Jaws - Oh script of goodness

[CrowTRobot]

Aside from the youthful, energetic, and inventive direction of Spielberg, what made Jaws a blockbuster AS WELL AS a CLASSIC from a really shallow horror book was the incredible script, written mostly by scott gottlieb (sp?). Jaws was the first film I ever obsessed over (and continue to obsess over), as well as the first film I found myself "quoting" with abnormal frequency. Maybe it fits so well because i work at a pool as a lifeguard in the summers, and a lot of the lines just lend themselves to jokes about water and the kids and whatnot...but I wouldn't remember them if they weren't so BRILLIANT!

SOOOOOOO after that long preamble, here's what I request of my fellow schmoes: what lines of dialogue from Jaws do you hold most dear, most memorable, most important to your everyday speech? (if any) such as:

'You yell baracuda everyone says "huh, what?"...you yell shark, we have a panic on our hands on the 4th of july'

'I can do anything - I'm the chief of police'

'Not too good, is it chief'

'Can you recommend a good place to stay in town'
'yeah, ya walk straight ahead'
'eah, they're all gonna die'

'and let polly do the printing'
'whatssamatta with my printing...'
'let POLLY do the printing."

'wanna get drunk and fool around?'
'oh yeah'

and the great incidental/background stuff, too:

'you don't have ONE thing on here I ordered. not a beach chairs, no sun loungers, no beach balls..."

'TWENTY FOUR HOURS IS LIKE THREE WEEKS!' - this line never made any sense to me.

and, of course, Quint's USS Indianapolis speech in it's entirety, perhaps the most riveting story every told on screen by a character.

so.....

[Big Screen Fan]

I saw Jaws on the Big Screen in the 5th grade in 1975, and it was a sensation I probably will not ever forget. At the time it was really SCARY, and all of the kids were not only afraid of the beach that summer, but even the pool!

When the head pops out in the sunken boat got the biggest scream.

I guess for me, it's the theme song.

[jeffrey_2112]

I bought the SE DVD the day it came out, and have introduced my son (9) to the movie. He loves it now. Some of my favorite lines...

"It's only an island if you look at it from the water"

"You're going to need a bigger boat"

"Slow ahead, I can go slow ahead. Come down here and chum some of this shit."

"This is not the time or the place to perform some kind of half-assed autopsy on a fish...And I'm not going to stand here and see that thing cut open and see that Kitner boy spill out all over the dock"

Quint: "You've got city boy hands, Hooper. You've been counting money all your life"
Hooper: "I don't need this working class hero crap"

Mayor: I don't think you are familiar with our problem
Hooper: I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this problem until it swims up and bites you on the ass!

And my fave...
When Hooper is loading all his equipment on the boat...
Quint: What are you, some kinda half-assed astronaut?

[ColinM]

I think the entire scene with Quint talking about the sea accident, then most of the crew getting eaten by sharks, was one of the best parts of the movie.

[This message has been edited by ColinM (edited 02-06-2002).]

[blackbear]

When I use to swim in the surf I always swam out beyond the breakers, 100 metres or so. This movie put a stop to that and all these years later I swim a lot closer to shore. I think this movie tapped into our primal fears about how frightening it would be to meet death by shark attack. Elements that contribute to this being a great movie are-
-The special effects of the shark (awesome for that time)
-Fine performances by Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss
-Entertaining dialogue between Shaw and Dreyfuss
-I do believe that Dreyfuss's performance greatly contributed to the success of this movie


[This message has been edited by blackbear (edited 02-07-2002).]

[meccajay]

Quint:

"For $___ I'll get you the head, the tail, the whole damn thing"!!

[Deft]

"Show me the way to go home...
I'm tired and I wanna go to bed..."

[gyro_44]

The screenwriter's name is actually Carl Gottlieb... and yes, what a fantastic script.

"You go in the cage, cage goes in the water... shark's in the water." - Robert Shaw

"Back home, we got a taxidermy man. He's gonna have a heart attack when he sees what I brung him!" - Robert Shaw again

(After the shark is blown up)
Richard Dreyfuss: "Quint?"
Roy Scheider (shaking his head) "No..."

(Hooper is playing solitare)
"Hooper, quit playing with yourself!"

Dreyfuss: "That's a twenty-footer!"
Shaw: "Twenty-five. Three tons on 'im."

Truly one of the greatest movies ever made, of any genre.

[robk]

Don't forget that line that rings true in everyday life:
"You're gonna need a bigger boat!"
-Brody to Quint after the former first sets eyes on the shark.
Most days at work, I get the urge to say this when it gets really busy.

That said, I've always had a special place in my heart for Jaws. For one thing, it came out the same year I was born(1975).
I never get tired of seeing or hearing about it.
Not surprisingly, it spawned inferior sequels & imitators, the best of which was 1978's Piranha, the film which deservedly put Joe Dante on the map.

In a nutshell, Duel put Spielberg on the map, but Jaws said he was here to stay!

[Jasonite]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by robk:
Don't forget that line that rings true in everyday life:
"You're gonna need a bigger boat!"
-Brody to Quint after the former first sets eyes on the shark.
Most days at work, I get the urge to say this when it gets really busy.

That said, I've always had a special place in my heart for Jaws. For one thing, it came out the same year I was born(1975).
I never get tired of seeing or hearing about it.
Not surprisingly, it spawned inferior sequels & imitators, the best of which was 1978's Piranha, the film which deservedly put Joe Dante on the map.

In a nutshell, Duel put Spielberg on the map, but Jaws said he was here to stay!</font>

I think it was Jaws that put Spielburg on the map. Duel was a decent movie, but I don't think it put him on the map. I love Jaws too, as I was born in 1975, and it still holds up very well. Fun movie to watch.

J

[Cyclops 2]

Best Jaws Lines

Thats a lot of fine expensive looking stuff ya got there Mr Hooper. I dont know what this blasted sharks gonna do with it. Might eat it I suppose

Smile you son of a bitch

Quints Indionapolis speech

[robk]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jasonite:
I think it was Jaws that put Spielburg on the map. Duel was a decent movie, but I don't think it put him on the map. I love Jaws too, as I was born in 1975, and it still holds up very well. Fun movie to watch.

J</font>

In his annual Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin calls Duel the film that "put Spielberg on the map-& rightly so!"
I'm simply agreeing with that statement.

[ColinM]

Of course, Leonard Maltin is also the guy who gave The Shawshank Redemption the same rating as Batman & Robin.

http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif