Posted on 06/18/2010 4:31:56 AM PDT by C19fan
I saw Jaws when it came out 35 years ago. I went because my friends wanted to go. I hate scary movies. I knew it was going to be bad when we walked into a theater that stank of urine. Apparently some people were so scared that they peed in their seats.
Passionfruit is to be commended for leaving the theater with dry panties! :^)
Interesting article.
I think the biggest disagreement I have with Podhoretz here is that he does not seem to distinguish between the Summer Blockbuster and everything else that comes out of the film industry. There’s no doubt that Hollywood goes for eye candy and action in the big-budget summer releases. At the same time, there have been plenty of films since Jaws that have every bit of the “wit, sophistication, elegance, seriousness of purpose, honest sentimentality...” Podhoretz claims is lacking from modern Hollywood films. They may not be the general rule, but they are certainly out there.
Also, Hollywood put out plenty of popcorn movies before Jaws. For every Godfather or Midnight Cowboy, you probably had a dozen forgettable teen beach, action, and B-monster flicks.
I will say one genre of movie that has declined (IMHO) in the last decade is the American comedy. Gross-out humor has become a lot more prominent in comedy films than it used to be. Each to their own, but I’ve always found that to be cheap and lacking in imagination.
I’m one that hasn’t been back in the water since. :)
I actually had an art history prof in the late 80's who predicted this. He suggested that the way music videos were being shot at the time would influence the production of TV shows and movies.
It is true that some producers have gone for the special effects to the detriment of a good story.
I was watching the latest Star Trek movie last night, and found that it contained way too many special effects that just didn’t make sense, and appeared to be included for dramatic effect. Trying to portray Spock as emotional was rather lame, too.
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Kidding, right? There have been tons of movies with good stories, good acting and no FX in the past thirty years. Here's a few that immediately spring to mind...
Glengarry - Glenross
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Fargo
Mystic River
Music video directors making their way into feature films didn’t help.
Plus the popularity of stuff with a “documentary film” feel.
This is a very old hat argument. The highest grossing film of 1974 (the year before Jaws) was ‘The Towering Infero’. It wasn’t some Golden Age where people only went to see films like Chinatown. If there’s anyy genre Spielberg killed off it was Irwin Allen style diaster films. And JAws is very much a cynical 1970s film with its grimy beach resort and Goverment Coverup subplot. Rocky and Star Wars did much more damage.
Leave us not forget ‘1941’ A truly Great zany movie.
Jaws was a ‘Hitchcock’ thriller at the beach. It didn’t start out that way, but, with the shark not working half the time, it ended up that way.
My Mom had this thing for Robert Shaw, so, I learned WAY more about that movie than I ever wanted to know.
Me? I just like the music.
Ann Dusenberry - I went to high school with her. LOL. She said she was going to be in the movies, and so she was....
I watched some documentary that touched on Hitchcock & Spielberg. It seems that Speilberg was a lifelong, huge fan of Hitchcocks(& why not?). Hitch really didn't think much of Speilberg though.
After achieving fame, Speilberg got a mutual friend to introduce him. Hitchcock's only response was "Oh, you're the boy that made the fish movie".
Hitchcock admired Jaws. He said that Spielberg was the first director who didn’t think in terms of the proscenium arch...he didn’t grow up with theater as the primary dramatic form.
Claiming the summer blockbuster ruined cinema has always been silly. Tons of those kind of “personal” movies that ruled before Jaws still get made, heck probably more of them get made now. It’s a lot easier for the companies to afford those low budget/ low revenue movies when they get a couple of $200 million dollar revenue movies a year.
Alien had a very similar thing happen, they couldn’t figure out a way to make the alien look like something other than a guy in a rubber suit, so they showed you bits and pieces which dramatically increases the threat because it can be anywhere.
And yet even with the tale told over and over that less is indeed more, most directors (including Spielberg and Scott) will show you the whole monster any chance they get.
It was sooooo much a response from Hitchcock.
He could speak volumes in a few words.
Funny thing about Jaws and Benchley.
The author was booted from the set because Spielberg wanted to go a different direction from the novel.
After actually reading Jaws, I understand why.
Benchley’s “The Beast” was much better.
LOL...amazing for sure. I'm hoping that you understood I meant movies with overwhelming special effects like Transformers etc....
No, not kidding...just my opinion.
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