Similar to the "French Drug Network" reviewed in the last film, "Jaws" is by no means an impeccable and perfect work, but it occupies a very important position in the history of film. First of all, this is the first film to be released using the concept of "large-scale release", with a large number of marketing activities and TV commercials, setting a global box office record of 470 million, in the history of film distribution and establishing a Hollywood business model The above has far-reaching significance; secondly, the film set a model for future horror films or thrillers, opening the era of high-cost, high-tech and high-speed thrillers, and more and more lucrative high-cost works that are easy to promote and describe The more welcomed by the studio. Therefore, like "French Drug Network", "Jaws" has also been included in the list of protected films under the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
As a thriller, the first priority for survival is naturally "thriller" or not. In this regard, Steven Spielberg, who was still in the leveling stage, did quite well, and his talent for storytelling has begun to emerge. Although "Great White Shark" is the protagonist of the film and the source of horror, in fact the model of this shark named "Bruce" appeared in the film very limited shots. Most of the time the director used suggestive methods to construct it. The atmosphere of suspense and terror, the psychological impact of the shark on the characters in the film is far greater than the horror of the shark itself, Spielberg's grasp of this is just right. Of course, "Jaws" can become a classic, and the soundtrack of composer John Williams is also indispensable. The theme music surrounding the two notes of bass and bass conveys a strong sense of oppression, simple but direct, in his own words It means "like a shark, approaching you unrelentingly and unstoppable."
In addition to fear, the shadows of Moby-Dick and The Old Man and the Sea can be clearly seen in Jaws. The professional shark hunter Quint is just another Ahab or Santiago. On the surface, Quint’s motivation for accepting tasks is for rewards, but his subconscious desire to challenge monsters and nature is the source of his behavior. In him, we can not only see the hatred of the prey like Ahab, as well as the greedy desire to kill and conquer, but also the indomitable and tenacious qualities like Santiago. Quint is the best portrayed character in this thriller. "Empire" magazine selected the 100 most outstanding movie characters in 2008. It is not easy for Quint to be ranked 50th.
The sensational effect of "Jaws" at the time also caused various interpretations by academic critics. For example, the film retained the thought of cynicism about politics after the Watergate incident (represented by the mayor who cared about human life and profited only); "Idealism" (represented by Gwent), "science" (represented by Hooper), "common people" (represented by Brody) are regarded as three different methods of solving problems, and so on. Personally, these insights are reasonable and interesting, but there is no need to over-interpret an entertainment movie. When the film loads more metaphors, its attributes appear to be cheaper. "Jaws" is just "Jaws". That's it.
Forty years have passed, and the biological thrillers represented by "Jaws" have obviously been played badly. When sharks, crocodiles, and pythons appear in second and third-rate thrillers over and over again, we are no longer afraid. . Thriller (horror) movies are one of the genres that most need to keep pace with the times. Compared with the prevalence of new horror elements such as "ecological catastrophe", "cyber crisis", and "artificial intelligence", turn your head back and look at the "Great White Shark". "When I was born, I couldn't help but sigh that the era was so simple.
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