The early passages of the film resonate deeply. Our long term connection to the Brody family makes the losses of Martin and Sean strike a somber tone. Michael’s run along the beach of his childhood evokes deep feelings of memory and sadness.
shareTreacle.
And when Jake survived after being eaten by the shark-- such a touching scene. But the best was the way the shark delivered its line. Such a realistic roar! It sounded just like a real shark's roar.
shareJake’s survival is another emotional high point. The moving score adds layers of dimension to the characters’ journey.
shareA subtle homage, but one I'm sure you noticed, is to be found in the shade of blue of the water when Jake emerges. It's a clear callback to the famous opening scene of The Sound of Music. Clearly Joseph Sargent is signaling to the audience that just as Europe broke free from the shackles of the Nazi menace, Jake has broken free from the belly of the shark, by bringing the imagery of freedom into stark counterpoint with the strict confines of the small boat. Note also that when Jake emerges, everyone else is also in the water, signaling the end of Nazism/ the death of the shark.
shareExcellent point. This is a film of many layers which warrants repeated viewings and careful analysis. The critical establishment missed the boat when they dismissed this underrated gem. A reappraisal is overdue.
shareDude, what kind of drug are you on?
shareRewatch the film closely and its layers will reveal themselves. It builds on the themes laid down in the first film to eventually surpass it, becoming a meditation on family and mortality on par with Bergman.
shareAl right, I will take a shitload of LSD or salvia and I might just see where you are getting at I guess.
shareYou can joke that we're on drugs, but all that tells me is that you have not watched this film. I suggest you do so. Track down a copy-- the Criterion Collection remastered version is my favorite, but any will do-- and watch it twice. All the small things, little moments, what seem like throwaway lines and meaningless camera shots, will come to life when you watch a second time, and by the time the shark delivers its single, powerful line of dialogue, you will experience the same chills that I do, and I don't doubt NCR123 does, upon hearing that shark's roar. And I know I'm not alone in this opinion. Renowned director Ernst Lubitsch famously forced the projectionist to show the movie a second time immediately after the end of its premier at Cannes, much to the chagrin of the theater owner who was supposed to show a different movie next. After watching the second time, Lubitsch remarked that he wished he'd made the film, for nothing in his oeuvre was on par.
shareI have been given only a few filmgoing experiences in my life to equal the first time I saw “Jaws: The Revenge.” Most movies remain up there on the screen. Only a few penetrate your soul. In July of 1987 I walked out of the screening at my local theatre with tears in my eyes. Joseph Sargeant had done an almost impossible thing. He'd made a movie about a shark taking revenge on a family of humans that empathized with all the participants. He didn't draw lines or take sides but simply looked with sadness at one flashpoint that stood for many others.
shareThere are movies, and then there are films. Movies entertain, films speak to one's soul. Before "Jaws: The Revenge" I never realized there was a third, stratospheric level of cinema-- the work of art that transcends not only its genre, but its artform. "Jaws: The Revenge" is one of perhaps three or four films ever made that have attained that level. This isn't merely a film, it's life, encapsulated on 92 minutes of celluloid. It's every hope, dream, fear, and desire any of us has ever felt, dissected and laid bare, left in the open to sear our collective soul. This is the human condition in visual form.
shareWell said. The filmmakers have obviously taken inspiration from The Godfather films. Patriarchs Martin Brody and Vito Corleone both protect their families from outside dangers before succumbing to heart attacks post-retirement and leaving their loved ones vulnerable. Sonny and Sean are both killed while unsuccessfully trying to follow in their fathers’ career footsteps. Both Michaels struggle to keep their families together in the wake of tragedy while suffering professional setbacks in the Caribbean.
shareThe Godfather is a great comparison. One can draw a clear comparison between Vito Corleone and the shark in the original Jaws, though in the original film it was done in something of a heavy-handed way. The beauty of Jaws: The Revenge is that while it's never explicitly stated, a careful viewer will notice on a second or third viewing that the revenge-seeking shark does exhibit some behavior akin to that of young Michael Corleone. In addition, the suggestion made mid-film that the shark may be Castellammarese implies so much without anything else ever being said.
Also worth noting that Pacino was originally slated to play the shark, but he was unable to make time due to his busy shooting schedule for the "Moving Image Salutes Elia Kazan" project.
It was probably for the best that Pacino passed. The actor who replaced him did a fantastic job. Not sure why his career didn’t go further following his performance.
shareIn retrospect, it's hard to imagine any other actor in that role. I too am surprised he never went on to bigger and better things. Perhaps he felt that any role he took after that of Shark would be a step down, and decided to quit while he was at the top of his game?
shareThe first 20 minutes are actually kind of good.
shareIt nearly made me cry. It was so sad to see how horrible this movie was I nearly couldn't take it any longer. I persevered, watched all of it and then promptly watched the original to get that awful taste of Jaws the Revenge out of my mind.
shareI always felt this film unjustifiably criticized.
shareC'mon! The shark was actually targeting the family for revenge? How could it have known that Brody's wife had anything to do with the killing of the other three sharks?
shareThat's answered in the film, though in a nuanced way that goes over the head of many viewers. If you can't handle an art house film like this, stick to the Transformers movies.
shareOh, I am like your screen name - a film buff. Do I know everything about film? Not hardly, but I know what I like and have some knowledge.
And this is hardly an art house film with a "4" tacked on to its title.
Art house films I have seen include "The Scent of Green Papaya", "Requiem for a Dream" (which I will NEVER watch again!), "2001: A Space Odyssey" (Yes, that is considered art house, and "Where the Wild Things Are", among others.
(By the way, in case you think I am some snot-nosed movie fan, I am 73 as of this writing. Oh, and yes, I watch all kinds of films from "art house" to heart tugging dramas to "superheroes" to gory "horror". I don't believe anyone can call themselves a film aficionado if they limit what they watch to "Transformers" or even worse, they don't watch anything older than they are)