Steven Spielberg Dives into Uncharted Cinematic Success with Jaws

 

A true game changer in the history of films, Jaws became a cultural phenomenon upon release in June of 1975 as the original summer blockbuster, obtaining record-breaking box-office figures while bringing director Steven Spielberg worldwide fame as possibly the most gifted young director to come Hollywood’s way since Orson Welles, as well as keeping more impressionable viewers out of the ocean waters for years to come. Keenly crafted to offer nail-biting suspense from the famous first scene Spielberg, aided by terrific on-location shooting at Martha’s Vineyard by Bill Butler, John Williams’ renown tension-filled score, and a first-rate screenplay adaptation of Peter Benchley’s  1974 best seller by Benchley and Carl Gottlieb, Spielberg manages to keep viewers on edge the entire 124-minute running time, setting up a series of singularly designed and cleverly shot sequences as the story unfolds concerning the title character’s rampage near the beaches of the small-but-touristy coastal town of Amity Island during a fateful July 4^th season, with a finely-chosen cast creating characters of individually, humor and resolve also assisting in setting the right ambience as the audience is drawn into their plight. 

                Exhibiting mastery of the film medium unheard of in so new a directorial talent, Steven Spielberg, only 27 when the film was shot, after already starting strongly in television with such fare as Night Gallery and the superior t.v. film Duel before his outstanding theatrical debut with 1974’s The Sugarland Express, took on the mantle of the go-to director for quality entertainment of a thrilling and fantastic nature with Jaws, and confidently ran with his new status to create some of the most impactful, nuanced and absorbing films of his generation, following Jaws with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark  and E.T. to name a few highlights. However, his complete focus and dedication as a filmmaker to achieving a perfect balance wherein elements of terror, drama and comedy are supremely interwoven to keep the tone of the work and a viewer’s involvement admirably consistent and entertaining may never have been better demonstrated than with Jaws. Spielberg appears to instinctually know when to offer up the chilling attack scenes or unsettling moments wherein these tragedies are discussed, or the results of them shown, with more humanistic, identifiable instances, such as the downcast police chief hero’s son mimicking his father at a dinner table to bond with his dad, or the unforgettable passage wherein a victim’s tormented mother confronts Martin Brody, the overwhelmed police chief, making Jaws a chiller with an unusually strong component of humanity mixed in with the more explosive action. The astounding editing of Verna Fields greatly aids Spielberg in maintaining his vision, as she delineates each slowly mounting attack with a skill and precision that allows for some of the biggest shocks found in a major film, while Spielberg wisely opts to wait to reveal the main villain of the piece, leaving much of the terror surrounding the attacks to the macabre portion of the audience’s imagination. Although Spielberg would move from strength-to strength throughout his amazing career, if he had only directed Jaws, his place among the top craftsmen in Hollywood history would be unquestioned. 

                As police chief Brody, Roy Scheider helps anchor the film in reality and humanity, adding intriguing layers far from the black-and-white portrayals of brave, commanding heroes normally found in movies. With calm fortitude, Scheider suggests how the dilemmas surrounding him are weighing down the chief, who among other drawbacks prefers to stay out of the water even before the most unwelcomed title visitor shows up to wreak havoc on the townspeople and tourists. Scheider is unafraid to show Brody’s lack of courage as danger looms at sea, leading to the most famous retort in the movie concerning the need for a “bigger boat.” However, Scheider also lends a quiet nobility to the thoughtful, sometimes wary lawman as he fights to resolve the serious issue and again bring peace to the community, allowing him to gain sympathy from audiences towards this likable, identifiable everyman. Starting in films in 1964 after a career with the U.S. Air Force, Scheider had a breakthrough 1971 with both Klute and Oscar-nominated work in Best Picture winner The French Connection. After Jaws, Scheider’s preeminent decade in cinema continued with Marathon Man, Sorcerer, the inevitable but popular Jaws 2, before exiting the decade in glory with his expansive, Oscar-nominated work in All That Jazz. He then continued with on with sturdy, sincere work in such eclectic offerings as 2010, 52 Pick-Up, The Russia House and Naked Lunch. Scheider would pass in 2008 at age 75, then have a posthumous final film credit with 2009’s Iron Cross.

                Richard Dreyfuss, continuing his upward career trajectory after starting out in bits in 1967’s Valley of the Dolls and The Graduate before claiming stardom with 1973’s American Graffiti and one of his career roles the next year via The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, scores heavily as Matt Hooper, the alert, sage young oceanographer who aids Brody on the quest to find the killer shark. Dreyfuss, with his spirited presence and deft ability to mix dramatic and comedic moments in creating a fully rounded portrait of Hooper as an intelligent, concerned scientist who wants to get to the bottom of things at the bottom of the sea, leading to one of the biggest surprise shocks in movies as Hooper inspects a deserted fishing boat and finds a lot more than he expected, is magnetically convincing throughout. Post-Jaws Dreyfuss would continue on his superstar path, reaching his zenith in 1977 with the one-two box-office and critical punch of Close encounters and his Oscar role in The Goodbye Girl. The ten years following this peak brought Dreyfuss ill fortune, but he would return as a major star thereafter with fare such as Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Stakeout, What About Bob? and a second Academy Award nomination for Mr. Holland’s Opus, while continuing to enhance his credits via film, television and theater work on Broadway and elsewhere.

Robert Shaw is robust and sly as the mysterious Quint, who arrives on the scene after the initial attack to offer his services, at a hefty price, to remove the shark. The confident, entertainingly hammy Shaw has a field day in illustrating the daring seaman’s haphazard behavior and derring-do as he loads his boat “Orca,” then goes out to sea with Brody and Hooper determined to blow the shark down. Shaw wrests every ounce of color to be found in the eccentric seafarer’s persona, as a viewer stares on in wonder mulling over the surprising extremes Quint follows to conquer the ocean predator, while also enjoying the at first adversarial, then friendlier banter between Quint and his more practical colleagues (Shaw works extremely well with Dreyfuss in the famous, humorous sequence wherein they compare scars they’ve encountered during their aquatic endeavors). Following this smash Shaw, who also toiled as a writer and had debuted in films via 1951’s The Lavender Hill Mob before bolstering his name value in the 1960’s via From Russia with Love and Oscar-nominated work in 1966’s Best Picture A Man for All Seasons before work in another Academy Best Picture, 1973’s The Sting, made ample use of the top stardom Jaws brought him before his passing in 1978 at only 51, with appearances in top late-1970’s action-oriented movies such as Black Sunday, The Deep and Force 10 from Navarone.

Among the rest of a memorable cast, Murray Hamilton exudes calculated sneakiness at every turn in a subdued, smart performance as Larry Vaughan, Amity’s nervous mayor who seemingly wants the beach to remain open on Independence Day at any cost. Lorraine Gary is warm and appealing as Ellen, Brody’s concerned wife, working very well with Scheider to establish a strong relationship dynamic filled with touching and funny moments. As Chrissie, the most unfortunate swimmer in the annals of film, Susan Backlinie earns her place in movie history with her indelible and justifiably renown opening scene. Lee Fierro has perhaps the prime dramatically transfixing scene in Jaws as the bereft Mrs. Kintner who angrily addresses Brody, enacting the role with a gripping emotional truth that lingers as one wonders what became of this distraught mother in the aftermath of her darkest holiday. Jeffrey Kramer has a nice comic presence as Brody’s out-of-his-league deputy, and screenwriters Gottlieb and Benchley make brief appearances as well. 

                The seismic success of Jaws changed how movies were offered to the general public, with filmmakers and studios realizing significant profitable gains could be garnered by emphasizing summer releases after witnessing receipts pouring in, with Jaws amassing a little over $121,000,000 in U.S./Canadian rentals (according to Variety) during its first run, ending up as the highest-grossing movie ever (not adjusted for inflation) until the behemoth known as Star Wars took the crown a couple years later. Critics were also rhapsodic concerning the merits of the one-of-a-kind production, specifically throwing hosannas Spielberg’s way for pulling off such a challenging assignment with flair and intelligence. Come award season, in a very competitive year (Dog Day Afternoon, Nashville and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest were just three of the other top 1975 releases) Jaws did receive some of the attention it deserved, although bias against its massive success may have kept it from ultimately achieving as praise as it should have, awards-wise. Spielberg did receive notice with nominations from the Director’s Guild of America and the Golden Globes, which also granted Jaws a Best Picture nomination, while Time magazine placed the film among its top ten and the Writers Guild of America nominated Benchley and Gottlieb. At the Academy Awards, Jaws won richly deserved Oscars for Field’s uncanny editing, Williams’ legendary score and for Best Sound, while also finding a place in the Best Picture lineup, which proved victorious for Cuckoo’s Nest. However, in one of the biggest oversights ever, Spielberg was not among the Best Director candidates, having to wait a couple years for his first nomination in the category for Close Encounters, before finally going on to win two directorial Oscars for more Academy-friendly WWII pictures. 

 Jaws has lived on with a series of sequels and rip-offs, some more successful than others but none matching the ingenuity and massive entertainment value of the original, with the film’s great white shark becoming a beloved figure as a Universal Studios’ main attraction and as one of the most villainous characters ever to fill an audience with dread, with some granting a measure of compassion for the fish who was simply doing what comes naturally asea. Among other honors, Jaws was included on the National Film Registry’s 2001 list of movies for preservation, while making many lists of the top 100 greatest movies of all time, including placement on the AFI’s 1998 and 2008 polls of the best American films and inclusion at #104 (tied with three other masterworks, including The Godfather, Part II) on the most recent Sight and Sound poll from 2022. Jaws far-reaching appeal is also suggested by it claiming the #2 position (behind Weapons) when last weekend’s box office figures were tallied during the 50^th anniversary release of the classic. As a child, this author was among those easily-susceptible to the many beautifully illustrated scare factors so artfully visualized in the movie, with what is generally regarded as the biggest shock “jump scare” in the movie resulting in overpowering screams in his kiddie matinee showing (which an older kid finally stopped by yelling for us to “shut up!”) he has never heard again in a movie house, just one example of how resourcefully and effectively Spielberg and his cast and crew were able to pull off one of the greatest achievements ever seen on the silver screen.

Arletty and Jean-Louis Barrault Iconically Shine in Marcel Carné’s Masterful Paradise

 

                One of French Cinema’s crowning glories, director Marcel Carné’s mesmerizing romantic drama Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis) spins a fascinating tale involving a wealth of intrigue and the complex, complicated relationships involved therein. Centered around the shifting fortunes, artistic and otherwise, found among a group of colorful characters introduced on Paris’ “Boulevard of Crime” circa the 1830’s, the transfixing plot is beautifully laid out via frequent Carné collaborator Jacques Prévert’s incisive, efficient screenplay, which carefully outlines the progression of the rich array of imposing personages working and interacting at the Funamblues Theater, some based on actual historical figures, including a jovial, amorous actor, Frédérick Lemaître, the melancholic but ultra-gifted mime, Baptiste Deburau, the ignoble, dangerous Pierre Lacenarie, the proud Count de Montray and the woman they all covet, the serene, forthright Garance Reine. How these four form relations and impact each other in surprising, unorthodox ways during the abundant 190-minute runtime is illustrated by Carné and his brilliant cast and crew with a depth and flair that allow Paradise to place among the most engrossing narratives in film history.

                Carné, a leading figure in French cinema after making his feature film directional debut via 1936’s Jenny then finding great success with his previous work, 1942’s Les Visiteurs du Soir, poured all of his talent and resources into creating the opulent Paradise, somehow managing to pull off the bold undertaking during the mid-1940’s while in the midst of WWII devastation surrounding him and his large group of technicians in front and behind the camera. Overseeing the challenging assignment, including a mammoth cast and difficult on-location shooting that captures the perfect mise en scène for the story via Roger Hubert’s impeccable cinematography, with great attention to detail Carné upholds a firm focus on conveying the main themes concerning how art and passion affect the lives of the main players, outlining their various predicaments with conviction and dramatic clarity, while directing some major set pieces, including the elaborate segments on the fast-paced, congested Boulevard of Crime, with riveting style and sense of place, specifically during the stunning recreation of a frenetic carnival at its peak of activity on the Boulevard. After this phenomenal accomplishment, Carné would continue as a leading director, gaining critical and public acclaim in the 1950s with 1953’s Thérèse Raquin, which won the Silver Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, and 1958’s Les tricheurs, a huge hit in France and Switzerland, after first being responsible for early film appearances by Yves Montand and Jean-Paul Belmondo, then later granting Robert De Niro his film debut in 1965’s Trois chambres à Manhattan. After building one of the more influential filmographies of his era, Carné would pass in October 1996 at age 90.

