Summer Classic Angry Animal Watch: Jaws (1975)

Watched:  07/20/2024

Format:  Peacock

Viewing:  ha ha ha 

Director:  Some kid named "Spielberg"

This was our regular summer viewing of Jaws (1975), and, once again, I enjoyed it.  It's a favorite of Jamie's, so when she declares It Is Time, I am happy to join her in a screening.

The first stray thought I had during the movie this time: as we live in a world where a CG shark can be shown from any angle, and as much and as often as you can afford, it isn't just that Spielberg only shows the shark in this movie a minimal amount that keeps the tension.  I agree with that idea.  But ALSO: what makes it work is that you only see the shark from the human point of view.  

The plane of the water is opaque in this movie, and until a fin or a barrel indicates where our monster is - we're blind to our finny friend's location, size, etc...  

With CGI, the temptation is there to say "let's show what the shark is doing *now*" or "show the shark swimming around".  But this movie couldn't do that.  There's minimal footage of the real sharks used underwater - and even then, the major use of those shots is when Hooper is scuba diving and has broken the plane of the water.  It's his POV.

I don't know what Spielberg would do in the 21st Century with magical movie boxes that can give him whatever he wants, but after watching my fair share of angry animal movies, I think maybe keeping the camera where human eyes would be (and, yes, those shark POV shots) is a pretty good way to go.

Anyway - maybe less is more?  And you can still use CGI for your shark, but just don't break that plane in your new shark movie.  Put people on the water and keep using CGI to erase other boats and distracting elements.  

The second stray thought was "wow, the politicians willing to risk lives and demand normalcy sure hits different now".