"This was no boating accident!"

Wednesday night, June 24, 2015, I went to see "Jaws" (1975) on the big screen.

I remember the first time I saw this movie. It was the summer of 1975. That was the summer after my freshman year at college, when I couldn't get a summer job, because I attended college out of state, and every place I applied wanted someone who would work past the summer. That was the summer our summer stock show, for which I played violin in the orchestra, was "Fiddler on the Roof." That was the summer I got the best tan ever, because I had nothing else to do. That was the last summer my age was still in the teens (19).

I went to see this movie with Becky Teeter. At that time and place, when going to a movie, you needed to get there at least 30 minutes before it started, so you could get tickets before it sold out, and movies regularly sold out. As we were standing in line at the box office (a line which, when we entered, started at the opposite side of the building from the box office), I remember Becky saying, "I can't believe I'm paying $2.75 to get the s*** scared out of me." (I think it was $2.75, which was outrageous at the time. I'm pretty sure it was still under $3, and it may have been $2.50.)

It did scare the s*** out of both of us. I had read the book, and had become fond of Richard Dreyfuss as an actor, after having watched him at least 10 times in "American Graffiti." In the book, Richard's character, Matt Hooper, has an affair with Chief Brody's wife and gets eaten by the shark, when he goes into the water, inside the cage, to try to kill the animal. There is no affair in the movie, which I felt was a good thing. When the cage scene started, I got very nervous. I didn't want to see Richard Dreyfuss get eaten by the shark, so I covered my eyes through the entire scene. Becky kept pulling at my arms, whispering to me (as best she could whisper in this frantic moment) that the shark wasn't eating him and that he was getting away. What a relief that was!

Peter Benchley, the book's author, also co-wrote the screenplay and had a cameo as a TV reporter, so I'm sure he approved of the changes. John Williams wrote the music, which greatly contributed to the suspense. I don't think Steven Spielberg has ever collaborated with any other composer, which has probably been a great thing for both of them. I bought the soundtrack on LP. I remember playing it for a fellow music major at college, the guy who sort of ran the campus radio station. He was not impressed. His first comment was, "It's Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. He stole the concept from Stravinsky." At the time, I was not familiar with Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," but I did eventually listen to it and fell in love with it. I could hear the "plagiarism" my fellow music major had mentioned, but it wasn't a total copy, and I don't think Stravinsky's work was copyrighted.

While "Jaws" is a movie I recommend, I realize that, as far as special effects go, it's a dinosaur of a film, so those who take CGI for granted could turn up their noses at it. However, it does maintain a good old-fashioned scare vibe, the acting is really good, the score is truly a part of the film, it's a great story, the camera work is superb, and it produced a few great quotes:

"You're gonna need a bigger boat."

"That's some bad hat, Harry."

"This was no boating accident." (This one was used in "Stakeout" (1987), when Richard Dreyfuss's and Emilio Estevez's characters would take turns guessing what movie a quote came from. Emilio's character repeated this quote to Richard Dreyfuss's character, who actually said the line as Matt Hooper in "Jaws." Richard Dreyfuss's character couldn't guess what movie it was from.)

I don't think this movie will scare you enough to make you not go in the ocean, but, hopefully, it will give you goosebumps.

Happy Viewing,

Teah

The Ten Commandments

I don't think "The Ten Commandments" was the movie in which I first saw Charlton Heston, because I believe I first saw it on the big screen, in the mid-1970s, as a re-release. I remember that night quite vividly. I went with Gary Wilson. The movie touched us both so deeply, we couldn't stop talking about it afterwards. When we got to my house, we sat in my front yard, holding hands and praying, praising and thanking God for His commandments, for Moses, and for anything else in and about the movie that filled us with such joy. I should have married Gary Wilson. I still love him dearly. But our paths veered in different directions.

I will be watching tonight, on ABC, remembering that night I first saw it, and hoping to reignite the joy that filled my heart and soul, when I was a young and naive "Jesus freak." It's not very likely that today's teens will find anything about this film to be very exciting. Even so, I still joyfully and highly recommend it. It was released in 1956, the year I was born, so it was considered old, when I first saw it. Perhaps it was a 15-year anniversary showing that I saw, and I would have been 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. That would be about right. When you consider how much movies had changed in those 15 years, this movie would have seemed old in 1971. Hollywood had most recently brought us "Airport," "Five Easy Pieces," "Love Story," "M*A*S*H," "Patton," "A Clockwork Orange," "The French Connection," and "The Last Picture Show."

I remember a night, after I had seen "The Ten Commandments," when I saw another Charlton Heston movie being shown on TV, "Number One." In this film, he plays a has-been quarterback who turns to booze and women to try to solve his problems. My father warned me that it was not the kind of movie I was accustomed to seeing Charlton Heston in; that his character in this movie was not a good guy. I don't think I watched the movie all the way through; it was a bit too brash and worldly for my cloud 9 view of life. But it didn't thwart my desire to see more movies he was involved in.

So, if you're interested in seeing Charlton Heston on film, long before he was the President of the NRA or publicly embarrassed by Michael Moore in "Bowling for Columbine," here is my list of must-see, probably-should-see, and it-wouldn't-hurt-you-to-see films starring or featuring Charlton Heston, in chronological order, starting from the oldest:


"The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952) (Won the Academy Award for Best Picture and features Jimmy Stewart as a man who killed someone hiding out in the circus as a clown)

"Ruby Gentry" (1952) (He plays a bad boy who Jennifer Jones can't seem to resist)

"The Naked Jungle" (1954) (An early disaster film)

"The Ten Commandments" (1956) (He plays Moses)*

"Touch of Evil" (1958) (Directed by Orson Welles)*

"The Big Country" (1958) (Also starring Gregory Peck and Burl Ives)

"Ben-Hur" (1959) (Another Best Picture winner, for which he also won the Oscar)*

"El Cid" (1961) (I believe this was the first movie I saw him in)

"The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965) (where he gets away with playing Michelangelo, a much shorter man than he)

"Planet of the Apes" (1968)*

"The Omega Man" (1971) (He plays a man who might be the last man on earth)

"Soylent Green" (1973) ("It's people")*

"The Three Musketeers" (1973) and "The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge" (1974) (Two of my favorite movies, also starring Faye Dunaway and Oliver Reed)

"Airport 1975" (1974) and "Earthquake" (1975) (both part of the big disaster film craze of the 1970s)

*Now showing on Amazon Instant Video

In the 80s and 90s, he was seen more in TV movies, playing Long John Silver, Sir Thomas More, and Sherlock Holmes. He also played Jason Colby, in "Dynasty" and its spin-off, "The Colbys," as well as playing himself in "The Bold and the Beautiful." And he had cameo roles in "Tombstone" (1993) and "True Lies" (1994).

Charlton Heston died in 2008, after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, in 2002. He was married to the same woman for 64 years. His son, Fraser, is close to my age, as he plays the baby Moses in "The Ten Commandments." He is my favorite actor of all time. I admired him for his loyalty to his family, his morals, and his defense of civil rights. I think he was one of the last great actors from the days of studio bosses and contract players. I will always enjoy watching his films.

Until next time,
Teah