Wonkette Holiday Movie Matinee: Jaws
Duuun, dun. Duuun dun.
50 years! Happy Anniversary Bruce!
Jaws was released on June 20, 1975. Opening in 409 movie theaters across the US, Bruce The Shark chewed up the competition and shredded it like that Kintner boy. (I was killed by Jaws … this is how it changed my life.) It took only 78 days for it to surpass The Godfather for highest box office gross earnings at $86 million. It would take more than three yellow barrels to stop this big fish tale.
In the summer of 1975 I had just turned 13 and oh hell yeah I was going to see this PG-rated movie that everyone was talking about. Living in Indiana we had no reference for what the ocean was like except for what we saw in films. With my group of friends, I rode my bike to the local cinema for an afternoon matinee and sat a little too close to the screen. All the jump scares and edge-of-the-seat tension had a theater full of teenagers screaming and giggling and popcorn flying. Looking back, it was the best way possible to have watched Jaws for the first time.
I have seen it more times than I can count since then and I’m sure many of you have too. The reason we have watched it so many times is a bit of nostalgia, but we keep coming back to it because it’s a really good, intense, rollicking and fun thrill ride of a movie.
We also love to quote this film.
“Y'know the thing about a shark, he's got ... lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes.”
“You yell barracuda, everybody says, ‘Huh? What?’ You yell shark, we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.”
“This shark, swallow you whole.”
“You're gonna need a bigger boat.”
“Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark.”
We can’t talk about sharks without mentioning a certain delusional, elderly, multiply convicted felon who seems to confuse real life with movies.
“If I’m sitting down and that boat’s going down and I’m on top of a battery, and the water starts flooding in, I’m getting concerned. But then I look 10 yards to my left and there’s a shark over there. So I have a choice of electrocution or a shark — you know what I’m going to take? Electrocution. I will take electrocution every single time. Do we agree?”
Trump Scared Of Electrocution But Sharks Are Scarier, He'll Tell You Why, Wanna Know Why?
Donald Trump, who is currently indicted on 91 felony charges, who is having his entire business dismantled before his very eyes by the state of New York, needs to slur his speech at you about electrocution and sharks now:
We can take some pleasure in enjoying a movie that he would hate.
Jaws stars Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, and Lee Fierro. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Music by John Williams.
Jaws is available with subscription on Peacock. $3.99 in the usual places.
To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules, go to WonkMovie.
The animated short is I’m Going To Bite Someone written and directed by Steve Dildarian.
Our next Movie Night selection is American Splendor, available with subscription on Max and Hulu. $3.99 in the usual places. For free on the Internet Archive (with Spanish subtitles.) Free on YouTube.
I am, in fact, Matt Hooper. This move holds a special place in my heart.
𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀:
Though respected as an actor, Robert Shaw's trouble with alcohol was a frequent source of tension during filming. In later interviews, Roy Scheider described his co-star as "a perfect gentleman whenever he was sober. All he needed was one drink and then he turned into a competitive son of a bitch." According to Carl Gottlieb's book "The Jaws Log," Shaw was having a drink between takes, and announced "I wish I could quit drinking." To the surprise and horror of the crew, Richard Dreyfuss grabbed Shaw's glass and tossed it into the ocean, much to Shaw's chagrin. Shaw allegedly bullied Dreyfuss for the rest of the shoot, offering him $1,000 to climb the seventy-foot mast and jump into the ocean, calling Dreyfuss a coward whenever he refused. On one day, Shaw sprayed him with a fire hose, causing an enraged Dreyfuss to storm off, saying "That's it. I don't want to work with you anymore. Go fuck yourself." When it came time to shoot the famous USS Indianapolis scene, Shaw attempted to do the monologue while intoxicated, as it called for the men to be drinking late at night. Nothing in the take could be used. A remorseful Shaw called Steven Spielberg late that night and asked if he could have another try. The next day of shooting, Shaw's electrifying performance was done in one take.