How JAWS gives us the greatest human moments in cinema

Hello, Islanders!

The boss asked me to do a piece highlighting the Top 10 dramatic and humorous moments in JAWS.  But when I started writing, I realized that a few of those moments were both dramatic AND humorous.  So, I decided to instead highlight the moments of true emotion, be it be joy or fear, laughter or tears.  In no particular order:

Dinner At The Brody House

This scene is full of witty comments, from Hooper helping himself to Brody’s dinner (“is anyone eating this?” to Ellen innocently commenting that her husband hells her Hooper is in sharks.  It also contains one of the genuinely sweet moments in the film when young Sean Brody begins to mimic his father’s gestures.

Hendricks’ Wave

One of my favorite small scenes in the film takes place when Brody, on the phone inside a shed, looks out the window to see Hendricks standing outside.  Trying to get his attention, he throws something at the window.  Hendricks turns, smiles and waves.

The Dock

The dock is the setting for not only some of the funniest bits in the film but also one of the most dramatic.  On the fun side you have the arrival of Matt Hooper.  From his greeting by Ben Gardner to his trying to find a good restaurant or hotel on the Island, the scenes are comedy gold.  Highlight for most fans is when, after Hooper identifies the captured shark as a tiger shark, local fisherman Dick Young replies, “a whaaaaaaat?”

However, the humor turns to drama when Mrs. Kintner and her father confront Brody.  You can cut the tension with a knife as she slaps Brody and scolds him for not closing the beaches.  The slap is so sudden and unexpected that even Hooper winces.  The mayor tries to console Brody, stating that Mrs. Kintner is wrong in her accusations.  A defeated Brody quietly replies, “no she’s not.”

 The billboard

Another dramatic scene with a bit of humor, with the laugh coming when Hooper claims that the mayor will continue to ignore the shark until it “swims up and bites you in the ass!”  

Stare Down

While on the deck of the ORCA, Quint finishes off a beer and menacingly crushes the can in his hand.  Not to be intimidated, Hooper fixes a steely gaze on Quint, sips some water from his Styrofoam cup and crushes it.

Other moments of humor include the fake fin, Brody checking his gallbladder scar and Ellen imploring Michael to get out of his new boat.  Another highlight, thanks to a now available deleted scene, is Quint musically heckling a young boy in the music shop.

Jumps

Films are full of “jump scares,” scenes designed to make the audience recoil from what they have seen.  Think the chest burster in Alien or the hobbling scene in Misery.  You are so involved in the film that you can’t help but jump or look away from the action on screen.  JAWS has three that have always stuck out to me. 

Estuary Scene

For the first hour of the film, the shark has only been hinted at.  With the exception of the quick glance during the Alex Kintner attack, the audience has not seen the shark, having only their imagination to give them an idea of what Amity is dealing with.  Then comes the estuary scene.  After his boat is capsized, a man reaches up to grab the side to pull himself back into the boat.  Then, without warning, the shark appears from below, grabbing the man and pulling him under.  You are stunned at you have just seen.  The sheer size of the shark is amazing.  It’s like in the film Roxanne when Rick Rosovitch, finally seeing Steve Martin’s nose comments, “I mean they said it was big but I didn’t expect it to be….BIG!”

Chumming

A fine example of humor turning to fear occurs when Brody, while ladling chum off the back of the ORCA, complains about his task, challenging Hooper to come down and shovel.  No sooner do we laugh at the comment when the shark pokes it’s head out of the water, causing Brody, and the audience, to recoil in terror.  What follows is one of the most quoted lines in film history.  As Brody backs into the cabin of the ORCA he comments to Quint, “you’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Ben Gardner’s Head              

To me, this is the granddaddy of jump scares.  The one that I compare all others in the history of film to.  And it wasn’t even in the film until a month before release.  The story goes that, after a preview of JAWS director Steven Spielberg decided he wanted one more scare in the film.  Using his own money and filming in film editor Verna Fields swimming pool, he shot a scene that showed Hooper looking into a hole in the bottom of Ben Gardner’s boat.  The music plays softly, then becomes almost a scream as the dead fisherman’s head pops through the hole.  I actually jumped so hard that I showered the people sitting in the rows of seats behind me with popcorn!  

Quint

 Set in his ways after decades of doing things alone, Quint is a man who doesn’t suffer fools greatly.  He is quick to temper and not afraid of hurting anyone else’s feelings.  From his introduction during the town hall meeting to his grisly demise, Quint is responsible for setting much of the dramatic theme of the film, especially in the second act.

 Quint and Hooper

From their first meeting in Quint’s shack, when Quint challenges Hooper to tie a knot and accuses him of having “city hands,” the dynamic between old and new is never more evident then when these two characters butt heads.  Other moments include Quint mocking Hooper’s equipment, including the “Monkey Cage” he brings aboard the ORCA as well as Hooper telling Quint that the item at the end of his line was not a shark.  

 Smashing The Radio

After the shark surprises Hooper and Quint as they try to pull the ropes from the barrels up from the water, Brody decides to “make a phone call” and attempts to contact the authorities.  Seeing this, Quint grabs a club and smashes the radio.  He then calmly hands Brody the club and resumes his work.  As if to say, “I can do this without anyone’s help.”

 The Indianapolis Speech

An amazing scene in a film full of them, Quint’s recounting of the tragedy of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis is an example of acting for the ages.  Both Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss have stated that they really didn’t have to act in the scene, mesmerized by the delivery of a monologue that lives on nearly five decades later as one of the most intense scenes in film history.

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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