Hey everyone! Zach Who Watches Movies here with this weeks
'Flashback Friday'. This week I want to focus on the theatrical re-release of Jaws and its 40th anniversary. I know I
am about week late on this post but I wanted to wait to talk about this quintessential
film until after I got a chance to see it big and see it loud. This past
Wednesday, I made it to the last showing of the limited run and had to switch
shifts at work to make it happen. I wasn't missing this. I had never gotten the
opportunity to see this film on the big screen, where it belongs, and I wasn't
about to wait another ten years for the 50th anniversary for that to happen.
Like most kids my age, I grew up being shown the Jaws films often. My uncle worked in art
direction on the third movie, and I know it’s not a quality film, but we
watched it constantly and loved every minute. Although I saw the original at a
young age, it failed to resonate with me then. I was not much into horror as a
kid as I enjoyed being able to sleep at night. As I grew up however, I morphed
into a horror film junkie and Jaws has always been a key factor in making me
just that. It’s a piece of art that never fails to influence generation after
generation of film makers and story tellers and it deserves to be seen as big
and as loud as possible.
TCM has done a service to the fans I hope we will begin to
see more of. So many movie geeks out there have never got the chance to see
some of their favorite films on the big screen and to give that opportunity is
amazing. Seeing Jaws for the first
time on a gain screen, I was blown away. It's hard to imagine being more
impressed by a movie you've seen dozens of times and is hailed as one of the
greatest films ever made. Seeing this big and loud it was like seeing it for
the first time all over again. I jumped at the scares and laughed whole
heartedly at the classic jokes, as did the rest of the crowd.
One of the coolest aspects of this experience was the
audience. So often do I see people complain about bad theater experiences and
obnoxious audiences, not here. Everyone sitting in the theater was a diehard
fan. They had seen Jaws countless times and could not wait to see it again. We
all laughed together and at the end of the film the entire crowd applauded the
now forty year old film. It wasn't a packed house but there was a solid crowd
and it was probably the best experience in that aspect, that I have ever had.
As far as picture quality goes, the digital HD print was
solid. If you've watched the Blu-Ray this wasn't much different as far as
picture goes. A few scenes were a bit grainy or blurry but again, this film is
four decades old, that's to be expected. All that mattered was the size, having
your entire plain of view taken up by this film is astounding. The entire final
act you believe you’re out at sea with the guys, trying to catch our shark.
What made this experience such a landmark for me however,
was the sound. Getting to hear the sound effects and John Williams score
blasted into my ears was incredible. This is the magic of the film that can
never be recreated outside of a theater. Watching at home, you don't get the
same impact from Williams score. Hearing it as loud as I did took the film to
an entirely new level of greatness for me, and I thought that was impossible.
His dark, lingering theme builds suspense and keeps you gripping the edge of
your seat.
I made sure to hold off watching this for the past few
weeks, knowing I'd see it in theaters and it paid off. I was reminded (not that
I ever really forgot) how amazing the performances of Robert Shaw, Richard
Dreyfus, and Roy Scheider are. The late night scene where the guys are sitting
around drinking on the boat is one of those moments that stick with you for
weeks after seeing it.
Even the effects still hold up amazingly well. Done entirely
with practical effects (there were no CGI enhancements back then, remember)
they created a film that stood the test of time and will live on for another
forty years strong. One of the greatest movie monsters is brought to life by
the magic of cinema and watching today, it is still completely believable. This
isn’t a film where you have to understand the times to appreciate the movie, as
far as effects go, this may as well have been made last year it looks that
good.
What Stephen Spielberg did forty years ago is still
unparalleled. Year in and year put we find ourselves comparing the success of
every summer hit to this film; it was the original summer blockbuster after
all. I cannot thank TCM enough for allowing me this opportunity to experience a
piece of history the way it was meant to be seen. I can only hope more special
events like this will happen in the future. I'd kill for the chance to get to
see movies like Alien and Blade Runner in a theater. I’ll never
forget this experience and for anyone who missed it, we can only hope it
happens again come the 50th anniversary
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
No comments:
Post a Comment