Jaws - How Spielberg Creates Suspense on the Beach

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  • Опубліковано 15 гру 2015
  • In the first episode of this video essay series I breakdown the beach scene from Steven Spielberg's pop classic Jaws.
    Support + Extra Content - / thediscardedimage .
    Sequence without commentary - vimeo.com/122302722
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    "Spielberg asserted his own role and deftly organized the elements of a roller coaster without sacrificing inner meanings. The suspense of that picture came from meticulous technique and good humour about its own surgical cutting. You only have to submit to the travesty of JAWS 2 to realize how much more engagingly Spielberg saw the ocean, the perils, and the sinister beauty of the shark, and the vitality of its human opponents."
    David Thompson in The New Biographical Dictionary of Film
    "Spielberg uses his gift in a very free-and-easy, American way - for humour, and for a physical response to action. He could be that rarity among directors, a born entertainer - perhaps a new generation's Howard Hawks."
    Pauline Kael in her review of The Sugarland Express
    Films Referenced:
    Sabotage (Hitchcock, 1936)
    Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)
    Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954)
    Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
    Pierrot Le Fou (Godard, 1956)
    Weekend (Godard, 1967)
    Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)
    Carrie (De Palma, 1976)
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg, 1977)
    Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg, 1981)
    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Spielberg , 1982)
    Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Spielberg , 1984)
    Jurassic Park (Spielberg , 1993)
    Saving Private Ryan, (Spielberg , 1998)
    A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Spielberg , 2001)
    Catch Me if you Can (Spielberg , 2002)
    War of the Worlds (Spielberg. 2005)
    Munich (Spielberg , 2005)
    The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Spielberg, 2011)
    Moonrise Kingdom (Anderson, 2012)
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 89

  • @johannascott1593
    @johannascott1593 2 роки тому +10

    I love the connections between Jaws and Rear Window! They're two of my favorite movies of all time

  • @wal_sim4397
    @wal_sim4397 4 роки тому +45

    Another point is that as the camera tracks the boy, it reveals two empty lifeguard towers, creating a percieved lack of safety before any action happens. Just like in Cassie's death when there was no one on the beach to save her.

    • @mountbuckekreative4044
      @mountbuckekreative4044 2 роки тому +5

      Yeah, noticed that too.Sure it is that way to underline the message that Brody is alone in his task, but seems to be quite odd, since this is some well populated official swimming beach. Which made me realize something else btw, there are really few people in the water for the amount of folks on the beach, when you look at the water in the distance.

  • @andreraymond6860
    @andreraymond6860 7 років тому +86

    Interesting point about Spielberg's use of Yellow objects as a visual flag. This ties in with the long held belief in "yum yum yellow". It goes as follows: During world war two aviators were provided with bright yellow or orange life preservers, (commonly called Mae West jackets because they inflated at the front, like... well you get the gist...) so that they would be more easily spotted on the surface of the ocean by search and rescue aircraft. Only towards the end of the war was it discovered that Sharks were particularly attracted to these bright yellow rafts and life jackets. Hence the gruesome alliteration of Yum Yum Yellow. This also ties in with Quint's story of the Indianapolis later in the film "I'll never wear a life preserver again"...

  • @eduardo_corrochio
    @eduardo_corrochio 4 роки тому +16

    Excellent. And this is just _one scene_ in the movie. Jaws is one of the best made thrillers of cinema history. Understandable that it was nominated for Best Picture-- and won for Score, Editing, and Sound. But Spielberg deserved a Director nod.

    • @oambitiousone7100
      @oambitiousone7100 2 роки тому +4

      Can you imagine if this guy did the whole movie? I’d sit for that day long epic.

    • @eduardo_corrochio
      @eduardo_corrochio 2 роки тому +2

      @@oambitiousone7100 You mean if this host did a commentary video for the film?

    • @oambitiousone7100
      @oambitiousone7100 2 роки тому +2

      @@eduardo_corrochio Yes!

    • @eduardo_corrochio
      @eduardo_corrochio 2 роки тому +2

      @@oambitiousone7100 Ooh, nice. :)

  • @dannyspitzer1267
    @dannyspitzer1267 4 роки тому +31

    Nice breakdown. Interesting that the camera can focus on the foreground and background at the same time in that one shot

    • @borishladek9691
      @borishladek9691 3 роки тому +4

      This is achieved by using a split diopter.

