New Ears for the New Year.
Even though it's February.
For the new year I'd like to broaden the scope of New Ears toward the medium of film. An HBO showing of Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic JAWS being the catalyst for this latest urge to write, I figured that over the next few weeks I'd take the time to have my own little Spielberg Retrospective. This is as a result of a) having the time in the evenings to do such a thing, b) having not seen his classics in quite some time begs the question of how they've withstood the test of time, and c) I recently acquired a brand new Sony 46'' HDTV and really want to watch the hell out of it. [and d) I just moved into a new place, and the debt acquired from new house purchases is sure to curb my weekend spending.]
JAWS was Spielberg's big breakout onto the film scene and as such has been probably one of, if not the, highest grossing films of his career. It's a tight and suspenseful flick and one that has struck so many people where it hurts... with a fear of water. I, to this day, cannot swim comfortably in the ocean. I spent two weeks in Hawaii this past summer and while I enjoyed myself in the water playing about in the clearest of seas with crustaceans and fish and squid, there was not 5 minutes that went by where I wasn't checking my back.
We all know that Spielberg was a wunderkind of filmmaking. We all know he had technical prowess, we all know that the man knew how to work with kids. What I love about JAWS is that now, at 25 years old, after more than 100 viewings of this thing [I'm sure], there are still things I catch in it that make me more frightened than ever, that make me laugh harder, and that make me still wonder like a little boy.
First of these: probably the scariest scene in the film for me, when Brody's son Michael [played by Chris Rebello] is stuck in the water after the man in the red row boat is attacked [leg bitten off no-less]. The look on the kid's face is one of utter shock and terror. He is literally in awe of the massive beast as it swims past, undoubtedly with the lifeless body of the row boater hanging out. Also worthy of mention, this is the first time we see glimpses of the shark and it's nearly halfway through the film. This has long been considered the greatest tactic in creating suspenseful cinema... keep the audience waiting and play on their emotions, their imagination. Spielberg does it to perfection here. Plus, when we just barely see the jaws of the beast open under about a foot of water, it is absolutely frightening. It looks real. And it makes me want to cry.
Second: one of the funniest moments of the film that I haven't caught before. While the boys are all sharing war stories [literally sometimes], and Quint and Hooper are showcasing their wounds, laughing it up with drunken fervor and bravado, Brody [played perfectly by Roy Scheider] is come over with a look of yearning to be included, lifts his shirt and feels across a scar from what can be said is probably an appendix removal, then drops his shirt again in puny defeat. I had never caught this moment before, but this last time it got me giggling for a good few minutes.
Third: an effect I've wondered about ever since the beginning. When Brody decides not to fire at the beast as it swims away we're left with a close-up looking up from the decks into his face. In the background a shooting star is seen flying from right to left of the screen. I've always wondered if it was SFX or if the moment was just one of pure magical luck. That's what I want to believe. I've searched the internets all day and can honestly say that no one knows for sure. On HBO's version it looks animated. On my DVD it looks real. Spielberg has claimed it both ways, and fans across the net have noted it as a 'berg trait in many of his classic films.
I suppose we'll never know for sure, but I'll keep hoping that it was just happenstance. It's more enjoyable that way.
For the new year I'd like to broaden the scope of New Ears toward the medium of film. An HBO showing of Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic JAWS being the catalyst for this latest urge to write, I figured that over the next few weeks I'd take the time to have my own little Spielberg Retrospective. This is as a result of a) having the time in the evenings to do such a thing, b) having not seen his classics in quite some time begs the question of how they've withstood the test of time, and c) I recently acquired a brand new Sony 46'' HDTV and really want to watch the hell out of it. [and d) I just moved into a new place, and the debt acquired from new house purchases is sure to curb my weekend spending.]
So here it is...
JAWS was Spielberg's big breakout onto the film scene and as such has been probably one of, if not the, highest grossing films of his career. It's a tight and suspenseful flick and one that has struck so many people where it hurts... with a fear of water. I, to this day, cannot swim comfortably in the ocean. I spent two weeks in Hawaii this past summer and while I enjoyed myself in the water playing about in the clearest of seas with crustaceans and fish and squid, there was not 5 minutes that went by where I wasn't checking my back.We all know that Spielberg was a wunderkind of filmmaking. We all know he had technical prowess, we all know that the man knew how to work with kids. What I love about JAWS is that now, at 25 years old, after more than 100 viewings of this thing [I'm sure], there are still things I catch in it that make me more frightened than ever, that make me laugh harder, and that make me still wonder like a little boy.
First of these: probably the scariest scene in the film for me, when Brody's son Michael [played by Chris Rebello] is stuck in the water after the man in the red row boat is attacked [leg bitten off no-less]. The look on the kid's face is one of utter shock and terror. He is literally in awe of the massive beast as it swims past, undoubtedly with the lifeless body of the row boater hanging out. Also worthy of mention, this is the first time we see glimpses of the shark and it's nearly halfway through the film. This has long been considered the greatest tactic in creating suspenseful cinema... keep the audience waiting and play on their emotions, their imagination. Spielberg does it to perfection here. Plus, when we just barely see the jaws of the beast open under about a foot of water, it is absolutely frightening. It looks real. And it makes me want to cry.
Second: one of the funniest moments of the film that I haven't caught before. While the boys are all sharing war stories [literally sometimes], and Quint and Hooper are showcasing their wounds, laughing it up with drunken fervor and bravado, Brody [played perfectly by Roy Scheider] is come over with a look of yearning to be included, lifts his shirt and feels across a scar from what can be said is probably an appendix removal, then drops his shirt again in puny defeat. I had never caught this moment before, but this last time it got me giggling for a good few minutes.
Third: an effect I've wondered about ever since the beginning. When Brody decides not to fire at the beast as it swims away we're left with a close-up looking up from the decks into his face. In the background a shooting star is seen flying from right to left of the screen. I've always wondered if it was SFX or if the moment was just one of pure magical luck. That's what I want to believe. I've searched the internets all day and can honestly say that no one knows for sure. On HBO's version it looks animated. On my DVD it looks real. Spielberg has claimed it both ways, and fans across the net have noted it as a 'berg trait in many of his classic films.I suppose we'll never know for sure, but I'll keep hoping that it was just happenstance. It's more enjoyable that way.
So that's it for JAWS. Next up on the agenda will be E.T. The Extraterrestrial. I've been wanting to watch that for weeks now.
Feel free to watch it sometime this weekend as well...
Next week we can all comment on it.
Feel free to watch it sometime this weekend as well...
Next week we can all comment on it.
1 comment:
I would love to watch E.T. this week.
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