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Jaws (1975) Film Review

Fig 1: 'Jaws' (1975) Poster

The Film 'Jaws' (1975) is a classic thriller movie that features a large great white shark as it terrorises the inhabitants of Amity, a small island community and favoured holiday destination for many tourists. The plot is an adaptation of a novel written by Peter Benchley, it contains just the key elements of the novels plot and refines it into something very simple but incredibly effective; favouring action over complicated themes. This, however, leaves many scenes from 'Jaws' open for audience interpretation and analysis, giving this film an abundance themes and narratives stemming from the audience's imagination.

"What this movie is about, and where it succeeds best, is the primordial level of fear." (Siskel 1999)

This film succeeds in its attempts to create a thrilling and frightening experience in many different ways but all inevitably boil down to the same emotional response that drives both the narrative and cinematic experiences, fear. The instinctual fear of humanity is heavily played upon in 'Jaws', with the embodiment of the this emotion concentrated on the great white shark that runs rampant throughout the film. This focusing of fear allows Spielberg to let the over arching plot of 'Jaws' or lack of one fall by the wayside. The audience becomes entranced by this notion of the invisible killer in the water and allows the flimsy narrative to coat over the lynch pin of the film, doing nothing to aid the cinematic experience or capture the character's emotions. Each construct can be simply replaced by something else, exchanged and the difference would be hardly noticeable.

Fig 2: Roy Scheider in 'Jaws' (1975)

'Jaws' is rife with sexual connotations and interpretations of its main antagonist, the shark.

"...in his first megahit he summed up what was best in the old -- the humor, the perversity..." (Denby 2005)

The way in which 'Jaws' deals with its sexually alluring scenes, in particular its starting sequence with a teenage girl skinny dipping, is both obtuse and bland, choosing to ignore any association with sexuality as an overt theme in favour of bloody violence and action. This, however, does not hold true for the incredible amount of sexual undertones with these bloody and violent action sequences, one such example of this would be the starting scene, in which a teenage girl strips nude and dives into the ocean. The scene doesn't focus on the sexual tone of the teenager's action and instead glosses over this in favour of the shark's attack on her. This scene can be viewed as an imitation of rape on the young girl as she screams in terror while a beast shaped similarly to a penis ravages her lower body, this can also be interpreted as a loss of innocence as she begins to bleed from the attack, the beast deflowers her and strips all childlike purity away to leave nothing but flesh and blood. These tones are not only secluded within this scene as another death scene, the boat captain Quint's, spurs audience thoughts of sexual association; as he is eaten by the shark his lower half is completely devoured as mother nature, symbolised by the shark, castrates him and devours his genitalia. The shark then drags the other half of the now dead Quint underwater and out of reach of any aid, this can be viewed as mother nature forcing him, a character noted for his overt masculine behaviour and overtones, into submission and portraying his relinquishing of life and control as a stereotypical and idealist feminine action.    

Fig 3: Quint's Death in 'Jaws' (1975)

The film encourages audiences to enjoy the gore filled spectacles it provide, with focus upon the fear and twisted pleasure of such moments.

"making the audience pay for its illicit pleasures." (Hoberman 2011)

The blood lathered scenes of innocent deaths at the hands of the shark both frighten and excite audiences, grasping their attention and forcing these vivid images to be watched from start to finish. One particularly disturbing scene is the starting sequence which, as mentioned previously, contains sexual connotations and undertones while being slightly overtly alluring, only for her to be wrench around like a chew toy by an invisible attacker under the water for at least a minute. The scene echoes of underlying themes and ideas but is visually alluring and horrific while the latter is supported by her high pitched screams of agony. This capturing and overall elevation of gore into the spotlight and forcing the audience to enjoy such scenes is part of the perverse charm of this film but also its scariest features, as the audience catch themselves enjoying the blood and gore of the death scenes and find themselves confused between feeling frightened or delighted by the shark and its actions; this moral dilemma can then be considered why the film works less as a narrative and story driven piece and so well as a cinematic and visual experience.


List of Illustrations

Fig 1: 'Jaws' (1975) Poster [Poster] At: http://2warpstoneptune.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/jaws-poster.jpg

Fig 2: Roy Scheinder in 'Jaws' (1975) Directed by Steven Spielberg [Film Still] America: Universal Pictures. At: http://nobodyputsbabyinahorner.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/roy-scheider-jaws.jpg (Accessed 04/02/2014)

Fig 3: Quint's Death in 'Jaws' (1975) Directed by Steven Spielberg [Film Still] America: Universal Pictures.
(Accessed 04/02/2014)

Bibliography

Denby, David (2005) At: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/06/13/050613gore_GOAT_recordings3 [Film Review] (Accessed 04/02/2014)

Hoberman, Jim (2011) At: http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-02-09/voice-choices/jaws/full/ [Film Review] (Accessed 04/02/2014)

Siskel, Gene (1999) At: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-10-15/entertainment/9910200025_1_movie-reviews-star-film/2 [Film Review] (Accessed 04/02/2014)

The Birds (1963) Film Review

Fig 1: 'The Birds' (1963) poster

The film 'The Birds' (1963) is a disaster movie focused upon man versus environment, with the native birds of america becoming carnivorous and hungry for human flesh. The story begins with a independent and headstrong female protagonist, Melanie Daniels, who pursues a male lawyer from San Francisco to a small rural town after he plays a trick on her. Determined to get her own back she decides to purchase a present for his little sister, which was mentioned in passing, and surprise him, approaching and delivering the gift unseen with use of a boat. This all goes according to plan until a seagull ambushes her as she docks and acts as a clear prelude to the horrific scenes to follow.