  • @LeathanL
    @LeathanL 7 років тому +15

    Detailed analysis of cinematography and editing. Don't forget script and acting. The "some bad hat, Harry" line for instance, which is both funny, and illustrative of Brody's tension.

  • @Asian19981
    @Asian19981 2 роки тому +7

    You’re amazing. you make me feel stressed anxious and scared in a 14 minute clip that just show you how much you love this movie. Thank you for making this. It’s been very educated

  • @callum110597
    @callum110597 22 дні тому +1

    This is why Steven Spielberg is one of my favourite directors of all time!

  • @alejandrotarangolearns1969
    @alejandrotarangolearns1969 3 місяці тому +1

    I like how Spielberg basically foreshadows the entire movie in a subliminal way at the beginning. The dog aggressively passes behind the boy wearing bright red shorts, with his mouth wide open. And Martin sits looking at the water a distance away helplessly.

  • @codeoptimizationware2803
    @codeoptimizationware2803 4 роки тому +13

    @11:47: While Alfred Hitchcock _invented_ the "Vertigo Shot" in 1958, he could never perfect it to his own satisfactory specifications. Seventeen years later in 1975, Spielberg figured it out and actually _perfected_ the Vertigo Shot, as seen in _Jaws_ .

    • @kthx1138
      @kthx1138 3 роки тому +4

      Spielberg would later use the Vertigo shot to great effect in Poltergeist and E.T.

  • @mummersfarce775
    @mummersfarce775 8 років тому +13

    Great part of a great film to analyse Spielberg's natural mastery of film directing.

  • @jacobousgatez
    @jacobousgatez 6 років тому +20

    Really nice job. I also love that you've managed to make a connection between Godard and Spielberg. Despite that the former thinks the latter is rubbish, that one is totally modernist and the other populist, there are definitely stylistic similarities. And, as you've pointed out, even political similarities. I'll be showing this to my year 12 students. Thanks.

  • @dreamterry
    @dreamterry 8 років тому +9

    Beautifully rendered. Excellent job! I never forgave Spielberg for implanting these predatory-shark-coming-in-the-water images in my psyche!

  • @AmericanActionReport
    @AmericanActionReport 3 роки тому +7

    In two respects, Spielberg uses a far-to-near strategy for building suspense. The first victim is a stranger who was where she wasn't supposed to be, doing what was unwise to do. The second victim was a stranger in a more natural situation. The list of victims builds from the least sympathetic and least familiar to the most sympathetic and most familiar. Thus, the shark was getting closer and closer to Brody. Likewise, the shark was gradually revealed to the audience, getting closer and closer, so to speak.

  • @oambitiousone7100
    @oambitiousone7100 2 роки тому +2

    I had a film class in college and this lecture is as good as the best lecture I ever had there.

  • @TwoTown
    @TwoTown 8 років тому +12

    Helping me so much with my film exam, thanks!!!

  • @nerdytom6881
    @nerdytom6881 4 роки тому +16

    Is Spielberg made Jaws today, or at any time from the nineties onwards the Kintner boy would have outswam the shark.

  • @ADCFproductions
    @ADCFproductions 7 років тому +4

    i particularly like that happy extra at 12:50 ... Great analysis, of course! :)

  • @martinorkg
    @martinorkg 8 років тому +8

    Great!!! thank you very much for putting this together, deserves more views!

  • @dawggirl
    @dawggirl 4 роки тому +1

    Excellent summary. Brings up points I hadn't entirely considered.

  • @andrewadams7561
    @andrewadams7561 7 років тому +11

    The shot at 13:20, of the car driving down the road and passing an accident -- it's amazing! What is it from?

    • @TheDiscardedImage
      @TheDiscardedImage  7 років тому +10

      Weekend - Jean-Luc Godard

    • @martinsorenson1055
      @martinsorenson1055 4 роки тому +4

      The whole shot takes about 7 1/2 minutes. Discarded Image has done a nice job of giving you an idea of impact the shot has while reducing the time it takes to watch it.

  • @josepabloarellano9171
    @josepabloarellano9171 8 років тому +2

    really great analysis! thanks

  • @80sOGRE
    @80sOGRE 3 роки тому +2

    Love how the Orca has a band of red around it's hull, like here is our blood sacrifice to this deep sea devil.

  • @justsomeguywithoutamustach6333
    @justsomeguywithoutamustach6333 3 роки тому +1

    Very nice analysis

  • @chrisbarrett2117
    @chrisbarrett2117 9 місяців тому

    The fact that you didnt mention Verna Fields (the films editor) is criminal

  • @prahslra
    @prahslra 6 років тому +2

    Brilliant analysis of brilliant scene. And note how at 04:15 the red beach umbrella at bottom of frame resembles a shark fin moving towards the boy.

  • @YaYaMan
    @YaYaMan 8 років тому +40

    So you have taken a tense 2 minute scene... and dragged it out to a full tense 14 minutes. Haven't seen Jaws since I was little, so yeah, this video stressed me.

  • @BautiGodoy5
    @BautiGodoy5 8 років тому +1

    fantastic !

  • @kamilziemian995
    @kamilziemian995 10 місяців тому

    Very good video-essay.

  • @GeneralArmorus
    @GeneralArmorus 3 роки тому +3

    13:07 - WELL SAID
    The people are complicit (why implicit?) in this tragedy. They are determined to command the natural environment for their own leisure. If the population at large were less caught up with the frivolity of their lives, maybe tragedies of this scale and larger could be avoided.

  • @subtextualarchives
    @subtextualarchives 5 років тому +1

    Excellent video.

  • @AkshayPednekar
    @AkshayPednekar 7 років тому +2

    you are amazing man

  • @andrebubbles1493
    @andrebubbles1493 4 роки тому +2

    man you are great!

  • @leohaddad9225
    @leohaddad9225 3 роки тому +1

    Great video

  • @a0705717
    @a0705717 8 років тому +7

    you need more subs man

  • @christianshreve5101
    @christianshreve5101 7 років тому +3

    Verry, verry good.

  • @daustin8888
    @daustin8888 3 роки тому +3

    The beach scene could have been a short film

  • @ryanburns6284
    @ryanburns6284 7 років тому +8

    F***ing brilliant, your my new UA-cam crush 👍

  • @donkey2447
    @donkey2447 6 років тому

    Hi just wondering where you get the film footage for the movie scenes in your analysis videos such as this one.

    • @Rand0mN0rwegianGuy
      @Rand0mN0rwegianGuy 2 роки тому +1

      Probably torrented them lol (purely for the purpose of education, of course - in order to be able to use the particular scenes of the movies, respectively, in this video), if he had to.
      Or maybe, in a few cases at least, downloaded the scenes from UA-cam - if certain full scenes had been uploaded by others users here.

  • @thewhitewolf58
    @thewhitewolf58 2 роки тому +1

    I know the science is wrong with how they show the shark but i still love this movie because it can still do horror on a bright sunny day filled with people and a police officer watching

  • @EA-1992
    @EA-1992 7 років тому +5

    COLOUR YELLOW is used in jaws. Yellow shirt.Hat and raft

  • @jasonmarkdavis9487
    @jasonmarkdavis9487 3 роки тому

    Interesting video. What is the name of the movie at 12:25? Seems intriguing.

  • @thatsnotchocolat
    @thatsnotchocolat 7 років тому +2

    Whats the scene at 0:11 from, the frogs being dropped from the window

  • @shamrockballs1066
    @shamrockballs1066 Рік тому

    Can I just point out the red shorts were a mistake. Apparently there was no talk around colour only that there should be no red anywhere other than the blood so it stuck out more. When the actor showed up in the red shorts they had no time to change them. However I do understand tbst yellows were used to show the vibrant seaside town.

  • @lew.parker
    @lew.parker 2 роки тому +2

    What film is this at 13:26?

  • @martykeaton182
    @martykeaton182 Рік тому

    One can certainly argue that if Brody knew there was a shark out there, why would he let even his kids go in it? That would certainly make him a villain.

  • @chitown1782
    @chitown1782 3 роки тому +1

    Jaws is very Hitchcockian, doesn't feel like a Spielberg film!

  • @abraxsmith01
    @abraxsmith01 4 місяці тому

    Third outing as director Duel, Sugarland express then Jaws....

  • @oambitiousone7100
    @oambitiousone7100 2 роки тому

    The one flaw is the “blood geyser” coming off of the little boy, Alex. I think his struggling and red water around him and thrashing would be sufficient.

  • @wsvap
    @wsvap 2 роки тому

    Bullshit is my passion! :D :D

  • @Quincy_Morris
    @Quincy_Morris 4 роки тому +2

    The shareholders? It’s the small businesses who are hurt by the beaches closing. Everyday folk. Not greed, necessity.
    Calling beachgoes and surfboard sellers “Villainous” because they like the beach is absurd. Foolish yes, but evil?

  • @cosmicXtropics
    @cosmicXtropics Рік тому +1

    Music is by part the most important part of every scene featuring the shark. The shark is simply not there if the music isn't, this is something you failed to mention. The theme didn't become iconic for no reason.

    • @SECRETARIATguy224
      @SECRETARIATguy224 Рік тому

      No. That is only in the first half of the film. They switch it up in the second half. There are several times once the boys are on The Orca where the shark is there and the music _isn't_ playing. And, fix the syntax in your comment . . . "Music is _by part_ the most important . . ."

  • @ratking_
    @ratking_ 3 роки тому

    well of course we're as helpless its a bloody movie

  • @jobyjoe1
    @jobyjoe1 4 роки тому +1

    he is amazing (Spielberg) but got too fomulaic

    • @jobyjoe1
      @jobyjoe1 4 роки тому

      Great doc. thou

  • @KiraReminiec9399
    @KiraReminiec9399 6 років тому

    discarded image ,the cut ins of other films have nothing to do with the scenes from jaws at all!

    • @porflepopnecker4376
      @porflepopnecker4376 4 роки тому +1

      They're for comparative purposes.

    • @eduardo_corrochio
      @eduardo_corrochio 4 роки тому +1

      @@porflepopnecker4376 What movie clip was the Bruce Willis one in the drab kitchen?

    • @The5n0w
      @The5n0w 4 роки тому +2

      @@eduardo_corrochio Moonrise Kingdom

    • @eduardo_corrochio
      @eduardo_corrochio 4 роки тому +1

      @@The5n0w Thank you!

    • @SECRETARIATguy224
      @SECRETARIATguy224 Рік тому

      No kidding? The dolly-zoom from _Vertigo_ has NOTHING TO DO with Jaws? Really?

  • @ryankane7177
    @ryankane7177 4 роки тому

    Has the director of the movie ever spoken out against the dangerous mindset against marine wildlife that his creation has bred? I honestly tried to look this up, but just got interviews with him claiming PTSD from the filming schedule. Wonder sometimes about these people and how they justify their hate for the natural world. Maybe thousands of years of being told that they are "gods chosen people" has made them destructive.

    • @DiveJunkee
      @DiveJunkee 3 роки тому +1

      To the best of my knowledge, Spielberg never has. Peter Benchley, on the other hand, stated “What I now know, which wasn’t known when I wrote 'Jaws,' is that there is no such thing as a rogue shark which develops a taste for human flesh. [...] No one appreciates how vulnerable they are to destruction.’’
      Benchley spent the rest of his life advocating for the protection of sharks.

  • @spinynorman887
    @spinynorman887 4 роки тому

    I thought this thing was about Jaws. You spent over half of the first four minutes (where I gave up) talking about Hitchcock and other directors instead of the topic! Stop giving Hitch a hand job and focus!

    • @SECRETARIATguy224
      @SECRETARIATguy224 Рік тому

      Unbelievable. You are clueless. If you'd read pretty much _anything_ about the making of this film, you'd know that Spielberg was _forced_ to use Hitchcock's suspense methods because the mechanical shark wasn't working, so they couldn't show it as much as they wanted.
      Analysis of this film _without_ mentioning Hitchcock is disingenuous and flat-out _wrong_. Ignorant marionette! Glad you gave up!

  • @rickyabney7650
    @rickyabney7650 5 років тому

    His films are very boring! Never did understand what the big deal was about Steven Spielberg!