JAWS - 40 YEARS OLD THIS WEEKEND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 0

[Darkowl]

My dad actually introduced Jaws to me when I was a kid back in the 80's. I remember getting chills from the line, "Smile, you son of a...". It's always been one of my favorite films, and will always remind me of my dad.

[Batman]

40 years old! ...

 

[NewEnglandGothic]

JAWS opened nationwide on 6/20/75.

Here's this for a coincidence. I was born on June 19th, 1975 and my initials are JWS.

[Batman]

JAWS opened nationwide on 6/20/75.

Here's this for a coincidence. I was born on June 19th, 1975 and my initials are JWS.

I thought you were 20

 

[Number 6]

Absolutely love this movie. When I first bought a DVD player and started converting over to DVDs it was one the first movies I bought. Now that I have a blu-ray player, I got the restored version on blu-ray. I haven't had a chance to re-watch it yet, but my wife and sons watched it and they were very impressed with the picture quality. They were a bit surprised at how much more of Krissy they were able to see.

 

I didn't see it in the theatre - thank goodness, I was only 3 at the time. But I do remember watching it on T.V. As much as I love the ocean and going to the coast, I can't get more than ankle deep in the surf .

 

While the death of Quint made a big impression on me as a kid, I think the part that freaks me out is the part when the swimmer is trying to help the kids get their boat started, the camera moves to a bird's-eye view and you see the shark coming up underneath him. If I ever saw that in real life I'd die of a heart attack on the spot.

 

I have to take exception with the comments that it's "slow in parts" and "dated". I guess it depends your attention span, but to me the "slow parts" are good actors giving great performances, it's a pleasure to watch. A favorite scene is when Scheider is acting (but not over-acting) drunk, sullen and depressed, slowly pealing the label from a bottle while theorizing about what the shark will do next.

 

And other than trivial things like cars and clothes, I don't see anything that excessively dates it, certainly not to the point you can't enjoy it today.

 

I did get to finally listen to the book on CD, initially was very excited about it, but as others have said, the book is VERY different. I was extremely disappointed with it. One of the few times the movie is vastly superior to the book.

 

[Unca Ben]

I didn't go to the movie when it first came out in the theaters.

Living on the beach and going into the water almost every day, seeing Jaws didn't seem like a good idea.

 

I finally watched Jaws when it was broadcast on the fairly new HBO premium cable channel.

I was working a solo shift at the South Beach Fire Station on A1A just north of Sebastian Inlet.

 

It was late afternoon, and I could see the Atlantic Ocean out the window next to the television.

That made it pretty creepy.

 

While watching the movie, I remember hoping I didn't get any rescue calls on the beach later that day.

[Junkdrawer]

I'm going tonight.

[thedude]

I'm going tonight.

 

 

(thumbs u

[DeadpoolJr.]

The interesting thing about the movie is that they released it at the same time the events started in the book, mid-June. The girl at the beginning was killed I think in the book on 15th-17th, and the boy on June 20th, the release date.

 

I actually just bought the book on amazon yesterday to without realizing it, and it is definitely nothing like the movie. A lot more character history, and stories going on. Worth the read if anyone's wondering.

 

I read the book just before the movie came out. My Uncle had one of the first copies printed with the old black dust jacket where the sharks head looked more like a bullet with teeth. I was amazed at how different the movie was from the book and even though I was afraid to go swimming I left the theatre a little bummed that Hopper did not die as he does in the book even though his character in the movie painted him in a much better light compared to the book. I was waiting for the moment that the shark gets him and Brodie "accidentally" shoots him.

He originally was going to die in the movie if I remember correctly, but after Spielberg saw the live shark footage of the cage getting destroyed he changed the -script to fit it in.

[DeadpoolJr.]

Just saw the 40th Anniversary showing at the movie theater, and it was great. It was packed with people which pleasantly surprised me. Everyone clapped , and cheered when Quint was introduced, and when the famous words "You're gonna need a bigger boat" were said.

 

I also like that for the showing they included scenes that are usually cut out that added to the experience of seeing it on the big screen.

[Junkdrawer]

The sound was very much appreciated. You just dont get that from the TV set

[thedude]

The sound was very much appreciated. You just dont get that from the TV set

 

yeah, I noticed that too, I heard lines that I'd never noticed before, like at the end when Brody is trying to shoot the tank in the shark's mouth, and he is saying "come on, blow up", It was always unintelligible to me on a stereo T.V.

[NewEnglandGothic]

I also love the sound reference to Duel, where the shark is sinking in the ocean screaming like the truck did when it goes over the cliff at the end of the Dennis Weaver opus.

[USAuPzlBxBob]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread on account that this movie is considered to be the first Summer Blockbuster.

Jaws opened on June 20, 1975 across North America on 464 screens—409 in the United States, the remainder in Canada, with a $7 million weekend and recouped its production costs in two weeks.  In just 78 days, it overtook The Godfather as the highest-grossing film at North American box offices, sailing past that picture's earnings of $86 million to become the first film to earn $100 million in US theatrical rentals.  Its initial release ultimately brought in $123.1 million in rentals.  Theatrical re-releases in 1976 and 1979 brought its total rentals to $133.4 million.

What would our upcoming summer be without Jaws in the rotation?

[NewEnglandGothic]

1 hour ago, USAuPzlBxBob said:

Thought I'd resurrect this thread

Jaws: The Revenge?  

I just bought Jaws 3 at Dollar Tree for $1. What a difference adulthood makes, as I haven't watched in 30 years.

I don't care if Richard Matheson worked on it in some level or not, its still a pale imitation of the original.

I didn't hate Jaws 2 nor did I like it too much either. Maybe it needed Spielberg and Dreyfuss to return to Amity.

[USAuPzlBxBob]

So that's where this thread is!

I thought I had posted it in The Water Cooler.

Guess I'll wait until June 20th, and start a similar thread in The Water Cooler.

Thanks for the reply; was thinking something was wrong with my posting of an old thread on the new boards.

Thought it went to the old boards, which may be around, just don't know.

[ThothAmon]

Think I saw it on my tenth birthday. 40 years ago today. 

[Bird]

9 minutes ago, ThothAmon said:

Think I saw it on my tenth birthday. 40 years ago today. 

Happy Birthday. Still traumatized I bet!

[Eclipse]

I never knew Jaws was based on something that happened at the jersey shore, and I grew up at the jersey shore. My dad worked on this movie before I was even born, he has some old pics of the sets (well they were basically pools) they built in the 70's for it.

[F For Fake]

13 hours ago, NewEnglandGothic said:

Jaws: The Revenge?  

I just bought Jaws 3 at Dollar Tree for $1. What a difference adulthood makes, as I haven't watched in 30 years.

I don't care if Richard Matheson worked on it in some level or not, its still a pale imitation of the original.

I didn't hate Jaws 2 nor did I like it too much either. Maybe it needed Spielberg and Dreyfuss to return to Amity.

Jaws 3-D has two things going for it:

1. Lea Thompson in a bikini

2. It's not Jaws IV: The Revenge

I'd say $1 is about right.

Jaws 2 is ok. Its biggest issue is that it has no reason to exist, as Jaws is a perfect film, and impossible to replicate.