Jaws’ Most Underrated Scene Inspired Another Steven Spielberg Masterpiece

As his second great theater feature, “Jaws” was one of the first times when Steven Spielberg worked with the children, which became one of his directing characters. His stories have often been told through the eyes of a child since whether they endure World War II prison camp, flee from foreigners, meet dinosaurs, or look for blue fairies to become humans and earn the love of the mother. Similarly, at the “Jaws” event, 6-year-old Jay Mello and 12-year-old Chris Rebello’s chief Brody (Roy Scheider) sons, Sean and Michael. They perform throughout the movie Amity Island’s summer season, especially when Michael got his own own boat.

The book of Laurent Bouzereau “Spielberg: For the first ten years” Emphasizes a small scene of the “jaws” event containing these cute children. (The book is a collection of film analysis and in-depth interviews that explores how the young director invented the film in one short decade, starting with “The Sugarland Express” ET “ET”).) This moment may not be the value of shock value. the scary scenes of a movielike the visibility of the blood from the water next to Alex Kintner (Jeffrey Voorhees), Tattered Life Ferry or Ben Gardner (Craig Kingsbury) head that suddenly floats and may not make the most investments The biggest scenes of “jaws” But it is a perfect example of what makes Spielberg such an intuitive filmmaker. In fact, it is a smaller, more humane punch of all the massacre.

This scene keeps the master’s Brody emotionally disturbed. Alex Kintner’s mother (Lee Fierro) found her in front of the city as she left the beaches open, even though she tried to do the right thing all the time. Brody sits on the dining table with his head in his hand. When he takes the sip of his glass, his little son Sean. As Brody gathers his hands together in a prayer, Sean travels him with a plump little finger. They end the copycat game by changing the monster-like glare, wrinkling their face and nonsense, with Sean Baring’s missing teeth. The flowered Mrs. Brody (Lorraine Gary) turns away from their playful exchange, knowing that another little boy has just lost his life.

Bouzereau’s book quotes Spielberg by saying the following scene:

“Examining human behavior fascinates me. I think we improvised during the day – I wanted Roy to show that he was depressed, and his son mimics him. It illuminates the mood, and Brody sees that he has life outside his work that he has children and family.”

On the surface, this moment of quiet comedy and the dynamics of the warm family does nothing to push the plot forward, but it makes it special. It is difficult to imagine that a modern attack that takes time to interrupt the activities of such an offer character survey. Too often, the big heroes of the screen are good looking and shallow; We have little information about who they are their ability to save the day. Scheider Brody that delivers one The best performances in Spielberg’s movieOn the other hand, there is only an everyday guy who could be your neighbor, and that is what makes his confrontation with sharks so relatable and scary in “jaws”.

Bouzereau’s book also reveals that the memorable moment “outside of ET” was directly inspired by this scene “jaws”. Borrow Spielberg:

“I remember when I worked with ‘ET’s manuscript, I wanted a similar scene where you don’t mimic the Elliot, which leads them to communicate for the first time. I thought,” Hey, if it worked in the “jaw”, it could work “you” “” “

“Outside ET” is one of the best of all time the best foreign films Due to the deep bond with Elliott (Henry Thomas), as they grow to see each other not only as friends and playmates, but also as a kind of soulmate. When they met for the first time, Spielberg contains the same quiet and playful copying moment as Elliott leads to his ET room with Reese songs. You do not wipe her nose, touch her lips and wave every time after Elliott. Elliott stares at this small space cell that mimics every movement. They end by pointing their index finger, which becomes an iconic “telephone home” gesture, then a heart -breaking farewell, “I’m here.” Elliot is attracted to ET’s childish innocence, and he no longer sees him as a frightening outsider.

These small scenes “jaws” and “outside” reflect each other in the sweetest way, and most importantly, they remind us that Spielberg does not just make big, explosive blockbusters only spectacular-he also gives them a punch, man’s heart. That’s why his films have lasted for generations and do so on.