Hello, citizens of the Internet.
I am Judge Bookman, and it is my job to look at movie adaptations of
books, and determine whether they did the story justice (a rarity),
or have ruined it beyond recognition (sadly much more common). To
start my posts off with a bang, lets crack on with...
The
Trial of Jaws.
First,
a little background. The
novel
Jaws
– and yes, it was a book originally – was written by Peter
Blenchley and released in 1974. It
tell the story of a shark attacking an American tourist destination,
and the impact it has on the people there. Whilst
reviews were mixed, the novel quickly became popular with readers,
spending 44 weeks at the top
of the New
York Times
hard-cover
best seller list. Despite
this popularity, the book was quickly overshadowed by the arrival of
the film just a year later. Widely
regarded as the prototypical summer blockbuster, the film has
remained popular to this day, winning three Academy Awards, and
regularly landing high on many best films of all time lists. So
yeah, the film is good.
But
despite this success, as
ever I am left to wonder
two things – First, How badly did the movie deviate from the book,
and Second, were the changes good, bad, or terrible? Without
further ado, then, lets get
this trial under-way.
Prosecution.
Item
1. The characters. It is undeniable that all of the characters in the
film are very different from how they are presented in the book.
Hooper isn't a rich arsehole, Quint isn't a moneygrabbing arsehole,
etcetera, etcetera. Furthermore, some important characters, such as
Harry Meadows the newspaper man, are sidelined, and others are
completely absent.
Item
2. Changes to Plot. Over-all, the plots are broadly similar –
barring some aesthetic differences. However, there are two main
sub-plots that are completely absent in the film. First, Ellen Brody
has become deeply unhappy in her marriage with Martin (the hero), and
ends up having an affair with Hooper. She finds this unsatisfying,
and later realises that her marriage with Martin was actually a lot
more fulfilling than she thought. However, Martin begins to suspect
the affair, and this later leads to him brawling with Hooper when
they're on the boat. Whilst this plot-line doesn't appear to add much
to the story, it does add to the character of Ellen, who's character
is the movie comes off as otherwise fairly bland.
The
second Plot change involves Mayor Vaughn, who obstructs Chief Brody's
attempts to close the beaches. In the book, the reason for this is
eventually revealed to be that Vaughn is in debt to the Mafia, and
they are pressurting Vaughn to keep the beaches open to protect
Amity's real estate, into which they have invested a small fortune.
In the film, Vaughn is a much less pleasant character, who's
motivations seem to stem more from personal greed than anything else.
A perfectly fine character, it's true. But a much less interesting
one.
Item
3. The shark looks fake. I know, everyone says it but it is true. The
Shark is built up throughout the film as a remorseless assassin,
killing at will. The music, the atmosphere, it all builds up
throughout the film… and then we see the shark, and in many shots
it just looks ridiculous. It's a real let down.
And
that's about it for the prosecution. Now, for the defence.
Defence.
Item
1. The characters. It is undeniable that all of the characters in the
film are very different from how they are presented in the book.
Hooper isn't a rich arsehole, Quint isn't a moneygrabbing arsehole,
etcetera, etcetera.
Yes,
I know that's one of the same points as the prosecution, but
honestly, the characters in the book are for the most part very
unlikable. Steve Spielberg once said that when reading the book, he
was rooting for the shark, and I can see why. The characters are
changed, yes, but for the better. And as for the missing/sidelined
characters, whilst they are useful in the book for building up the
community, their absence in the film helps to streamline the plot.
Speaking of which…
Item
2. The Plot as stated earlier is broadly similar to the books –
shark shows up, shark kills people, people try to kill shark, tension
and drama, yada yada - with a couple of missing Plot points. And
whilst those missing plot points do make the characters of Mayor
Vaughn, Ellie, and Hooper more interesting, having them cut from the
film both A. make the characters more likeable, and B. streamline the
plot immensely. Besides, it is a scientific impossibility for an
adaptation of a book to contain all the books plot points – at then
end of the day books and movies are very different forms of media.
Item
3. The acting, which by and large, is fantastic. Which is not always
something you expect in a horror film. But, barring the occasional
child actor (and even they aren't all that bad – at the very least,
their performances are brief), every single actor is giving 100% in
their performances. Obviously the leads are spectacular – the scene
in the boat when Quint talks about the Indianapolis sinking is a
particular stand-out – but even the side-characters manage to be
incredibly memorable. Which of course means that when their lives are
threatened by the shark, the audience remains full invested – when
I first watched the scene on the pier, I found myself genuinely
rooting for the drunken idiots to survive.
Item
4. John Williams.
That
is all.
Item
5. The fact that we almost never see the shark. Everyone knows the
story of how the mechanical shark (apparently called Bruce) would
constantly break down, which lead to Spielberg's decision to limit
it's use. I think we can all agree that this was the right decision
(and not just for limiting our time spent with the fake shark). The
fear of the unseen menace is what makes the film stand out, and is
clearly present right from the famous opening scene. Because we never
see what's attacking, the viewers mind is left to imagine just what
kind of horror lurks beneath the waves. This idea is extended still
further in what for me was one of the most frightening scenes. Late
at night, Hooper and Brody find an abandoned and half-sunk fishing
boat, and Hooper decides to dive under the boat to find out what
caused it (for clarity, the scene is present in the book, but in
broad daylight, and there is no diving). The way the scene is shot
makes it very clear that beyond the circle of light from their boat,
neither Hooper underwater, or Brody in the boat above, can see
anything in the ocean. The shark could have swum a few feet away
without either of them knowing. And there is also the added bonus of
seeing the damage inflicted to the boat, wondering what exactly
happened when the fisherman met the shark, and the realisation that
just because you are on a boat does not make you safe. That is the
atmosphere built up through the movie, and the impact of the unseen
shark can clearly be seen in horror movies and tv show to this very
day. How many times have we had monster films where we can only see
the monster clearly for at best 10 minutes? How many times have the
most gruesome deaths happened off-screen, with the audience left to
imagine the gory details? How many times have we watched through the
killers eyes as their victim screams for mercy? Whilst I cannot be
sure that Jaws was the first movie to use the fear of the unseen
menace, it is certainly one of the best executed examples.
Verdict.
So, we have heard all the evidence. And the verdict is… obvious to anyone with half a brain. Jaws is not a truly faithful adaptation, as anyone who has read the book could tell you. However, the changes made to the story, in my opinion at least, for the most part are entirely necessary for the transition from book to film. This film isn't known as the first ever summer blockbuster movie for nothing, after all.
So, we have heard all the evidence. And the verdict is… obvious to anyone with half a brain. Jaws is not a truly faithful adaptation, as anyone who has read the book could tell you. However, the changes made to the story, in my opinion at least, for the most part are entirely necessary for the transition from book to film. This film isn't known as the first ever summer blockbuster movie for nothing, after all.
Jaws
is cleared of all charges.
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