"Though it lacks the psychological depth of Hitchcock's greatest works, it's characterised by a nightmarish simplicity." (Glasby 2013)

The films plot is in itself relatively simple, playing host to the core idea of something mundane or unrecognised taking revenge against the human populace, killing men, women and children indiscriminately. The comment above from Glasby points out this simplicity but does not punish the film for it, instead celebrating this "nightmarish simplicity" and in some form applauding Hitchcock's use of horrific elements as an overall base for the film, features that would have been ghastly to a 1960s audience with scenes of corpses, death and terror quite prominent, as well as the town's complete transformation into a hell hole, marked by the exploding cars and descent of masses of winged flesh eaters, among the most memorable.

Fig 2: Bird's eye view of Bodega Bay in 'Birds' (1963).

Hitchcock playfully experiments with new and established cinematic techniques throughout 'The Birds'.

"Genuinely disturbing thriller classic from the master of suspense." ( Newman 2007)

The camera techniques throughout this terrifying ordeal make use of and even create the frightening energy placed around the flying flesh eaters, using classic Hitchcock suspense techniques and then current film techniques, such as the bird's eye view of the town above, to establish these emotions of fear. One of the films most prominent shots features crows gathering slowly onto a climbing frame behind the main protagonist, Hitchcock heightens his audiences emotions by simply teasing the climbing frame but three times with long intervals of watching Melanie elongating the moment. The emotional reaction from these shots creates a feeling of anguish with the audience, wanting the protagonist to see the silent but very real terror massing before our eyes but unable to warn her of it. The sequence is of a traditional Hitchcock cinematic shot lineage but the simple experimentation with timing and teasing the frame creates a new and incredibly successful cinematic technique that pulls the audience to the very edges of their seats. Other shots within the film mirror this experimental nature, all stemming from original and established techniques but played with in order to create an altogether improved nail biting experience.

Fig 3: Crow climbing frame in 'The Birds'

The film is a very opaque and grisly visual representation of Hitchcock's cinematic style. 

"vicious unpredictability and moral and emotional disorder on the one hand, and rigorous stylistic control and formal organization, on the other." (Goldsmith 2012)

This signature cinematic style, unique to Hitchcock's films, is very much explained simply by Goldsmith above. His "vicious unpredictability" is represented in 'The Birds' by his character's sometimes melodramatic and overly grandiose actions and emotions, vicious in their own right by leaving the audience confused but attached to the story. This can be seen very quickly with the first scene, contained within the pet shop. The actions of Melanie and Mitch are so very loud and opaquely highlights these two as protagonist's for the tale, with the trick Mitch plays on Melanie both very quick and uncalled for in the eyes of the audience; sentiments echoed in hers as well, with Melanie pursuing Mitch to his home town to give a pair of birds as presents to his sister. These exaggerated actions may be over the top and completely strange, but they do not distract you from the story and instead strengthen it and the audiences expectation of a budding relationship between the two. His style's "rigorous stylistic control" is then illustrated through the films prelude to the bird threat. Mitch's mother, Lydia, discovers a man dead in his own bedroom when making a house call and Hitchcock's visually narrative style plays perfectly throughout the exploration of the quiet house, providing tension and foreboding with each shot; emotions which peak during a long one point perspective hallway shot and bursting upon the body's revelation. These, and many other scenes within the film allow the audience to see Hitchcock's experience and mastery of cinematic expression at play and almost perfect harmony with the simplistic storyline and equally simple character's.


List of Illustrations

Fig 1: 'The Birds' (1963) poster [Poster] At: http://www.brightsideofnews.com/Data/2011_6_2/Angry-Birds-to-Fly-Into-Your-TV/Alfred_Hitchcock_The%20Birds%20Poster_450.jpg

Fig 2: Bird's eye view of Bodega Bay in 'The Birds' (1963). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. [Film Still] America: Universal Pictures. At: http://www.freewebs.com/roho911/The%20Birds%2010.jpg (Accessed 04/02/2014)

Fig 3: Crow climbing frame in 'The Birds' (1963). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. [Film Still] America: Universal Pictures. At: http://americanfilm.afi.com/cms_uploads/AF_Mar_exclusive_bg1.jpg
(Accessed 04/02/2014)


Bibliography

Glasby, Matt (2013) At: http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/blu-ray/the-birds-50th-anniversary-edition [Online Review] (Accessed 04/02/2014)

Goldsmith, Leo (2012) At: http://www.notcoming.com/reviews/the-birds/ [Online Review] (Accessed 04/02/2014)

Newman, Kim (2007) At: http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=16934 [Online Review] (Accessed 04/02/2014)

Character Designs 2 - The face of Grayam

These are a few ideas of what Grayam, the grandfather of my story, might look like.
Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated!