******THREE BARRELS OF SPOILERS!******

Last night, we had our friend Kathy and her 12-year old son Joshua over for another ‘garage theater’ movie night at our humble abode. Continuing young Joshua’s ongoing film education into “the classics” (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Princess Bride,” the “Star Wars” & “Back to the Future” trilogies), we obliged his most request to see “JAWS” (1975); the film that put his favorite director Steven Spielberg on the map, and which also ushered in the era of the modern summer blockbuster—an era that’s waxed and waned, but never quite went away (see: 2023’s “Barbenheimer”).

Based on his appreciation of older movies (movies well before his time), I had an inkling Joshua would like “JAWS,” especially given his love of the outdoors and nature (he’s an avid camper and Scout, in fact). What I wasn’t so sure of is how the movie would hold up today for a new viewer. So, after a tasty dinner at a local Farmer Boy’s restaurant (thanks again, Kathy), we headed back to our place for a few rounds of card games, followed by the ritualistic microwaving of popcorn for movie night.  Kathy and Joshua arrived wearing matching Spielberg movie t-shirts too, so I had to put on my “JAWS” t-shirt as well (as you do).  It was also my tribute to “JAWS”costar Richard Dreyfuss, who underwent emergency surgery earlier that day, but has since pulled through just fine (I’ll drink to yer legs, Mr. Hooper…).

I’ve already reviewed “JAWS” and all of its sequels (“JAWS 2,” “JAWS 3-D,” “JAWS: The Revenge” ) for this column, but this was a chance to introduce the film to a new generation, and to see this beloved classic through a fresh pair of eyes.

Quick Recap of “JAWS”

To those who may have been living under a rock since 1974, “JAWS” is the story of the fictional  New England island resort community of “Amity,” whose residents are plagued with the arrival of a massive great white shark. The freakish, 25-foot shark has been sampling the local cuisine (aka random swimmers at the beach), and disrupting the island’s vital tourist trade.  Police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) meets with resistance from Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) and other locals in his efforts to close the beaches (effectively shutting down Amity tourism) and to hire a colorful local fisherman named Quint (Robert Shaw) to kill the shark.  

Bringing in expert ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) from the mainland to better understand what Amity is dealing with, Martin is ultimately successful in gaining Mayor Vaughn’s cooperation only after a very public fatal shark encounter during the town’s 4th of July beach festivities. The final act sees Brody and Hooper setting out in Quint’s ramshackle fishing boat Orca to kill the shark—effectively transforming the movie from a resort town thriller into a high seas adventure; a 20th century Moby Dick. 

Taking quite a few welcome liberties with Peter Benchley’s somewhat depressing 1974 book, the movie ends with the shark literally exploding, after Brody improbably (but very cinematically) fires his rifle into a compressed oxygen tank clenched within the shark’s… JAWS.

The End.

All That Jaws

I’ve been a “JAWS” fan since age eight, when I waited with my family for over two hours (in a line of cars around the block) just to get into a drive-in theater and see it.  When we got close enough, my dad, my sisters and I looked over the drive-in fence and watched the film’s final act without sound, as we waited to get in (sound was only available only with a tinny-sounding speaker you placed inside your driver’s side window; this was 1975, and there was no Dolby Atmos to be found).  By the time we got into the drive-in, it was very late, and I feel asleep after the first hour of the film. 

I saw “JAWS” again a few weeks later (in its entirety) at a walk-in theater, and it was just great.  Since then, I’ve owned the movie on CED videodisc, VHS, laserdisc (pan/scan, letterboxed editions), DVD (two editions) and finally on Blu-Ray.  I’ve also seen “JAWS” in theatrical rerelease at least twice.  Fortunately, I married a patient, wonderful lady who loves the film about as much as I do (truly lucky, I am), and we’ve enjoyed quite a few “JAWS” nights together, in fact. 

At this point, I’ve watched “JAWS” more times than I can honestly count (hundreds, at least), and have memorized every bit of overlapping dialogue, and even the sound effects (which have subtly changed over the years, from one video format to another).  I’ve also been fortunate enough to have seen authentic props and production materials from the film up-close at a touring exhibit (“JAWS: The Art of Fear in Filmmaking”) at the Catalina Museum on Catalina Island (“It’s only an island if you look at it from the water”).  I’ve even contributed a couple of columns covering “JAWS”-related events here in the States to the wonderful folks at the UK-based “JAWS” fan site, thedailyjaws.com  (every “JAWS” fan needs to subscribe to their newsletter; they’re the best).

So, what do you do when you’ve seen “JAWS” that many times?  You introduce a newbie to “JAWS” of course. It’s the next best thing to reliving your own first viewing of the film. I had this vicarious experience once with a friend of mine back in the mid-1990s (watching the letterboxed laserdisc on a 20” Sony TV), but seeing it through the eyes of a young person, on a better approximation of a theatrical screen, is even closer to experiencing it anew.

“You ever have one do this before?”

For our garage theater, I set up our thick, cushioned patio chairs around our 7 foot (2.13 meter) collapsible screen from an Epson EF-12 HD laser projector, with the movie being sourced from a nicely remastered Blu-Ray.  For sound, we used a conical-shaped, multidirectional Bose Bluetooth speaker placed onto the concrete garage floor, which gave our presentation surprisingly theatrical acoustics.  Overall, this was a decent approximation of a theatrical experience; certainly better than how I first saw the film back in 1975, through grainy, scratched prints and drive-in speaker sound.

Seeing the film with a Gen Z audience member made me curious.  While I realized the film couldn’t possibly have the same impact for Joshua as it had on my generation, I wondered what his observations would be, and what aspects of the film would speak to him. Joshua is a very outdoors-y kid (as I was at his age), and he clearly appreciated the scenes on the beaches and underwater. He was okay with the shark attacks, too (they’re not necessarily graphic, just intense).  He was also surprisingly into a lot of the ‘adultish’ stuff as well, such as the Amity town meeting, and the memorable introduction of Quint.  

Something Joshua had understandable issues with were the amateur fisherman trying to score Mrs. Kintner’s $3,000 bounty on the shark; he giggled at their ridiculous methodology, such as using explosives and even a crossbow (something I never noticed during my hundreds of viewings). I reminded him that these were supposed to be amateur fisherman, and he understood. He also wisely pointed out that shooting bullets underwater is not very efficient, since friction with dense water severely warps a bullet’s trajectory.  Sometimes Joshua is like a walking episode of TV’s “Mythbusters.”  Bright kid.

A scene I was anticipating for him to see was the scene where Hooper and Brody take a late night cruise in Hooper’s hi-tech boat (hi-tech for 1975) and come across the wreckage of local fisherman Ben Gardner’s boat (played by real-life Martha’s Vineyard fisherman Craig Kingsbury). Joshua pointed out Hooper’s recklessness by entering night waters after previously stating that their shark is “a night feeder” (a fact also contradicted by its devouring of Alex Kintner in broad daylight earlier in the film). Despite his keen observations, Joshua still visibly jumped in his seat during this infamous moment:

No matter how steeled you are against it, the shock of Gardner’s severed head bobbing out from the wrecked hull of his boat still makes one jump. The accompanying musical shriek on John Williams’ Oscar-winning soundtrack is a brilliant bit of audience manipulation, right up there with Bernard Hermann’s knife-like strings during the shower scene in “Psycho” (1960).  I was glad to see that now-classic cinematic jump-scare still worked on kids today.

Another moment that really got to Joshua was in the estuary scene during the 4th of July festivities on the beach, when actor/stuntman Ted Grossman is ripped apart by the shark—in full view of Brody’s kids. Joshua quietly muttered, “That was intense.”  I think he also found the subsequent scenes at the hospital relatable, since his mother works at a clinic, and since he’s seen enough hospital interiors himself, as well.  As an accident-prone kid myself, eight-year old me found the scenes of Michael wanting his cars and coffee-flavored ice cream during his overnight hospital stay very relatable; there was something oddly grounding about that scene.

Joshua’s attention was quite focused during the climatic final act at sea, as well.  He had legitimate criticisms about the various strategies Quint employed during the shark hunt, such as waiting for Hooper to attach his useless transponder to the barrel; why didn’t Quint simply fire at the shark’s head when he had the chance, with or without the barrel?  That said, Joshua was thoroughly engrossed and silent during Quint’s mesmerizing and haunting USS Indianapolis monologue.  I reminded Joshua that was a true story, too (something I didn’t know when I saw the movie at age eight).  

After Quint’s speech, Joshua correctly identified the whale sound Brody hears as the song of a blue whale, the largest creatures currently inhabiting our planet, with adults ranging from 90 to 110 feet in length (27-33 meters). After the movie, we all whipped out our phones and Googled videos of blue whale sounds, and yes, Joshua was correct indeed.

While Joshua was quietly ‘reminded’ Hooper to take the cork off his poison-filled spear, I found it interesting how invested he was in this nearly 50-year old movie. Proof that despite its slower pacing, it still worked well enough to engage someone from this age. Joshua was born at least a couple generations after the grainy, analog-methods of filmmaking Spielberg used to make the film.  Proof that a compelling story is a compelling story; no matter how old it is, or how it’s made.  Joshua also enjoyed the final scene of the shark exploding with Brody’s lucky shot; even if he knew it was physically impossible, it’s an irresistibly crowd-pleasing moment.  

“I love sharks.”

“JAWS” is very much a product of its age.  The film has also been rendered remake-proof due to great white sharks (along with other shark species, dolphins and whales) given special legal protection from fisherman due to their ecological value. This is a fact Joshua has seen firsthand himself, as young sharks and rays are caught by pier fisherman, only to be immediately thrown back into the water, so that the fisherman avoid criminal prosecution. I’ve seen this firsthand as well, many times.

Joshua knows a lot more about sharks than my generation did at his age, such as punching sharks in the nose or gills if one is attacked; that was not common knowledge when I was a kid.  Earlier that week, I’d purchased a magazine on sharks as a ‘party favor’ for our “JAWS” night, and I let Joshua take it home, since “JAWS” clearly stirred his fascination with these creatures; just as it had for the much-younger me of nearly 50 years ago.  Learning that massive creatures such as great white sharks were still lurking in the oceans was like learning ancient dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.  It didn’t frighten me so much as it fascinated me.  I’m pleased to see that Joshua’s generation may not be so different, after all. 

One of the most valuable things movies can do for us is awaken (or reawaken) our own senses of wonder, and despite its undeserved ‘horror movie’ status (I’ve never viewed “JAWS” as a horror film), Despite its seeming anti-shark sentiment, “JAWS” can definitely stoke a profound curiosity about these magnificent creatures, and other mysteries of “The Deep” (that’s a whole other Peter Benchley novel & film…). That is perhaps the movie’s greatest legacy for new generations.

Where To Watch

“JAWS” is currently available to stream with subscriptions to Peacock and SyFy streaming services.  The movie is also available to rent via YouTube Premium, Amazon Prime Video, iTunes and other pay-per-stream services.  You can purchase the movie on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Blu-Ray (Amazon, Barnes & Noble; prices vary by seller).