Arletty, who debuted in films in 1930 after extensive stage work, holds the screen with a mystique and easy command in her signature role as Garance, a street-smart, impetuous siren that lives life on her terms with a modern independence, but reveals a tender side once she connects with the equally smitten Baptiste. Possessing a bemused countenance with a frequent smile that suggests Mona Lisa’s trademark, Arletty imbues Garance with a rare, captivating stillness and practical nature that marks her among the most unique presences in film, allowing Garance to fall somewhere in between heroine and femme fatale. Her intuitive, natural acting talent is exquisitely showcased by Carné, continuing his work with Arletty after their fruitful collaborations which started with Hotel du Nord in 1938 and included Le jour se lève and Les Visiteurs prior to Paradise. Arletty is clearly in her element as Garance, performing with a confidence and instinct that make it hard for a viewer to focus on anyone else whenever she’s onscreen. Although Garance is often self-serving and tough, her brave, fearless demeanor draws the audience to her side as they wish her to overcome adversity and find some harmony in life. The gifted, skillful star is also winning in adopting a gentle, caring attitude in highly personal moments with the sensitive Jean-Louis Barrault as Baptiste, whether Garance is initially attempting to seduce the mime with her claim of the easy nature of love or, later in the film, revealing how vulnerable and sincere Garance, now fully enveloped in her passion for Baptiste, has become. After her unsurpassable triumph in Paradise Arletty, although sidelined around the time of the film’s release by a brief imprisonment for treason after an affair with a German officer, would remain a leading star of French films while also starring on stage, highlighted by her appearance as Blanche in the French production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Later in her career, Arletty would finally appear in a Hollywood production, as part of the all-star cast in Darryl Zanuck’s epic 1962 war drama The Longest Day, before retiring from films, outside of voice work and an appearance as herself, the following year in Le voyage à Biarritz opposite the top clown of French Cinema, Fernandel. After a lengthy retirement, Arletty would pass in 1992 at age 94.

For Jean-Louis Barrault, Paradise also represented a chance to leave his indelible footprint in a part perfectly suited to his thespian talents and distinctive physical presence. As Baptiste, the gangly-but-graceful mime, Barrault is given ample opportunity to enact several creative pantomime routines on the Funamblues stage, making a huge impression as “The Man in White,” the title of the second half of the film, who is adorned in a white ensemble, including stark, chalky facial makeup that literally paints Barrault with one of the most original visages seen in film. Out of costume, the gaunt Barrault is also eye-catching, with his soulful eyes and sharp facial features matching up well with Arletty’s equally romantic profile, while they exude a tender, moving chemistry as the fragile love affair plays out. Beginning in the theater in 1931, wherein he studied pantomime as well as other artistic forms of expression, Barrault would make his start in films with a 1935 appearance in Beautiful Days, then work regularly in movies, including two projects with Carné before Paradise, while also achieving great success as a star of the renown Comédie-Française in the 1940s. After his landmark role as Baptiste, Barrault would continue to make his mark on stage and film, with Max Ophüls’ La Ronde from 1950 offering another top entry in Barrault’s filmography, before his retirement in 1990, followed by his passing in 1994 at age 83.

Pierre Brasseur is responsible for providing the most joie de vivre in Paradise in a multifaceted, vastly appealing performance as the carefree, amorous Frédérick who, similar to Garance, appears to live free of societal norms as he forges his own path in regard to life and career. Brasseur colorfully allows a viewer to see the egotism that would drive this charismatic talent to success on stage as he works his way into the pantomimes at the celebrated Funamblues despite having no prior experience in this particular field, while also showing Frédérick possesses the sense of humor to take nothing too seriously, starting with himself. Marcel Herrand adds dark dimensions to his unsettling portrayal of Lacenaire, bringing a diabolical fierceness to the role that suggests Lacenaire is capable of any crime known to man, and maybe some others as well. Pierre Renoir, son of the legendary impressionist painter and brother of director Jean, also channels a heap of sinisterness into his work as the untrustworthy ragman Jėricho, while Louis Salou is coolly regal and stoic as Garance’s patronizing, jealous lover, Count de Montray. As Baptiste’s loyal, long-suffering wife and acting colleague, María Casares makes a solid film debut and effectively procures audience sympathy However, unlike her esteemed costars, Casares would wait a few more years before obtaining her most powerful and lasting cinematic exploit as the figure of Death in Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus, wherein Casares utilizes her magnetic eyes to eerily devasting effect.

                Paradise was an immediate hit both critically and with audiences upon its Paris premiere in March of 1945, wherein it played for over a year in one theater. This strong initial showing in France carried over internationally, with the movie winning Special Mention at the 1946 Venice Film Festival and Prévert going on to win an Academy Award nomination for Original Screenplay, a rare feat at the time for a foreign language film. The reputation of Paradise as one of filmdom’s most significant works has been enhanced over the years, with the classic named the “Greatest French Film” via a 1995 poll of 600 French critics and industry experts, then going on to find a place on Time magazine’s 2005 list of the 100 greatest films, and placing at #136 on the recent 2022 prestigious Sight and Sound poll, after coming in at #75 on the 2012 survey. A must-watch for film lovers seeking out the most impressive cinematic achievements from the Golden Age of movies, Children of Paradise offers an epic, enticing, and thoroughly engrossing viewing experience sure to linger in memory, thanks to the skillful, highly individual efforts of Carné and his sterling team of illustrious artists.