JAWS at 50: 20 Degrees of JAWSome

20 Degrees of JAWSome!

There are two types of people…those who think Jaws is the greatest movie of all time and those who are wrong. With that in mind, Free Kittens humbly offers a few personal (and very subjective) reasons why the film remains totally Jawsome…even 50 years later.

Jaws features cinema’s greatest happy accident. Because the mechanical shark built for the film kept breaking down, director Steven Spielberg was forced to come up with creative ways to get around actually showing it, which ended up making it scarier.

The movie remains culturally relevant. Its iconic title logo and poster art still inspire gobs of merchandise…T-shirts, games, toys, action figures, models, shoes, coffee cups, wine, blankets, towels, artwork and a really bitchin’ pinball machine.

The two most recognizable notes in soundtrack music history, even if you’ve never seen the movie.

You’d be hard pressed to name another single movie that’s been ripped off more often…and is still being ripped off. 

One of those rare films that’s a lot better than the book it’s based on. Peter Benchley’s novel is terrible, loaded with dull subplots, unlikable characters and a shitty ending. Even Hank Searls’ novelization of Jaws 2 is a better read.

In the scene where Quint (Robert Shaw) and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) are comparing scars, there’s a brief shot of Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) starting to lift his shirt to share a scar of his own, but then changes his mind. Since he was a New York City cop just before moving his family to comparatively quiet Amity Island, his somber, self-conscious expression suggests the scar might be the result of getting wounded in the line of duty (hence the Brodys’ move to Amity). Or hell, maybe he just had his appendix removed. The point is there’s always been more to Jaws than a ravenous shark, even during the inconsequential, understated moments.

Jaws is so well made that we all happily overlooked the fact that the shark isn’t the actual villain.

The greatest monologue ever filmed (Quint’s account of the ill-fated U.S.S. Indianapolis).

Inspired a stage play, The Shark is Broken, co-written by Ian Shaw, Robert’s son. Ian also played the role of Quint in the play. 

For some of us, it’s the first time we saw a naked lady in a movie! PG was a lot different in those days.

Who cares if you probably can’t blow up a 25-foot shark by shooting a scuba tank lodged in its mouth? This ain’t a documentary!

The “dolly zoom” of Brody’s reaction to the attack on Alex Kintner is one of the greatest single shots I've ever seen. Hitchcock may have done it first (for Vertigo), but Spielberg did it best.

A third of the U.S. population saw Jaws in theaters when it was released. Taking inflation into account, it is still the seventh biggest movie of all time.

While photographing the shark, Hooper trying to coerce Brody to step out onto the boat’s bowsprit in order to give the picture some scale is comedy gold. 

Roy Scheider’s performance was Oscarworthy. So was Robert Shaw's. Fuck the Academy.

Speaking of acting…Despite not being professional actors, Spielberg got really good performances from some the locals of Martha’s Vineyard (where much of Jaws was shot).

Inspired a generation of teenagers to try chugging an entire beer and crushing the can with their hand (this was before cans were made of aluminum).

When Ben Gardner’s head popped out of the hole in his boat with an eye missing, I’m pretty sure I broke the world record for the farthest anyone has ever accidentally thrown a bucket of popcorn.

And I also think my kid sister broke that short-lived record when she came with me the second time I went to see it.

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Who doesn’t know that line?