YOU'RE NOT GONNA NEED A BIGGER SCREEN...

You're not gonna need a bigger screen...says Jaws fan and The Suicide Squad director, James Gunn

Jaws is one of James Gunn's favourite films, but he has never seen it on the big screen.

Speaking to Variety magazine about all things The Suicide Squad and The Guardians of the the Galaxy series of films, talk moved to distribution and the release of films on the big and small screen.

“Movies last because they’re seen on television. Jaws isn’t still a classic because people are watching it in theaters.” - The Suicide Squad writer / director James Gunn

It's obviously been a very different release window in the shadow of Covid, in an industry - that despite the march of Netflix and Prime - had remained largely unchanged since the term 'summer blockbuster' was coined with the release of Jaws in June 1975.

He discussed about whether seeing his films on the small screen - as many have been doing on the likes of Disney Plus or HBO Max - had an impact.

He explained that it is on TV then many of us discover the classics - even if they are only classics to us - and where films grow in stature and become beloved classics.

James Gunn told Variety: "The Suicide Squad” is made to be seen first and foremost on a big screen. I think it’s gonna work just fine on television. Listen, movies don’t last because they’re seen on the big screen. Movies last because they’re seen on television. “Jaws” isn’t still a classic because people are watching it in theaters. I’ve never seen “Jaws” in a movie theater. It’s one of my favorite movies."

He has a point, cinema is just one portent for us to discover the magic of motion pictures.

‘Jaws On The Water’ events continue to be popular with movie lovers.

Films such as It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story were flops upon their cinematic releases, but have become classics through the (repeated) power of television.

And even during the heady days of video rental, there are lots of examples of films that have found their place and been discovered at home. Films which didn't do as well on the big screen, including Highlander and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

And more recently, John Wick has gone onto have a successful franchise after finding its audience at home, which it initially didn't do in the multiplex.

Release structures may have changed, or forced in some circumstances, but does it really matter where you get to fall in love with film?

Sylvester Stallone provides the voice of King Shark in The Suicide Squad

I first saw Jaws on TV, not even seeing it in its originally intended widescreen until the 90s, and that didn't make me love or appreciate Jaws any less. Like many, I still watch it when it appears on television or a streaming service, even though I have it sat on my shelf ready to watch.

I didn't get to experience Jaws (and experience is the right word) until I saw it writ large on a cinema screen in 2012. It was a belated Jaws rite of passage, and Jaws is stunning on a huge screen - no matter how many times you have seen it. And Robert Shaw just owns every inch of that big screen.

Since then, I've seen it two further times on a cinema screen, this time accompanied by a live orchestra, and that was practically like a religious experience. That feeling, that buzz, can't be replicated on a TV.

But that makes those trips to the cinema all the more special and unique. And hopefully it will be safe for all of us to make a return soon.

Just like heading into that water, we all need to take precautions, all need to be happy in that darkened auditorium, that projector of dreams. And for some, that isn't now.

Until then, we've got our TVs, or like many, created our own mini-cinemas in our garages, our yahds or front rooms.

One of those who has taken up the home projector experience during lockdown has been Sebastian, from MusingsofaMiddle-AgedGeek.blog. Naturally, he has seen Jaws on his home projector set up.

He said: "The COVID pandemic forced movie fans like my wife and I to get our fix in new ways. Our small house doesn’t have the space for a dedicated theater room, and our ‘big’ TV is only 43″, so it’s not exactly an ideal replacement for the theatrical experience. Watching a movie with a small, safe group of friends under the stars was instantly intoxicating.

"My wife and I haven't gone to a movie theater in 18 months or so, and I haven't missed it very much, either (bad parking, sticky floors, mobile phones, rude audiences, etc).

“…our ‘big’ TV is only 43″, so it’s not exactly an ideal replacement for the theatrical experience.” Sebastian of ‘Musings Of A Middle Aged Geek’

"Streaming or playing BluRay movies on a large screen in the dark (indoors or outside), alone, or with a small group of masked/vaccinated friends, can be every bit as enchanting as any night we’ve ever had at the cinema.

"We may someday return to movie theatres, but for now? Streaming movies at home with our digital projector has sated our sweet tooth for the moviegoing experience."

Covid and ongoing restrictions won't destroy film or cinema, it makes us want to escape to that world - whether it is Amity or a galaxy far, far away - even more.

James Gunn is right, our favourite films may have been made for cinema, but they will thrive and (more importantly) survive on our TVs.

That you see them, and fall in love with them, is all that is important.

Words by Dean Newman

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