I just look at some of the movies today that area lot similiar, but with a lot better graphics, and we laugh at movies like that and they tank at the box office. What about Jaws made it such a classic. Even this new movie Primevil isnt supposed to be that good, and its about a real crocodile who has really killed over 300 people, if the truth isnt even scary anymore then what is.
2007-01-10 06:50:47 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Movies
In the movies it isn't what you see... it's what you don't that scares audiences more. That is why the music resonates, because you know that attack will happen, but you don't know how or where.... and a lot of times, you didn't even see the attack. It is left to your imagination.
It's similar to the way Alfred Hitchcock did his movies.
In movies, you don't always have to show everything, it's what people imagine that makes them so scared.
Additionally, Jaws was also so effective in scaring people once they left the theater because of the ocean itself. It is so large and, generally speaking, so unknown. If you wade/swim in the water, you don't know what is beneath you. That's pretty scary if you really think about it.
2007-01-10 06:54:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Jaws was produced before CGI effects became a staple in movies. In addition, most videos didn't have hours and hours of features explaining how they did every shot (I think this has diminished the "magic" of the movies). So people in the audience bought into the fact that there could be a killer shark on the loose.
In addition, Spielberg doesn't tip his hand and show the shark for most of the movie - and this was done by accident, since they couldn't get the mechanics to work - but it's effective.
The music was creepy and the characters were not superheroes but ordinary people in a dangerous situation which the audience bought into.
The closest movie I've seen recently that approaches Jaws is The Descent.
2007-01-10 16:16:57 · answer #2 · answered by scourgeoftheleft 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think there's a lot of reasons. The first chick is right. The music played a role. Another reason would be the cinematography. All the shots from the surface of the water really puts the audience in the ocean. I would think it also has to do with a lack of carnage. The movie isn't hours of people getting chopped apart; a lot more of the movie is anticipatory, building suspense. Finally, unlike Primeval, Jaws was really the first of its kind. Although there's been plenty of people trying to cash in on that original suspense formula, Jaws created it and the audience had never seen anything quite like it. Overall, credit Steven Spielberg, one of the greatest motion picture directors to ever live.
2007-01-10 14:59:10 · answer #3 · answered by The Royal Followills 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jaws was so effective because back in those days they didn't have the kickass special effects that we have today so they were easier to scare. Of course we wouldn't find it to be scary because when there's a monster in a movie today there's a friggin monster. But I think the reason is stood the test of time was because it was an instant classic in the first place. There were better special effects than that movie when I saw it when I was 6 but I was still scared because I let go of logic. It's easy to get lost in the characters and there are so many good quotes.
2007-01-10 17:55:18 · answer #4 · answered by neve_freak2001 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think in the Jaws movie, the scene where the blond girl was being dragged through the ocean and the sounds she made as she was being bitten & eaten by the shark was really powerful.
Jaws started as a cheesy movie but that scene really made the movie a classic.
2007-01-10 14:58:41 · answer #5 · answered by Alaska Angela 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jaws was one of the first of its kind. But what amuses me the most is that people praise Spielberg for "not showing the shark until the end" when the truth is that they couldn't. The shark wasn't completed until near the end of shooting so there was no way they could've filmed it. It just goes to show that in art, it might seem like a mistake to you...but the audience doesn't need to know that.
2007-01-10 15:34:48 · answer #6 · answered by rodmanae 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that people back then were not as de-sensitized to horror like they are now. It was basically the first of its kind..it was unexpected...the music was very basic and it resonated with the film and the activity of the shark. You knew when you heard the music that the shark was on the prowl, and he would not stop-he had a single purpose and that was to feed. It was very scary, to know that people were not in control.
2007-01-10 15:03:01 · answer #7 · answered by mischa 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I actually went to see jaws in the movie theater when it first opened. I loved it then and still do. sometimes classics are just that classic.
2007-01-10 15:00:21 · answer #8 · answered by jjp 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The special effects and surround sound caught everyones attention until Jaws attacked! you know, we saw Happy Feet and my husband laughed and jumped when he did not expect anything to happen! lol...He told me he was a kid at heart...maybe that has some bearing...oh, I enjoyed Happy Feet trememdously...There were soooo many kids and grandparents there lol
2007-01-10 15:02:01 · answer #9 · answered by Patches6 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the music played a huge part
2007-01-10 14:53:47 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