Did you spot the Jaws references in these classic movies?
Hello, Islanders!
A beautiful young woman runs along the water on an empty beach. As she runs she laughs to herself while she slowly removes her clothes. Now naked, she runs into the water and begins to swim. Pausing for a moment, she treads water. Suddenly, the water around her begins to roil as the young woman begins to scream. Sound familiar.
You may think that I was describing the opening scene from “Jaws.” And why wouldn’t you, since you are reading this on a page called THE DAILY JAWS. But you’d be wrong. I’m describing an early scene from 1979’s “1941,” director Steven Spielberg’s follow-up to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The scene continues to be among my most famous “Jaws” homages found in other films. Spielberg upped the ante by having Susan Backlinie, who of course appeared as Chrissie Watkins, the shark’s first known victim in “Jaws,” portray the hapless swimmer. I was watching “1941” the other day and I began to think about the many “Jaws” homages you can find in other films and thought I’d share some of my favorites.. Remember, this is MY list. If I didn’t pick one of your favorites, don’t hate me!
AIRPLANE
One of the earliest homages that I can remember. As the film begins, we are greeted by John William’s iconic theme. Through a thick bank of clouds we see that appears to be a fin cutting through the fog. The music gets louder as the “fin” continues to pass across the screen. Suddenly, we hear a loud engine roar and see a 747 fly up through the clouds. What makes this one of my favorites is that, as the first notes of the music played, the audience tittered. In a few short notes, they recognized the music and tensed at the thought of what may lay ahead on screen.
CADDYSHACK
A swimming pool full of rowdy children and an errant candy bar are the necessary ingredients for the homage in this comedy classic. When a swimmer notices the candy bar floating on the surface, they incorrectly assume it is something else and recoil in terror. A shout of “Doody” fills the air and soon everyone in the pool is screaming and swimming towards the ladders. Except for young Spaulding, snorkeling unaware. The payoff is when Bill Murray’s Carl Spackler nets the offending item, realizes that it's candy, and takes a bite.
BACK TO THE FUTURE II
In the year 2015, 1985’s Marty McFly finds himself standing outside of a movie theatre, proudly advertising Max Spielberg’s “Jaws 19.” Suddenly, as the “Jaws” theme plays, a holographic shark rises in the air, then swoops down on Marty. He screams. Realizing it was just an illusion, he walks off noting that “the shark still looks fake.”
THE FILMS OF KEVIN SMITH
This is one filmmaker who LOVES “Jaws” so much that he tries to add a homage to the film in every movie he makes. Here are a few:
“Clerks” – moving a triangular chip through a jar of salsa, Randall calls it a “salsa shark,” while proclaiming “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
“Mallrats” – In an extremely romantic gesture, T.S. Quint wants to propose to his girlfriend “when Jaws pops out of the water” at Universal Orlando. T.S.’s friend is named Brodie. A film so fun that I forgive Kevin Smith for having his characters refer to the shark as JAWS…like that’s its name.
“Chasing Amy” – one of the best homages here. While sitting in a bar, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams begin to compare scars they’ve acquired while having sex in unusual places. As they go on, we notice that the background is similar to the interior of the ORCA. When Adms notes that her knee looked like “a kiddies scissors class had cut it up for paper dolls,” you have to hand it to Kevin Smith. Bonus for having a character named Hooper.
Surprisingly, there was no “Jaws” homage in Smith’s fourth film, “Dogma.” I saw a very early screening of the film and afterwards I asked him why. He told me that he had one, put had to cut it for time. In the deleted scene, while visiting the local Bishop, Jay takes the Bishop’s mitre and proceeds to move it across the room like a fin, humming the “Jaws” theme.
OPEN WATER
A well-made film based on the true story of divers Tom and Eileen Longerman, the “Jaws” homage is not revealed until the end of the film when, as the camera pans across the couple’s gear, we learn their names are Susan WATKINS and Daniel KINTNER.
THE MASTER OF DISGUISE
The 13-year old boy in me loves this movie, a mindless comedy based around the many different disguises that star Dana Carvey dons to solve his father’s kidnapping. I also laugh way too hard every time Brent Spiner’s character breaks wind. Told you. I’m a 13-year old boy. In one scene, Carvey runs from a party disguised as Tony Montana from “Scarface.” When he is next seen, he is sitting in a rowboat, sporting bushy sideburns, and wearing a field jacket. The name on the boat? ORCA. When he is questioned, he does a spot-on imitation of Robert Shaw’s Quint, talking about doll’s eyes and kids going into the water. He also speaks quite a bit of gibberish, but the tone and accent are uncanny. I liken it to Bill Murray imitating Richard Burton in “Scrooged.” At the end of his tale we sadly learn tha fate of the children the shark didn’t eat – the ice cream man took the rest.
PIRANHA 3D
Probably the greatest ever, thanks to Richard Dreyfuss. This film opens with Dreyfuss sitting in a small boat, drinking a beer and humming “Show Me the Way to Go Home.” In his jeans, sweatshirt and watch cap he looks suspiciously like our favorite oceanographer. The cameo is brief, but brilliant.
Well, that’s my list. There are many more out there, from “Stakeout” (guessing movie lines) to “Deep Blue Sea” (the license plate number). If you haven’t seen them, seek them out. I think you’ll enjoy them.
Words by Michael A Smith. Michael is co-author of Jaws 2: The Making Of The Hollywood Sequel. You can order the book by contacting Michael at OsFanMike@aol.com.
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