Robert Shaw’s pretty simply pitch for Jaws

There are blogs, books, and academic departments dedicated to the impact of Jaws, the 1975 summer smash. It redefined how films were pitched, marketed and made. It contained stand out scene after stand out scene and a final act as gripping and satisfying as you’ll find in film. Pop Lifer has the DVD, mug, tee-shirt and a little rubber duck style floaty Jaws for the bath. It’s for the kids, really it is.

I was planning to write here about Richard Dreyfuss and his fantastic performance in Jaws. His effortless ability to irritate as oceanographer Matt Hooper with a natural, charmless smugness is unique, and sacrifices likeability and charisma to balance the film against Robert Shaw’s machismo. As you’ll have no doubt noticed by the picture, however, machismo has won the day for once here at Pop Lifer, visually at least. Dreyfuss’ performance was so selfless, he didn’t provide us with a singular stand out moment or image. Like this one. The finest blackboard scratch in cinema history, only rivalled by Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

‘I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief . I’ll find him for three, but I’ll catch him, and kill him, for ten.’

Chris