fans were treated to such films as Alien (Jaws in space), Orca (Jaws as a vengeance minded killer whale), Grizzly (Jaws as a bear), Piranha (I once owned three piranha’s and other than when feeding they are actually quite tame fish), and of course Jaws II and III; as well a veritable cornucopia of lesser films (Tentacles, Barracuda, and so on….). During these years virtually every type of animal, real or imagined, was turned into a vehicle for scaring film-goers. And lions were no exception. Which brings me back to 1981 and Roar.

Directed by Tipi Hedren and Noel Marshall, Roar is famous for and promotes itself as “The Most Dangerous Film Ever Made” as seen by the official movie trailer:

Now, this is not just idle boasting. The film featured 130 big cats, including lions, tigers, jaguars, and more. During filming the cast and crew sustained 70 injuries. Many were quite severe. For instance teenage Melanie Griffith was mauled by a lion and needed facial reconstructive surgery. Director (and big cat activist) Tipi Hedren broke her leg in an accident riding an elephant, and was bitten by a lion (38 stitches). Co-Director Noel Marshal was slashed by a Cheetah, bitten on the hand by one lion, and dragged around the set by another lion. The film’s cinematographer, Jan de Bont was almost scalped by a lion. He needed 220 stitches to put his head back together. I could go on and on….

It ended up taking 11 years to make the movie (for a variety of reasons), and when it was all said and done Roar (which was ostensibly about a man living with wild animals but whose family gets attacked when they come to visit) bombed at the box office. It pulled in only $2 million even though it cost $17 million to shoot. To add insult to injury it wasn’t a good movie. Other than if you’re a Melanie Griffith fan, the only reason to see Roar is that several of the animal attacks on crew members and cast make it into the film – adding a certain authenticity to the experience.

Though Roar is currently grabbing all the attention what many forget is that in 1981 another similar and much better film was released – Savage Harvest. Taking place in drought plagued East Africa this film is about a pride of lions that attacks a family in their home.  Again pretty basic stuff, even for the nature-horror genre.

But there are a couple of things that make this movie work where Roar falls on its face. This is not to say Savage Harvest rises to the level of Jaws or Alien. The film can be schlocky at times (especially early on), but it has some genuinely frightening moments. In addition it has Tom Skerritt (Dallas from Alien). He does a commendable job of playing the family patriarch. Furthermore, the movie takes the time to craft its characters so that you actually care about what happens to them. In particular, once the lions besiege the family Savage Harvest finds it’s footing. Check it out for yourself. The entire movie is available courtesy of You Tube:

Now in discussing Roar and Savage Harvest astute readers may have clued in on something else – the year. Ah yes, here we are again in 1981. In previous posts I have visited this year because it featured two of the all-time greatest werewolf movies. Now I’m back discussing two notable nature-horror films from the same year. Could it be that 1981 was the best year ever for horror-film fans? You will just have to stay tuned, because even though I have presented strong evidence toward making that argument I am not yet finished.

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