BBD Comments:
Without question, ‘Jaws’ is among my favorite movies of all time. It is so well made it not only holds up to repeated viewings, it yields more riches every time you see it. I should know, I must have seen it eighty times from start to finish.
Coolbaugh was unusually excited about this pick, so I was very curious as to what he would roll with. I knew the pick the moment the Universal logo came up with the faint underwater sounds behind it, as I said I have seen this film a lot, and I have to admit I was a little let down at the start. We have spoken within the Crew about doing a Movienight in Wiener’s pool and ‘Jaws’ was always the film we said we’d bring so I felt a pang of loss for that imagined future screening. Further, I have become accustomed of late to seeing films I’ve never seen or seldom seen up on the Stucco. As a result, I had wished Coolbaugh might have gone with something Nubby hadn’t predicted way back in his comments on ‘Network’ - another pick some considered a way too obvious way to go. Finally, I was a little disappointed that Coolbaugh’s preamble and Selection seemed to speak to his dissatisfaction with the direction Movienight has been heading in its second year. While we have had some esoteric picks, and ‘Wings of Desire’ was a deflating evening, I think the twists and turns of the past few months have been a great deal of fun and I was dispirited to think Coolbaugh disagreed. While all that takes some time to type, those feelings flashed quickly through my head while watching the opening credits and, as is always the case with this film, I was swept away.
‘Jaws’ is a freight train of a film. After all these years, the incredible shark attack that begins the film is so viscerally charged that it hangs over the entire film, always reminding us of the terror that lurks below the surface. ‘Jaws’ is like a shark. It is ruthlessly efficient, lyrically beautiful, and truly, deeply, frightening.
In my discussion with the SOMBies, some of MONA’s friends attacked us for showing films that everyone had already seen 1000 times. My reply to the accusation was “there is something to sitting outside with surround sound speakers hanging in the trees and a 10 foot wide image that transforms, or even elevates films you have seen 1000x on TV.” And ‘Jaws’ was surely no exception. It demands to be seen large, and it played beautifully in the Back Yard.
In the end, ‘Jaws’ was inevitable. We were going to see it sooner or later, and I am glad we did. I told Coolbaugh at the end of the night that it was a Slam Dunk, and I stand by it. But Slam Dunks are only worth two points - unless the game is on the line. As much as I enjoyed the Selection, I think the unexpected joy of picks like ‘City of God,’ ‘King of Comedy,’ or ‘Videodrome’ are the kind of Slam Dunks that beat the buzzer and win the game.
Buffy Comments:
Last night my friend Nancelita and I had the privilege of attending that highly secret and exclusive club known as Movienight. At a location I am not at liberty to disclose, filmfanboys and girls gather to present and watch films on an outdoor screen. They've got rules for their weekly meetings: be there on time or you don't get in, don't reveal the movie until it starts, pick something that needs to be shown on a bigger screen (wide), pick something nobody's seen, no talking during the movie...
Now, being a rebel cursed by Lucifer's hand from within the womb (okay, not really, I'm just biting some Tin Drum shit here), I started breaking rules right off the bat without even wanting to. Plus, when things are so exclusive it just brings out the--what? I was all, are we actually welcome and is this going to be uptight and lame? Well, like some things with rules, it turns out the rules just make it more awesome because you have to try for once to do something a particular way. But I was not feeling my best...thank god I didn't know that the screening was outside or I probably would never have made it. It's too fucking cold.
Anyway we broke the "be on time" rule, of course, that's the one I always break and it annoys me too. We had some ignition trouble trying to move the car out of the location's driveway 10 minutes before the deadline. Five minutes late we walk in, and you know what, everyone was really cool and awesome, got me a glass of wine and some pizza (that made me cranky too, the hunger), and a cozy sleeping bag to share as a blanket with serial snuggler Nancelita, and we waited in anticipation.
Coolbob went over the rules, and then said, you know, basically that out-cooling each other with obscure b-movies is kind of lame, and a lot of times the movies are bad and boring. He wanted to see a zip-thud. Our friend who invited us later translated this as a bullseye. Nice.
The credits came up and our friend, who is seriously a nerd--he's a new friend to me so I hope he doesn't mind my saying so, it's a great compliment. It means you're smart and you can know a movie just from the production house and producer credits. He called it on the producer credit: ‘Jaws.’ A movie everyone has seen before. Except me. So, lucky me, I got to watch it a) for the first time at age 35, so I could really appreciate so much more than I could have at age 9 or whatever and b) I got to watch it on a large widescreen format and c) I had the added pleasure of being so fucking cold that I truly felt I was on that sinking ship, sitting in the middle of the cold Atlantic for days, and could not wait for what's-his-face to blast that explosive cap in the shark's jaws. I don't know if there's a movie that makes you feel colder more than ‘Jaws.’ ‘Jaws.’ Rad.
I love watching people get killed in interesting and horrifying ways, in movies, when it's fake. Fake only. And the faker sometimes the better, I love being able to see what they did or try to figure it out. Lots of fun there. Some nice traditional horror touches like naked kids with their budding sexuality just getting the whole nasty thing started, because growing up and being sexual is wrong and makes bad things happen, and the powers that be being all corrupt and stuff. Great speeches, little throwaway lines that are some of the best soundbites out there. It's shot so very, very beautifully. Makes me feel a little like most directors are like rock stars, in the way that something happens when they lose their youth and edge and while they are still great, they are maybe less fresh. Maybe they don't always care that much anymore or are a little more cutoff...not everyone certainly but Spielberg has no starkness about him or hotness anymore. I guess. I don't know, I'm not a good person to talk about this because I think my favorite Spielberg movie is the tv short he did for “Night Gallery,” the one with Joan Crawford where Tom Bosley sells his eyes so that she (this rich blind bitch) can see for one whole day. And then they take the bandages off at night, and there's a blackout. Awesome, corny, love it.
Anyway, Movienight--there was some great trivia from the members at the end about the shooting stars (first one was real, second one put in later), some ribbing each other for being nerds. I think I laughed in all the wrong parts and Nancelita and I could not shut up if we were being held prisoner by terrorists...we'd be dead like the first five minutes for talking. But nobody seemed to hold it against us. ‘Jaws’ was made for talking at this point--it's not like anyone but me hadn't seen it before. And when a woman is in the hospital waiting for her son to come out of shock and hasn't had a moment to put on some pants, it's worth noting aloud. And of course every minute of this movie has been parodied or copied by at least 10 other sources, so when you see the source it brings up joy and exclamation.
Movienight...may it never be so cold again. ‘Jaws,’ that is seriously one cold as ice movie. And a big old fish. As I said, if it wasn't so cold outside I would have felt sorry for that child of mother nature. As things stood, blow it up, at least blood is warm...I'm so cold still that I can't stop talking about how cold it was. I still want to know what happened to that poor dog at the beginning section, before the kid got killed. Oh, and I love that greiving mother slapping the chief and giving him what-for. She reminded me of something about Carrie. Hollywood nights...
Nancy Comments:
Thank you for the honor of an invitation to Movienight. I am truly sorry to have violated the By-Law regarding tardiness. Although there is no excuse, if I could provide a little background... I drove a 1979 Mercedes on vegetable oil from the high desert of Joshua Tree to attend the screening. Although my vehicle is environmentally smug, it's ignition switch is tempermental and in a cruel hoax, it chose to give me the most trouble I have ever experienced with it in Coolbaugh's driveway (where I was advised it would be okay to park by an unofficial member). In a scene with more dramatic tension than any viewed in the Back Yard, sweat dripped down my face as I started the ignition a good 80-90 times, with Buffy talking me through it like ground control to an airplane without a pilot. What would have been a leisurely 10 minutes to spare turned into 3 minutes of By-Law violation and rudeness to my gracious hosts.
Regarding our "apparent" giggling and whispering, while I'm tempted to expolit the lack of conviction with which this violation is presented, I embrace our offense. As Buffy writes in her Movienight blog entry - http://myspace.com/buffyvisick - Jaws was made for audience participation. And when a woman is in the hospital waiting for her son to come out of shock and hasn't had a moment to put on some pants, it's worth noting aloud.
Finally, thank you Coolbaugh for your kind words regarding my dog Fritz Carraldo who sat out Movienight in the car. I am very sorry to hear about your loss of Abbey. Please rest assured that Fritz was delighted to sleep on his sheepskins in the relatively warm car (vs. FREEZING Back Yard) and was groggy and happily rested when I returned.
Netti Comments:
What is there to say but I've seen this movie at least 10 times. It never gets old. Great performances. Great writing. Editing. Direction. Story. You name it, it's got it. Yeah a 35 foot shark that leaps onto a boat to eat yet another person (sharks supposedly don't like the taste of human flesh) is a little far fetched. Clearly we have to give up a lot to go on this ride. However, the quality filmmaking makes it go down a little easier. I have not seen it on a big screen but once before at a revival house. This time watching it though I was struck by the length of the dialogue in some of the scenes between the shark attacks. Holy shit! There's an actual relationship explored in an action film? You mean we don't have to pass a three line scene as a character development scene. I'm sounding over the hill although I'm not old enough to, in years anyway, but is it possible that we can have action films/summer-blockbuster-lowest-common-denominator fare that doesn't overtly pander to the lowest common denominator?
It's ironic that ‘Jaws’ strikes this chord in me considering that it was ostensibly the first modern summer blockbuster for which ‘Independence Day,’ ‘Wild Wild West,’ etc.etc. owes a debt. And it also was the door shutting on the independent movement of the late sixties and early seventies which touted quality over thrills. However, it does make sense in that Spielberg stands on the shoulders of those filmmakers and owes much to them. The story is what pulls you in. The shark? It's lurking always there, but never too much.
Audiences are declining and the answer according to James Cameron is 3-D films? I call bullshit! Make better films. Period. Maybe 3-D will be wonderful but part of the reason people don't attend the movies anymore is a simple issue of not enough quality for too much money. You are telling me that new 3-D projectors and whatever technology that has to be created and installed with it, won't raise the ticket prices? a lot? James, do us all a favor will ya? Instead of taking a six year hiatus and then coming back to make a 500 million dollar menace, why don't you try and make a simple film for less money? Practice economy in art for a change. Or is it possible without all those big toys you couldn't make it anymore?
Good pick. Shitty review.
Nubs Comments:
“And for my next number, I’d like to return to the classics. Perhaps the most famous classic in all the world…”. Though none of us are too clear what Coolbaugh really meant in his preamble, he wanted to return to classic Movienight with a classic Slam Dunk. ‘Jaws’ is a Slam Dunk, easy. It is also, as I predicted 1 year ago, the most predictable pick. Nevertheless, the largest crowd ever assembled seemed to all be all too giddy to welcome this perfectly-made movie.
There’s not too much to say about this movie that hasn’t been said before. I would just like to reiterate my favorite story about ‘Jaws’ and about Spielberg. Spielberg said something to the paraphrased likes of, “compromise has forced some of the best cinematic moments in history.” This movie is The Perfect example of how legendary directors and storytellers were born before the age of computer animation. The way I’ve always heard it, the mechanical shark was not ready, so Spielberg came up with ways to shoot around it. The suspense in ‘Jaws’ illustrates how the ends justify the means. We enjoy brilliant performances, innovative camera work, and an overly dramatic score without ever wondering where are the shots of the shark.
The only fault I noted in this viewing is one problem I have with a lot of Spielberg’s movies. Our protagonist, Chief Brody, is too perfect. He never does anything wrong that wasn’t ordered by his boss. Then when the time comes for him to confront his boss and force him into the right decision after taking a beating from the victim’s mother, he is way too civil about it. Furthermore, Bobbi pointed out the other fault - which is the strange casting choice of the boy’s mother being like 60.
Other than that, it’s always nice to see the Stucco used in the way our original vision intended. It’s a great eclectic start to 2007 so far. I’d hate to be the SELECTOR following this one. Oh, wait.
MONA Comments:
‘Jaws’ is a great piece of popular American art, one of the real Leviathans that works on so many levels that it leaves the reviewer a little overwhelmed as to where to start with his inevitably derivative comments. It's at once a pitch-perfect thriller, a highly revealing cultural artifact of mid-seventies dread and political malaise, an overlooked comedic gem, and a sustained political and spiritual allegory that actually stands up, after repeated viewings, as a serious contribution to America's myth of self-discovery and survival.
Like Davis, I've seen this film many, many times, at least 15, and when recognition set in with production credits and the ominously spaced, low string interval buried but still barely perceptible in the sound mix, I had mixed feelings. ‘Jaws’ is the Zip Thud of Zip Thuds, a Slam Dunk's Slam Dunk. Zack makes the same observation in his remarks, and had already made it over a year ago. This pick was obviously indicated as an eventuality for the group, in the way that ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ or ‘Citizen Kane’ are in their own genres and canonical overdeterminacy. In that sense, its place on the Stucco was of course inevitable and only a matter of time. And like Davis, after some preliminary misgivings and internal grumblings, I leaned back, poured another glass of wine and let this masterful film's many layers envelop me for the 16th time. I was not at all disappointed in the experience. Indeed, like any great film is apt to do, a new screening revealed new things in its iteration.
Coolbaugh (aka "Coolbob," LOL) and I both focused on Quint. I've always identified Quint as the dramatic center of the narrative, but this time, while Coolbaugh honed in on his comedy, I focused on the profound inter-textual resonance in his tragedy. I'm sure that there are thousands of Film Studies undergrad essays and more sophisticated academic journal papers that point out the structural similarities between the characters of Quint and Herman Melville's Captain Ahab. This viewing, though, I really did marvel at the deft quotation of "Moby Dick" and the thematic exploration of despair as a thirst for revenge. It's not just clever...the USS Indianapolis monologue sets up the denouement where it really IS personal between our lifelessly-eyed predator and the isolated and salty White Whaler. That it IS personal makes the filmic absurdity of the massive puppet "land shark" climbing onto the boat with persistent malice kind of irrelevant I still giggle during that scene, but I now also sigh.
I also love the heavy-handed but masterful framing of the cinematography. When "The Orca" (and what a clumsy ambiguous whale reference Spielberg shoots for there) leaves the harbor through the "Jaws" of one of Quint's boil-bleached conquests, you buy it hook, line and barrel sinker. You're along for the ride and already in the Jaws of the monster, the belly of the whale (and what a ride the 3rd/5th Act is!!!).
I must also give shout outs to this early Spielberg portrayal of the middle class American family. Not giving his viewers the finely-observed suburban nuclear unit in all its dysfunctional glory a la ‘E.T.,’ ‘Close Encounters’ or ‘Poltergeist,**’ our director is nonetheless firmly committed to showing us a real (if reductive) middle-class family unit. And though I side with Nubs on Scheider's improbable "perfection" as moral and political actor, I still appreciate the convincing love and chaotic familial sympathies at play in the first acts.
So yes, I have always loved ‘Jaws’ and still love and admire it. In all honesty, though, I thought it a strangely-timed pick for our January 17th gathering. I am unable to discern any seriously meaningful thematic or topical affinities with any of the film's immediate Stucco predecessors. And sure, it's funny and a little ironic to screen a 4th of July pick in the dead of LA's pseudo-winter. But if the idea was to discourage the collective from inaccessible or questionable "art" picks (and again, 1000 mea culpas for ‘Wings of Desire,’ my humble etceteras and all that), it seems to the reviewer that this particular "Zip Thud" was served up before its time.
"Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago."
-Herman Melville, "Moby Dick"
**Editor’s Note: While it is a common misconception that Steven Spielberg directed ‘Poltergiest’ this is not the case. Tobe Hooper was in fact the film’s director, while Spielberg wrote the story, co-wrote the screenplay, and produced the film.
SELECTOR Comments:
I would be remiss if I didn’t first address Davis’ comments about my preamble in the night’s summary paragraph. As usual, I ran 25 miles of the marathon and failed to drive my point home as I felt I was running way too long in the preamble. The point I was trying to make is that, in the beginning, we had two rules. The first is that the SELECTOR does not talk about the Selection prior to showing it. We have not wavered on this. Although we have had our share of mishaps (Netti, Nubs), we respect this rule with fervor. The second rule – and this was always the most critical – was that the film must be a Slam Dunk to all in attendance. This is where I take issue. I feel we have been flirting with this way too much. As the group has grown, the respect for this rule becomes even more critical, and yet we’ve managed to sway in the other direction. Slam Dunks are simple – they must be thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in attendance. This does NOT mean “classics” or “non obscure gems.” We’ve had PLENTY of Slam Dunks that have not been classics. Our group has grown from 4 to upwards of 10. Many of the recent additions were not there for the back half of this evolution and have come into the mix knowing only that it’s really, really cool when nobody has seen your pick. This is what I find troubling. And this is what I attempted to cease. And this is what I was attempting to recap.
In summary – I ask only that all Selectors consider our roots a bit more. As I said, we must first know the past before we can know the future.
As for our guests – I understand there was a dog sleeping in the car throughout the film. I’m so sorry, but I thank you. As you may know, I just had to put down my faithful and flawless Labrador, Abbey, a couple weeks ago. I’m still at odds with it, so seeing another pup running around in her domain might have stirred up some emotions that don’t need stirring. So thank you, and I’m sorry. Next time, the dog is welcome. I sort of feel bad as Abbey was always as welcoming to other dogs into her home as we are other people. We weren’t living as she would have wanted.
‘Jaws’…I never realized how hilarious Quint was in this. He reminds me of a nagging old maid. Do this. Do that. Not so much. Too little. Every damn scene he’s barking orders. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance, much more than ever before. I really saw the youthful innocence and brilliance out of Spielberg. This is a phenomenal film – without question – some would say one of the best ever. But it’s also laced with the limitless ideas of a youthful, less experienced brilliant mind. Some of these things work, and some do not. But this film clearly marks a pivotal point of maturation on the part of Spielberg. You saw the genesis of many techniques that made ‘Saving Private Ryan’ such a powerful visualization. I appreciated his nod to our departed Abbey. The floating stick was eerily reminiscent of the lone soccer ball in the yard. What else…that’s about it. I barely have time to watch the films these days, much less write about them.
In parting, I only ask that all Selectors remain true to the roots and core principle behind Movienight: All films must be Slam Dunks.
Zip. Thud. Onward.
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