Scene Deconstruction #2 -- Jaws
In this second installment of my new series on favorite movie scenes (the first one may be found here), we take a look at the movie Jaws, by Steven Spielberg. Jaws was the first of the great modern summer blockbusters, almost single-handedly reinventing the movie industry (Jaws was the first film to make more than $100 million in theaters). There are many scenes we could look at, but I chose this one (known as "Panic on the Beach") because it encompasses both an homage to classic movie-making as well as a creative new direction. Let's watch the scene:
What makes this scene so great? Well the answer, as always, depends on the individual. Scene Deconstruction is not about defining what makes a scene enjoyable to you -- it's about finding common elements and figuring out which ones matter to each of us. So let's take a look at a few of those common elements and see what they might be.
First and most obvious is the use of quietness. It's just a quiet day at the beach, right? There's no musical score, we only hear the waves, the quiet talking of children and adults, and a few birds chirping. What could possibly go wrong?
Second would have to be the slow building of dramatic tension. Sheriff Brody is on the absolute razor's edge, and we know his instinct is right -- something is about to go horribly wrong. This is accomplished by means of quick-edit cuts that create a jarring intervention into the otherwise idyllic scenery. The interruptions from passers-by, the false alarms, the off-set camera angles, all contribute to this feeling.
The last thing I'll mention is the nod to Alfred Hitchcock. At the 3:43 mark in the above clip there's a shot of Brody just realizing that he's seen the shark attack. The wierd camera effect, known as a dolly zoom, is accomplished by pushing the camera forward on a track (towards the actors) while zooming back on the camera lens (causing the background to distort as if the camera were pulling back). Hitchcock and his crew invented the shot for Vertigo, and Spielberg repopularized it with Jaws, and it's been used in many movies since.
Jaws is #48 on the American Film Institute's famous list, and the line in the clip below (bonus clip!) is #35 on their famous quotes list.
Now it's your turn! What do you like or dislike about these scenes? What do they remind you of?