Film & Water #49 – Jaws

THE FILM & WATER PODCAST

Episode 49: JAWS

It's almost the Fourth of July, so Rob welcomes deep-sea ecologist Andrew Thaler (SOUTHERN FRIED SCIENCE) to discuss one of his all-time favorite movies, Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic JAWS!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

Subscribe via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-film-and-water-podcast/id1077572484

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

Thanks for listening! That's A Wrap!

14 responses to “Film & Water #49 – Jaws

  1. Great episode! Very fascinating discussion, about the movie, the misconceptions about sharks, and the science behind them. Sounds like someone could make a horror movie about that worm in the aquarium, but maybe we don’t want to go there!

    And yes, everyone wants the mayor’s jacket. I’m surprised there’s not one hanging in one of Universal Studio’s MANY gift shops! At least Funko made those great retro-style reaction figures of Bruce, Brody, Hooper and Quint last year!

    Chris

  2. What can I even say. One of my favorite movies. Three of my favorite performances. One of the greatest monologues ever committed to film. One of the most alive and fleshed out fictional locations ever utilized. Every character feels real and has depth, even with only a few lines of dialogue.

    One of my favorite movie going experiences was seeing this in a packed theater about 12 or 13 years ago. As someone who literally has the film memorized it was such a joy to watch the audience collectively jump, gasp or laugh since many had either not seen the film in a while or possibly not at all.

    Not sure there’s much to add, although I do think Rob managed to articulate something I’ve known but couldn’t put words to: Spielberg having sympathy for every victim. There’s no death in this movie that is meant to evoke a cheer from the audience. The landslide of slashers of the 80s would turn death in horror movies into kill showcases, and to be honest there’s a certain enjoyment to be had in a creative kill but that only works with a certain degree of camp as far as I’m concerned. If you want your audience scared and to care about what’s going on then the victims have to be real people and they have to matter.

  3. Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite episodes of Film and Water! Rob’s enthusiasm is on full display (and fully contagious), and Andrew Thaler is informative and entertaining. However, he also introduced me to the bobbit worm, and for that I can never forgive him.

  4. I didn’t think there was a movie that could make Rob’s inner fanboy shine More than the Raiders of the Lost Ark Ep until now!! Way to go getting such an awesome guest for this movie, I’m sure you had people lining up to be on this one. Jaws was a movie I found hard to watch as I loved the beach and water so much and this movie scared the shit out of me!! But it is Mrs Rift’s favourite movie of all time and is on high rotation here. It truly is a classic and from all the documentaries about filming it, a classic by complete accident. I totally agree Rob there were so many things that could have been done wrong in this movie and it would have been yet another failed monster/horror movie. And yep like everyone else I had to look up the Bobbit Worm, man, if Jaws scares you about going swimming, the Bobbit Worm will convince you to never go swimming again!

    1. Oh and regarding Ellen Brody, she is a great portrayal of a Police Officer’s wife. Quietly supportive and understanding of Martin not wanting to add to the stress Martin is put under but will confront and challenge him when he goes too far, the scene with the boys sitting in the boat is great, even though she comes around to Martin’s way of thinking after looking at the picture. She is strongly protective of her family and husband and always leading with a brave face. The scene on the dock is fantastic. She doesn’t want Martin to go but doesn’t protest, she knows that he has to go and she holds it together long enough that Martin doesn’t see her break as she walks/runs away. Great casting of Lorraine Gary and as already mentioned a great screen play really make Ellen Brody a fantastic character.

  5. Jaws is one of the greatest movies ever. Ghost and the Darkness is the greatest film inspired by Jaws. It substitutes lions for sharks and long grass for the ocean. Replace holiday season with an African railway project. Val Kilmer plays the Brodie role, Michael Douglas plays the Quint role of experienced hunter. It has all the male cameraderie as well as the complete absence of contempt for the victims. One of my favourites.

  6. I really liked this episode a lot! One of my favorite movies and consider it a 4th of July staple just like hot dogs for me. I got the jaws game as a kid and loved it despite my parents not letting me see the film.

    We have a cocker spaniel that is identical to the one in the film.

    Thank you Rob!!

Leave a Reply to David Ace Gutiérrez Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *