Not sure when it stopped but remember when this time of the year, before Memorial Day, was all hyped with summer movie blockbusters coming out? We would be teased for months about new releases coming our way on the three-day weekend and we could not wait.
So many come to mind such as Batman, Top Gun, most Will Smith movies, Superhero ones and on and on and on. It soon went from Memorial Day Weekend to certain parts of the summer. Theaters were packed and it was all summer, “Hey, did you see this, or did you see that?”
That is why there is one movie that is responsible for all of that and one movie that took films to the next level in terms of marketing, pop-culture, and copy-cats. One movie that sat the tone for the rest of cinema to use their blueprint to be successful and because of this epic flick, we entered our golden era of film.
Jaws.
Yes, Jaws. Before Jaws, most movies were released in certain parts of the country, then another part and then another part. Jaws was released to 450 movies at one time in June and by the end of July, was in over 700 theaters thanks to the incredible word of mouth it was getting. Once studios saw this success, they all changed to releasing ‘Summer Blockbusters.’
At the core though, was a movie that scared people to death that wasn’t about a ghost or a serial killer, or the like. It was about a shark. It was also the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean, which added to the real life situations that we saw on the screen.
Movies had incredible soundtracks and songs but the Jaws theme is timeless and has been for nearly 50 years. Play that theme anywhere and anytime and people know exactly what you are talking about. One of the best things about a Jimmy Buffett concert was played the Jaws theme before he broke into playing Fins.
You had fascinating cinematography, great characters, great dialogue and at the core of Jaws, suspense. People never looked at the ocean the same way again and the psychological effect goes far beyond anything that had been seen before.
I have been very vocal that they need to release Jaws again in the theaters with the mind-blowing audio and sound and technology that is available now. Make it loud in there and let us all experience it again, how it should be.
I think that literally every single thing about Jaws is perfect. Just absolutely perfect. Watch it again, if you haven’t already lately, knowing that if it weren’t for Jaws, cinema would not be what it is today. The movie is timeless, meaning it will scare you just as it did the first time you saw it, no matter how long ago.
I will see you at the beach. Maybe.
