eyescandeceive you mean in all movie history considering this movie is 40 years old now and not so modern opposed to a movie 40 years older then itself.
CharlieMurphy5O This monologue is amazing, but IMHO it's not half as incredible as the following: 1. James Stewart as Senator Jefferson Smith in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' Check out the incredible 'filibuster' speech he delivers; it will knock your socks off! 2. Henry Fonda as Tom Joad in 'The Grapes of Wrath.' Check out the final scene where Fonda as Joad delivers his stunning "speech" to Ma Joad. It will move you to tears. 3. Zelda Rubinstein as psychic Tangina in 'Poltergeist.' Check out the scene where Rubinstein as Tangina explains to the grief stricken parents where their missing daughter is, how she got there and-most chilling of all- exactly WHO is keeping her a captive. It will chill you to the bone.
You know they made a movie "The USS Indianapolis". It would have been fitting to have one of the Sailors named "Quint", and maybe even reenact the Obie Robinson scene. That speech made aware a lot of people of the Indianapolis tragedy.
Considering that Dreyfuss was just finding his feet as a "name" in Hollywood at the time and Shaw was an accomplished author as well as a force of nature as an actor, it's not hard to imagine Dreyfuss' feelings on being involved in this scene, that Shaw wrote and delivered.
It's funny about that line, if you watch his mouth, he almost flubbed the line, almost said black eyes before lifeless... wouldn't have changed much, but interesting.
That line the way he delivered it was 1 of 2 scarey scenes describing eyes , The other was Donald Pleasance describing Michael Myers eyes " He had the Blackest Eyes , The Devils Eyes !!" 2 awsome actors
RIP Cleatus Lebow (Feb 8th, 1924- Sept 29, 2022), the last USS Indianapolis survivor of the horrifying WW2 incident that inspired this memorable scene.
I wondered about that. I recall the story that a young boy, watching this when the movie came out, asked his father if it was true. He ended up contacting survivors, did a writing project I think. Shoot, the young man then could be a grandfather himself by now. I wonder what it was like for Mr. Lebow, knowing that of all the guys on that ship, he was the last.
Benny Kwok I would argue that there's like one jump scare when the guys in the cage and the head pops out of nowhere followed by his muffled screaming. Well that atleast made me jump as a kid :(
BK: Really, this scene is SO much better than the rest of the movie--which generates fear (in a comparatively cheap sort of way) by startling the audience while this scene brilliantly weaves a story that is truly creepy--it seems out of place, made me think I didn't take the rest of the movie seriously enough.
Benny Kwok Well, there are a couple jump scares in this movie. It's just that they're actually effective and heighten the suspense and horror instead of just being cheap like jump scares today
Fun fact, Shaw wasn’t even American, he was born in Greater Manchester, England. So everyone talking about how insane this scene is, he’s doing it in another accent. One of the best ever.
The way he deliveres "June the 29th, nineteen forty fiii-ve." Really conveys a TON of emotion. Like he's just barely struggling to finish the story. One of the greatest movie scenes ever
@Wolvves. I agree, that "inhale-sigh" as he says 1945 was brilliant. He was drunk when he filmed this scene, but I don't think that was the alcohol... just pure acting. Did Marlon Brando and Robert Shaw ever appear on the screen in the same scene? That would be amazing. I would bet they would probably hate each other and Shaw would try to upstage Brando, like Steve McQueen did with Yul Brenner in "The Magnificanr Seven". But all four were professionals when "Action!" was called.
It's always been about the eyes for me. He seems to go more distant then. Like he was remembering a time he locked eyes with a shark all those years ago.
When the boat starts to sink later, Quint looks over anxiously at the life jackets and the camera holds the shot for several seconds. Next scene he’s tossing them at Hooper and Brody acting like nothing’s wrong, but knowing before that he was truly starting to get scared makes it more impactful.
Best scene in the movie. It's a 4 freaking minute long monologue, no action, just a drunk guy talking. And it's the best scene in a masterpiece movie. What a magnificent piece of writing and acting.
I've been there. I've talked to other vets. They always turn their back to ya, that drunkerd. Man. What you can do with a drone. This also back in '18. What can you do with a drone? A lot.
I think this is possibly one of the best instances in cinema of an actor telling an anecdote. There is no point where you don't believe he wasn't really there. Its genius
My thoughts 1000%. At no time should ANYONE who's seen this performance not believe the man lived it. I've seen a f**k ton of movies in 59 years, and I've NEVER been so enthralled. The fact that Shaw wasn't even nominated for the Oscar is the very same reason that Scott thumbed his nose at the award. George called it "a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense, for economic reasons." Robert Shaw should have a 40-foot statue in Hollywood as far as I'm concerned.
osman mohammed what’s really cool is that this actually happened. Obviously not to him but the vessel did sink and there were hundreds of men eaten in the ocean. The USS Indiana I think.
@@BoulderBoulder_ While definitely many died from shark attacks, most died from injuries during the torpedo attack, exhaustion, dehydration or insanity from drinking sea water. Still. "sharks took the rest" is probably true, because you know something ate the bodies and Quint probably hates the sharks for that as much as the ones that did kill.
@@shropsiberian Drowning is horrible, but yeah I'd imagine eaten alive even worse. And if you get dragged down underwater, you're both partly drowning and partly being torn apart, worst of both things at the same time. And of course this all happens while it's dark and you can't see anything; you just know something is tearing into you. Yeah, maybe drowning is preferable.
@Sound Logic Spielberg learned this even while he was shooting. The mechanical shark never worked right, so Spielberg decided a completely different approach. He never let the audience see the shark, but only implied its presence. Spielberg said, "The LESS you see, the MORE you get. I had to be more like Alfred Hitchcock, less like Ray Harryhausen." Interestingly, Harryhausen could have done an excellent job with a fake shark, but it wouldn't be nearly as frightening.
The way he keeps seemingly getting excited, speaking more rapidly and awkwardly smiling, it’s heart wrenching. It’s the true definition of ‘laughing to stop yourself from crying’, the rush of emotions he’s getting from reliving the story by telling it.
todays directors would be tempted to do a flashback with a cgi scene with sharks swimming all around or some shit- but this- a great actor delivering great dialogue. thats storytelling.
and the funny thing with this scene, is that he was black out drunk at one of the occations (he couldn't even remember doing the speech). And this scene is taken from two different occations, once where he was super drunk, another where he was sober
This is one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history, delivered by one of the greatest actors of ALL TIME, and Robert Shaw's potrayal of Quint, is one of those select times in movie history, that you can DEFINATIVELY say, that there wasnt another actor on this planet, that ever could have played it any better. Decades later, I still get chills watching this scene. My god, its a masterpiece. Robert Shaw was AWESOME.
@@Gracc112 Funny story that I saw on a documentary about the making of Jaws. Supposedly before they filmed this scene, Robert Shaw asked Steven Spielberg if he could do it while drunk, and Spielberg gave him the green light lol. They shot the scene, and Robert made a mess of it, to the point where the next morning, he was embarrassed after not remembering much about the night before, and found out it didnt go well. They reshoot the scene with a sober Robert Shaw, and boom, you have the finished product in the second take.
Notice how Shaw's character had a smile on his face through parts of the tale. Sort of his way of saying "Well, this is the ten thousandth time I've relived this story. I will never get over it." Great acting.
@@timmyross2721 Just imagine the reality. Men fighting for their lives by the hundreds killing sharks brutally out of necessity and being picked off piece by piece. To fight off one shark is worth a warriors salute but imagine beating off 10 and then getting eaten alive. Now that is true horror.
Apparently Shaw wrote this part himself & did the first take while slightly worse for wear, . Apologetic, he asked to do it again & they mixed the two together. Someone said the varying difference is the wetness of his eyes.(?!)
And those two bombs killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of people, including children. But they ended the war, saving who knows how many other lives on both sides.
Kind of ironic really. No real action in this scene. No shark tearing anyone up. Just a story, and it's the scariest part of the whole damn movie! Robert Shaw was an incredible actor!
Yeah, this was a chilling part of a movie that had this little kid scared of swimming for a long time ...just a guy telling a story, letting ones mind paint a picture; unnerving " dolls eyes".....!
In my opinion, SHAW was an unfairly underrated actor. I remember he masterfully performed as Francisco Pizarro in a 1969 's great movie: THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN. I agree with you...he was an incredible actor.
RIP Robert Shaw (August 9, 1927 - August 28, 1978), aged 51 And RIP Roy Scheider (November 10, 1932 - February 10, 2008), aged 75 You both will be remembered as legends.
Amazing he’s only in his 40s when he did this. The Make-up did put the grey hair and wrinkles, but it’s his acting that sells us he’s wizen old, rough sea fairer. Even his blue collar New Englander accent is perfect. No hint of his British accent.
CGH this scene yeah, Roy Batty’s death scene in Bladerunner, that last scene in the car when Toni Colette (the mother) really realises her son does see dead people. Any Gregory Peck scene in To Kill a Mockingbird (the whole court scene and the shooting of the rabid dog esp.). I could go on...
@@Dovah21 Quint for his own sake may have needed to get to the end of the story and not dwell too long on any particular moment - perhaps he simply couldn't psychologically afford the luxury of that thousand yard stare. Shaw apparently delivered these lines when he'd deliberately had quite a bit to drink - the slurring was not entirely acting. Somewhat fitting, as Quint might not have shared the story without his inhibitions lowered by the alcohol and perilous circumstances.
Robert Shaw rewrote this scene himself. He was an accomplished author in his own right and he knocked it out of the park, despite the fact that he was drunk when he did it. RIP
He was drunk the first time they shot it and Shaw was ashamed at his poor performance. He asked Spielberg if they could reshoot the scene the next day. Shaw returned, sober, and with his own revisions to the dialogue and knocked it out of the park. One of the best scenes ever recorded on film!
John Milius wrote this scene for his buddy Spielberg. The original was 10 pages and Shaw couldn’t remember 10 pages and thought it was too long so he edited it himself with some spontaneous added words.
They left out the best part, when Hooper makes a joke about the tattoo, and Quint tells him it was from the Indianapolis, and Hooper immediately shuts up. The instant respect and reverence Hooper shows was chilling.
I think the instant respect shown by Hooper also represents a turning point in the relationship between the two men. It is also testimony to Drefus's ability as an actor who, apparently, did not get along with Shaw, but was able convey so much in a single facial expression.
@0:05 when Quint drops his hat in respect for the dead as he starts the story - that simple gesture is missed by most - but for me, it hits the hardest. I knew immediately that whatever he was about to say was something that changed him forever.
My youngest sister is a R.N. at the veterans hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and she called me one afternoon(she knows i'm interested in history) and said she had a patient that i would love to meet. He was one of the last living men from the USS Indianapolis. I was speechless and i told her to tell him thank you for what you did for our country and my family, i didn't know what else to say. Someone on the medical staff obtained a hardback book on the history of the USS Indianapolis and his name was in the book as one of the men on board, as he still had his dog tags believe it or not. He signed the book for them. You have all the people in this country wanting autographs from sports stars and musical artists and actors/actresses, and that book he signed is a true autograph, God bless him and his family.
Thats a great story. Back in 75 when this came out, there were tears in the audience from these older guys. They said that was the FIRST time they heard the Indianapolis story on any film and that what happened was kept under wraps just like the USS Juneau. I wasn't aware until I read about it years later.
That's incredible knowing somebody from the Indianapolis. The first time I ever heard about it was on the news, maybe on its anniversary. They included the speech from Jaws. I have a nursing home friend who served in World War II in Europe. I don't know how well he understands me at his age but I did tell him that my mom (who was 11 in England when Pearl Harbor happened) really appreciated the American troops.
When “show, don’t tell” is absolutely the wrong advice. Absolutely masterclass here in writing, acting, directing, and scoring. Absolutely perfect on all fronts
Agree completely, I was thinking the same thing. Goes against all the "rules" of screenwriting...show a story, don't tell a story...but goes to show all rules can be broken...
@@adamp7958 Someone giving a monologue doesn't count as "telling" in writing terms. "Telling" is things like narration or text or characters calling other characters "sister" or "father" to convey information to the audience in a ham-fisted way. This monologue came off natural and flowed cohesively from the banter that preceded it. "Telling" would be Quint saying to the men, "I hunt sharks because I had a traumatic experience with sharks back when I was in the war". This is showing Quint demonstrating that. The script demonstrated rather than explicated. The audience infers that he hunts sharks because of that experience rather than the audience being told that outright. So the rules of "show, don't tell" were not broken here.
Interesting, but I'd say maybe he's 'showing' the effect the experience has had on him by his story and gestures. He's telling but not in a direct way, he's showing them what happened but not telling them the effect on him, like he could keep saying stuff like 'I'm upset by this' or 'now I hate sharks' but that's not necessary. During the story he doesn't ruin the talk it's a cold retelling of what happened.
Kodi Benson anyone that knew the history, especially if they watched if backed when it was in theater knew and had similar reactions, regardless it’s a chilling true tale done superbly.
@@casesoutherland4175 heh, he admired someone who knew his craft. All the duff acting he'll have seen in his life and then to be confronted with this...
It’s been over 50 years and we still talk about this film, this scene, and these wonderful actors that shows you how to make a impact in the film industry
Jaws is a brilliant film. It's more than just a killer shark movie, it's a study in brilliant film making, brilliant acting, brilliant tension building, and a brilliant score. The movie, in my opinion, is right up there with Psycho as far as suspense movies ago; a near perfect movie that was the genesis to the summer movie blockbuster craze, that has sadly ended in the last few years.
This movie was lightning in a bottle. It’s insane how much the producers believed in it, and how perfect Spielberg was for it at that specific point in his career, and how well everyone worked together to do it in spite of everything. Nobody would believe in it now with the obstacles production and filming were facing, much less any producer. I absolutely do not believe this movie could be made today and be as authentic as the original is. Like, they shot the thing on the ocean. Bruce was practical effects. These days this would’ve shot in a pool and the shark would be CGI. Disgusting. Lightning in a bottle, man.
Look at that, no special effects. Just a guy acting, and you just lose yourself in what he's saying. envisioning the seen he's describing . wow. freaking nailed it!
If anyone is interested there are still 11 survivors of the Indianapolis alive today. We lost one a couple weeks ago. The oldest of the survivors is still alive and 97 years old, but currently ill. I'm a member of a Navy Heavy Cruiser forum and we're going to get the members to send him get well cards. The last person we showered with cards got 100,000 birthday cards for his 100th birthday.
If war wasn't hell enough, those brave men on the Indianapolis must've went through Dantes Inferno. The Greatest Generation. Do whatever you have to do to secure victory. Brave, GREAT men indeed. None of these wussies like Bo Bergdahl. My PawPaw who was 101st Airborne during WW2, or my Dad and Uncles who fought in Nam, are shaking their heads in DISGUST at the kind of "soldiers" we are creating now.
there is no nuke bomb. never was. look at the photos of the cities. they were burned, firebombed maybe. no center of blast site, all wooden structured burned, all stone still standing.
@@fishordie1992 My dad was in the navy in WW2 when his ship hit a mine off the coast of France. 58 men died in the explosion and sinking. The concern for the men in the water wasn't sharks, but other mines that they thought the rescue boats or their own boat might drift into. He said the lifejackets they had were crap. After he was pulled on board he threw it in the water and it sank like a rock. He told that story along with stories of his other years in the service and remembered every detail like it was yesterday. But as he got older, I could tell it bothered him to talk about the sinking.
One of the greatest acting performances in the history of cinema (and probably all drama since it was first created) - in 5 minutes he expresses so many things you don't even know where to begin describing them all. He's mesmerising. How the scene changes before our very eyes! Laughing, one-upmanship, male bonding, self-deprecating humour in a bad situation - and then the horror of that experience. And the terror and horror is in Shaw's eyes. In the way he modulates his voice. In his pauses. He should have won the Best Actor Oscar just for this 5 minutes alone.
I especially loved how he stopped laughing immediately and got serious when he found out quint was on the Indianapolis…he knew what happened…he didn’t realize what the experience was like though for those who survived
Especially the way Quint grabs his arm while he's laughing. You don't see it in this clip, but it was Quint telling him that the scar was no laughing matter.
@@shihanUKS haven't worn a bike helmet except when forced in races since a friend broke his neck wearing one. He would've been better off with the fractured skull. Could've fixed that
I like to think this part of Quint's history is the reason why he is so dedicated to go on this mission. Not just for the money, but maybe to get rid of some personal demons as well.
Indeed, and the shark ends up killing him anyway, despite how much hatred he has for them and his purpose. I guess it’s to convey how powerful the shark is, that it even overcame someone like Quint.
Of course that is why he is dedicated to the mission and obsessed with sharking. That is the whole point of the story to give you a reason why he is the way he is.
I think the thing I love about this scene the most is that it's probably the first time he's told this story, but also probably the millionth time thinking about it. The details come rolling out of him so poetically, like he can't stop them. It's like therapy, but also you can see he's crossed a line and the two men are absolutely terrified by it.
That's a brilliant take on this. Shaw also pitches it perfectly, somewhere between a guy telling a ghost story to kids across a camp fire, and a drunkard rambling in a bar. It just feels so real.
"Sometimes the shark would go away...sometimes, he wouldn't go away." Watched Jaws for the first time aged 9 and seen it maybe 25 times since. That line gets me every single time. One of the greatest ever monologues.
Back in those days during WWII, the US Navy didn't have very good protocols on how sailors should handle shark attacks. They were told to just kick and yell at them as soon as they got near, but it turned out that was exactly the wrong thing to do as it made the sailors seem like prey to the sharks. They later learned that moving as little as possible was the better course of action, and made sure they had shark repellent.
This is a lesson to learn in creating tension before a major set piece. Yeah he’s just talking, but like a gripping novel, he takes you on a ride of pure emotion and fear, and makes the big bad even bigger and badder with mere words. Take note Hollywood. You’ve forgotten this.
Yeah Hollywood take note but also how about the movie going public with attention spans the size of gnats. Demanding gratuitous violence and constant noise. I would wager that Hollywood screenwriters - who devote their lives to their craft - would much rather write scenes like these. We demand explosions and car chases.
I remember as a kid/teengager when this part of the movie came I would either ignore it or fast forward thorugh it becuase it was boring. As an adult, I can't get enough of this scene.
same with me, i also treat the dinner scene in jurassic park the same way as well. Never cared for it when younger but now its awesome hearing Malcolm tell everybody what they are doing is stupid.
Not only that, but imagine memories that traumatic, all having been first experienced while wearing a soggy kapok life jacket- perhaps just putting one on again could trigger flashbacks.
The whole story just sends chills down your spine. That's what I love most about this speech of Shaw's. He's just talking, but it still strikes you with fear and intrigue. This is probably one of my favorite monologues in a movie, hands down.
The part that I always found eerie was the whale. As a kid, it always sounded like a ghost. It probably had something to do with Quint's story about death. To this day the sound of the whale still kind of creeps me out.
SM: Mine, too, and the best part is its matter-of-fact delivery, not played for dramatic effect, utterly real--because what he's saying is chilling enough.
@@patrickoliver9133 actually don't so much roll over as a nictitating membrane goes over the eyes even when they are being patted and stroked on the nose, as the hand gets anywhere near or seems heading to the eye the membrane rolls over the eye.
I remember when I was little I’d always fast forward this part on my old VCR because it was slow and boring, and I just wanted to watch where they’d battle the shark. Now as an adult, I look at this scene with new eyes, as not only my favorite scene in the movie, but one of the best speeches in cinema history. Absolutely incredible performance!
Yeah, it's very much true that if you return to your old favorites, whatever it was that appealed to you while young tends to look vastly different later on. But Jaws is an extreme exercise in disciplined filmmaking; where excesses could have been made but are almost always curtailed in the service of heightened mood, atmosphere. (to my thinking, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers fits the category of extravagance, rivaled only by Moulin Rouge). Whatever neat tricks were pulled before, the film shifts gears and suddenly goes: "Okay, now we're going to go back to the old ways, and just present a straight up ghost story, one slow tracking shot. Except, this one really happened, and happened to quite a few people. This gives Jaws a gravitas and authority it might otherwise not have, and is extremely effective.
My grandfather was a survivor and never talked about it … as a kid watching this it was sobering and I never looked at him the same . Respected his silence…
Sterling Hayden was originally cast for the part, and I've wondered how he could have done Quint. Hayden was a great actor, but he didn't have Shaw's theatrical background, for what that's worth. That being said: Hayden was a highly experienced sailor, and might have brought authenticity to the second half of the film. We will never know. I love Shaw's Quint.
@@TheRealGnolti I actually didn't know that... I wonder how different the role might have turned out. I can't imagine anyone else in the role now, Shaw was immense.
Only one other actor comes to mind that has that intimidating look, toughness, and gruff pattern of speech that could pull off a character like Quint at that time: Oliver Reed. Even in real life, they are the type that if they suddenly look up from their drink, squinted menacingly at you, and started to rise from their seat, I’d throw money on the bar and head for the door.
Watching Richard Dreyfuss, with his eyes rivetted on one of the greatest actors of all time delivering one of the greatest self-written monologues of all time, is a sheer pleasure. Both the actor and the character are in awe of an astonishing story and storyteller.
It's gives me the chills to.if you look at quints eyes there are almost in a daze like he's just lost in his memories of the story while at the same time telling the story
He really was a wonderful writer. I was just telling my Holocaust students about his play, "The Man In The Glass Booth," a riveting riff on Adolf Eichmann's trial, with some deep and memorable twists.
Carl Gottlieb was the lead screenwriter. According to him, there were TEN versions of the monologue, and Milius' was just one. Milius was not on set. He was 4 hours away on the west coast. The scene was shot at 9:30 a.m. local time. Milius claim to have written it at the last minute is BS according to Gottlieb. Carl said that they gave all 10 versions to Shaw. Two days before the shoot, Shaw said "I think I have this monologue liked...." and he read his edited, final version to Spielberg and crew at dinner. Spielberg instantly said..."that is what we are shooting". According to Gottlieb, Shaw himself deserves most of the credit. Many people do not know that at that point, Shaw had 5 novels published, and won a Pulitzer prize as a playwriter! He was probably the best writer they had....
Quint's ferocious character is balanced by the shark's brutal nature.. ..one of the greatest monologues of all time in any movie.. thank you Robert Shaw..
How this could not have garnered Shaw an Oscar is a travesty. One of the most amazing pieces of acting ever seen. If you saw this in the theater back in '75, like I, and I'm sure a lot of you, did, the level of tension this created was indescribable. Everything about this, is perfect.
I saw Jaws for the first time at the movie theater when it came out in '75. I was 12 years old and to this day seeing Jaws is the greatest movie going experience of my life. I must've seen Jaws over 100 times and never get tired of it.
Note the fact that for one minute, there's no music. Just speech and the sound of the creaking boat. And then slowly the strings come in. This movie knew how to build suspense like almost none other. This scene is still terrifying, 40 years later.
Yeah , when Hollywood actually knew how to make good , no not good awesome movies . Everything is cgi bullshit nonsense I can't remember the last time I saw a good movie Ive walked out of the theater a few times because I was pissed at myself for wasting 45 minutes of my life watching some garbage if I ever actually go to the movie theater again itll be a miracle I'd rather save the fucking $25 or however much theyre charging now
Everybody in this movie where great actors.Even the shark but mr Shaw was in a class of his own.He really did the movie."Swallowed you whole and down you go".
Except in the real world, sharks wouldn't actually swallow you whole.....they think it's a lot more fun to sever one or more of your limbs and then swim away, allowing you to bleed to death slowly!
@rockn roll The people on the ship didn't even know what they were transporting. Neither is any of the sailors on the ship responsible for the Government deciding to drop the bomb. Stop being so ignorant.
@rockn roll We are speaking here about some young men drafted into military service. You can only be thankful not being part of this time period and living through the horror of a world war.
@rockn roll oh stfu wanna talk about what the Japanese did at Nanking? Or the Filipino babies the Japanese threw in the air and caught with their bayonets?
I'll never put on a life jacket again. That line is the most heartbreaking and insightful thing into Quints mind. Great subtle performance that steals the whole movie.
"You know the thing about a shark is he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a dolls eyes. When he comes at you, he doesn't seem to be living. Until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then.....then you hear that terrible high pitched screaming, the ocean turns red, and despite of all the pounding and the hollering they all come in and they rip you to pieces"
No other actor could have told that story like the great Robert Shaw. This is one of the best scenes in acting history. For those five or six minutes you were there, in the water with these guys from the Indianapolis, wondering if you were next.
Even to this day, I can’t listen to this monologue without getting goosebumps down my spine. The way the story is told, along with the music. Chilling.
This was the beginning of his truly great period.. he rewrote the language of film music for the next quarter century and beyond with his work in the mid to late 70's. If it wasn't for his success in rebooting the old fashioned "romantic" school of film scoring with orchestra in Star Wars, film soundtracks as we know them would have evolved on a completely different trajectory. Most influential of the last 50 years by a mile.
This scene completely explains in three minutes Captain Quint's motivation: why he's obsessed with killing sharks, his guilt at surviving when so many of his friends had died and why his death at the end of the film has got to be his worst nightmare come to life. Compare this scene to what passes for "character development" in movies these days.
The ability to have us there in that boat with them, feeling the confines of it & the impending danger is the brilliance of the movie... You don't feel like you watched it, you feel like you were a character in it... You had yourself to the script & become connected to it on a deeply personal level. Wonderful!
He only blinks *THREE* times during this entire 3 min 34-second monologue...and two of those were when he said 'sometimes he wouldn't go away' which only enhances the terror of what he would be thinking when he said it. Freaking AMAZING. Another great one is Jack Nicholson's 'You can't handle the truth' scene. Check how little he blinks in that as well.
+Agent E The speech was total hollywood nonsense. The Indianapolis medical officer said that only about two dozen actual deaths were from shark attacks. The rest were from exposure, dehydration and drinking salt water. The medical officer actual swam between groups and was never attacked. He said one entire group never even saw sharks. So much for hollywood BS. Also there was no distress signal sent, because the power went out immediately on the ship. Read the actual history.
I remember catching a bus into town, back in 76, to see jaws as a 14 year old kid. And Robert Shaw's monologue still resonates with me almost 50 years later.
"So anyway we delivered the bomb" I love that line. It's technically quite important given the significance of those two bombs but the fact that feels trivialized in the weight of the rest of the story just proves how good and terrifying the story itself was.
He feels depressed about the fact the whole mission helped kill over 200000 Japanese people. That's why. He's drinking at the same time as delivering that line. They copped it even worse than him.
@@alvargas5095 It's actually the part he's most depressed about, since he knows it killed 200000 Japanese people, and they copped it much worse in the end. Brilliant acting.
Robert Shaw masterfully transitions from Ahab-like rants and utterances to quietly and directly describing what it must be like when man becomes food chain's weakest link.
This somehow makes his death even worse. He already narrowly avoided that fate and it clearly still haunted him decades later. Only for him to end up in the jaws of a shark anyway.
Winds of March Journey/Perry tribute band it was actually true. Quint had all those Shark jaws hanging up in his boat wall showing he had hunted sharks.
When I was a younger kid, the significance of this scene was not apparent to me, but even in not getting the full magnitude of what he was talking about, you could feel the tension rise: how Brody and Hooper go from laughing and drinking to dead silent and looking terrified, John Williams’ subtle and eerie music begins, and Quint seemingly becomes another person as he revisits the darkest time of his life, which explains his obsession to get the shark: payback for his lifetime of nightmares and flashbacks.
Imagine watching this in the theater, in 1975 as a 12 year old, just moved to Massachusetts of all places, 45 mins from the Cape. Scared the crap out of me, and I didn't make it through the the whole movie. I left midway with my mom. This scene still gives me chills to this day.
Amazing recounting of it from your perspective. I was 10 when I saw this movie. We lived close to the Atlantic oceanfront in Virginia Beach. Nothing affected me as much as Jaws did (up to that point in my life). Going into the water at the beach was never scarier and sharks became undersea Satans I expected every time I got in two feet of water. Quint must have never wanted to quit finding revenge for his lost comrades.
@@samfrito Haha, so true. By this point in the movie, it was scary enough, but this scene was enough for me. Night, on the water, can't see anything, tension filled music in the background, and the story. This scene had it all!
I love how when he says, "They come in and...rip ya to pieces." He exhales almost like hes trying to stifle a sob. Man I love simple effective scenes like this.
I love the look on Dreyfuss’ face after Quint states “he’d been bitten in half below the waist”. You can see the terror in his eyes as he looks over at Chief Brody, the seriousness in his expression as he visualizes that in his head. Great acting.
How Robert Shaw didn't get nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1976 is one of if not the biggest snub for any actor of all time at the joke show known as the Academy Awards (Oscars).
This is a haunting scene…it really lingers in your mind. It makes his death later seem like it was fated to happen. Robert Shaw should have gotten an Oscar for his performance.
The scariest part is not just the speech and atmosphere, but the fact that such a badass like Quint is genuinely frightened. We’ll never see anything like this again.
Words, groaning ship boards, just a hint of background strings. This scene never ceases to amaze, and for me it's the scariest one in the movie. Quint's verbal description conveys all the imagery needed, and the intermittent creaking of the ship rounds it all off.
This scene completely captures what Jaws is all about, great story telling and suspense. This movie had that in spades. I remember when I first saw that scene it put the most horrifying image in my mind and I was speechless like 0_0 I always found The Excorcist, Jaws and Alien to be the three kings of what horror films would be like in the future, movies ahead of it's time.
What was always horrifying to me is that Quint basically foreshadows his own death at the end of the film :(. Anyone ever notice that any Spielberg film involving hunters usually ends with the hunter meeting a gruesome and terrible death?
What I love about this scene is how Hooper goes from laughing and joking around like a college kid to awed respect. "...You were on the *Indianapolis*?"
SCE2AUX2 Like any self-respecting man he (Quint) keeps his past, his secrets and the events that had a profound impact on him and which turned him into the person he is to himself. These things only come out under the influence of alcohol, good company or serious/life-threatening moments. This is also the reason he had the tattoo removed, since he didn't want people to ask him and tried to bury it in his past. I think Hooper actually is more shocked/scared that Quint was on the Indianapolis. It suddenly dawns on him why Quint is the way he is and why he kills sharks. He obviously knows what happened, but hearing a firsthand account from somebody who experienced it half scares him to death, especially since their own fates might be the same as the one as most of the crew on the Indianapolis. Sharks have been a part of Quint's life for a long time. The sinking of the Indianapolis made him the man he is. It suddenly all makes sense to Hooper but he can hardly believe it. Brody may never have heard of this story and has a completely different reaction.
Exactly, one of the great sub plots, Hooper and Quint didn't like each other, but both respected the other. The scene after this when the shark attacks the boat.. About the time in the movie even the old seasoned Quint started to realize he was in deep trouble.
@@willgold9989 I don't believe he was, the story goes that he was originally blackout drunk and couldn't perform the scene, so the next day he came in stone cold sober and delivered it in one take.
When you first see Robert Shaw in Jaws, you can tell straight away that he'd been sharkin' his whole life. I've never seen a movie to just flow from one great scene to another so seamlessly, despite all the problems during filming. I love everything about this movie. It captures a nostalgia of time and space but is also timeless. You watch this movie today and you don't think 'old movie'. It's a masterclass in casting, cinematography, editing, acting, score and of course, directing. It's just the perfect start, middle and end movie. Pure unadulterated gripping entertainment, what movies should be.
This is probably the scariest part of the movie and its just a guy talking. Great performance.
kaguth "Some times the shark would go away, some times he wouldn't go away." Uhhh, makes a cold shiver run down my spine every time.
kaguth Steven Spielberg now thinks it's the best scene in the movie.
Bobbnoxious Spielberg is right. This may be the best monologue in modern movie history.
eyescandeceive you mean in all movie history considering this movie is 40 years old now and not so modern opposed to a movie 40 years older then itself.
CharlieMurphy5O
This monologue is amazing, but IMHO it's not half as incredible as
the following:
1. James Stewart as Senator Jefferson Smith in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' Check out the incredible 'filibuster' speech he delivers; it will knock your socks off!
2. Henry Fonda as Tom Joad in 'The Grapes of Wrath.' Check out the final scene where Fonda as Joad delivers his stunning "speech" to Ma Joad. It will move you to tears.
3. Zelda Rubinstein as psychic Tangina in 'Poltergeist.' Check out the scene where Rubinstein as Tangina explains to the grief stricken parents where their missing daughter is, how she got there and-most chilling of all- exactly WHO is keeping her a captive. It will chill you to the bone.
Robert Shaw deserved an Oscar for this role. He stole every scene he was in. An absolutely brilliant performance.
SHOULD have won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. Spielberg wasn't even nominated.
He was a fine actor in many movies and he tended to dominate his scenes. He had the same type of presence as an Allen Rickman.
His greatest work.
Agree completely
Didn't even get nominated
"That was the time I was most frightened....waiting for my turn."
Incredible acting by Robert Shaw. He made you believe he was there.
Yep he did I think that would be the time I was most scared to
I don't think I blinked once while watching this scene.
You know they made a movie "The USS Indianapolis". It would have been fitting to have one of the Sailors named "Quint", and maybe even reenact the Obie Robinson scene. That speech made aware a lot of people of the Indianapolis tragedy.
You know, I know this is all an act but it didn;t occur to me that he wasn't really there until you said it
@@sheepisfortheweak6164- scary how people can lie so well .
Fun fact: Richard Dreyfuss admitted that during the scene he wasn’t acting, he was in genuine awe over Robert Shaw giving the monologue.
Considering that Dreyfuss was just finding his feet as a "name" in Hollywood at the time and Shaw was an accomplished author as well as a force of nature as an actor, it's not hard to imagine Dreyfuss' feelings on being involved in this scene, that Shaw wrote and delivered.
They left out the best part, dreyfuss going from laughing to realising who he is dealing with. Chills right through you.
Literally came to watch this scene right after seeing an interview with him where he admitted that
Robert Shaw in this scene delivered one of the the most perfect acting I've ever seen.
Yeah, but he WAS acting when he said THAT, so...
"Lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes..." remains one of my favorite lines ever
For years I always thought he said "dog's eye". Which is okay, i guess. But "doll's eye" is such a scarier line.
Agreed.
It's funny about that line, if you watch his mouth, he almost flubbed the line, almost said black eyes before lifeless... wouldn't have changed much, but interesting.
That line the way he delivered it was 1 of 2 scarey scenes describing eyes , The other was Donald Pleasance describing Michael Myers eyes " He had the Blackest Eyes , The Devils Eyes !!"
2 awsome actors
@@grega1972 I was just about to comment and say the "black eyes" bit reminded me of Halloween when Donald Pleasance described Michael Myers 😂
RIP Cleatus Lebow (Feb 8th, 1924- Sept 29, 2022), the last USS Indianapolis survivor of the horrifying WW2 incident that inspired this memorable scene.
I'm sure you know about the USS Juneau. It's story is much the same but with 7 survivors
So,we get eatin by sharks. Japs get eatin by aligattors. Wars hell
Actually, there's one survivor left. His name is Harold Bray, he's the last survivor of the Indianapolis.
I wondered about that. I recall the story that a young boy, watching this when the movie came out, asked his father if it was true. He ended up contacting survivors, did a writing project I think. Shoot, the young man then could be a grandfather himself by now. I wonder what it was like for Mr. Lebow, knowing that of all the guys on that ship, he was the last.
@@Only1Noodle Mr. Bray is the top survivor, standing on the mountain for all survivors of most anything to look up to till his last breath and beyond.
No cgi, no jump scares, just pure master-class acting from the great Robert Shaw.
This movie is magic
Benny Kwok I would argue that there's like one jump scare when the guys in the cage and the head pops out of nowhere followed by his muffled screaming. Well that atleast made me jump as a kid :(
Dan Lane Yeah I remember that scene scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. But at least it wasn't some kind of cgi jump scare from today.
BK: Really, this scene is SO much better than the rest of the movie--which generates fear (in a comparatively cheap sort of way) by startling the audience while this scene brilliantly weaves a story that is truly creepy--it seems out of place, made me think I didn't take the rest of the movie seriously enough.
Benny Kwok Well, there are a couple jump scares in this movie. It's just that they're actually effective and heighten the suspense and horror instead of just being cheap like jump scares today
Benny Kwok There is the ominous music. That helps the scene greatly.
Fun fact, Shaw wasn’t even American, he was born in Greater Manchester, England. So everyone talking about how insane this scene is, he’s doing it in another accent. One of the best ever.
He made little to no money from this movie I hear, because of taxes. Him being an English / Irish actor.
Yeah! I often mention that fact as well. Not only a convincing American accent, but a spot-on Maine-lander accent to boot!
The way he deliveres "June the 29th, nineteen forty fiii-ve." Really conveys a TON of emotion. Like he's just barely struggling to finish the story. One of the greatest movie scenes ever
they got the wrong date,though. It was July 30,1945
@@clivethereddevil3178 yeah I know, but he still nailed the monologue
oltre che è di un attraentente da morire lui avrebbe morirebbe...
@Wolvves. I agree, that "inhale-sigh" as he says 1945 was brilliant. He was drunk when he filmed this scene, but I don't think that was the alcohol... just pure acting. Did Marlon Brando and Robert Shaw ever appear on the screen in the same scene? That would be amazing. I would bet they would probably hate each other and Shaw would try to upstage Brando, like Steve McQueen did with Yul Brenner in "The Magnificanr Seven". But all four were professionals when "Action!" was called.
I'm 200th thumbs up. And yes "ONE OF THE BEST SCENES EVER" if the best scene ever. I get chills listen to it everytime.
Possibly the best monologue of all time... ""I'll never put on a life jacket again."
Good Golly Miss Polly now that line hits me in the soul .
It's always been about the eyes for me. He seems to go more distant then. Like he was remembering a time he locked eyes with a shark all those years ago.
Yes, one of greatest scenes in Movies history.
When the boat starts to sink later, Quint looks over anxiously at the life jackets and the camera holds the shot for several seconds. Next scene he’s tossing them at Hooper and Brody acting like nothing’s wrong, but knowing before that he was truly starting to get scared makes it more impactful.
The lighthouse has incredible monologues.
Best scene in the movie. It's a 4 freaking minute long monologue, no action, just a drunk guy talking. And it's the best scene in a masterpiece movie. What a magnificent piece of writing and acting.
he was sober when he did this take
@@rowansimpson6558 Drunk the day before so they reshot it. Apparently the one and only take..incredible.
I agree. Sadly missed to die so young
Sends chills down my spine every time
I've been there. I've talked to other vets. They always turn their back to ya, that drunkerd. Man. What you can do with a drone. This also back in '18. What can you do with a drone? A lot.
I think this is possibly one of the best instances in cinema of an actor telling an anecdote. There is no point where you don't believe he wasn't really there. Its genius
🎯🎯🎯
My thoughts 1000%. At no time should ANYONE who's seen this performance not believe the man lived it. I've seen a f**k ton of movies in 59 years, and I've NEVER been so enthralled. The fact that Shaw wasn't even nominated for the Oscar is the very same reason that Scott thumbed his nose at the award. George called it "a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense, for economic reasons." Robert Shaw should have a 40-foot statue in Hollywood as far as I'm concerned.
Yep, every time I see this scene I am sucked in and I don’t doubt Robert Shaw was there.
Incredible acting.
@@tomben6180I know (February 25th,2024 and February 27th,2024/🙂).
This man is a genius
One of the rarest moments in cinema history where you don’t know wether he is acting or he was really on that vessel 1945.
osman mohammed what’s really cool is that this actually happened. Obviously not to him but the vessel did sink and there were hundreds of men eaten in the ocean. The USS Indiana I think.
@@BoulderBoulder_ While definitely many died from shark attacks, most died from injuries during the torpedo attack, exhaustion, dehydration or insanity from drinking sea water. Still. "sharks took the rest" is probably true, because you know something ate the bodies and Quint probably hates the sharks for that as much as the ones that did kill.
1945*
Great comment, Good Idea. Shaw is a legend. So much gravitas.
Seeing this as a kid, I thought he had been there.
“I’ll never put a life jacket on again” Drowning is the easier way to go than being eaten alive by a shark. Very chilling indeed.
Especially if you're floating in the water waiting to see if the shark is gonna eat you or not
I'd take drowning over being eaten alive any day.
@@shropsiberian Drowning is horrible, but yeah I'd imagine eaten alive even worse. And if you get dragged down underwater, you're both partly drowning and partly being torn apart, worst of both things at the same time. And of course this all happens while it's dark and you can't see anything; you just know something is tearing into you. Yeah, maybe drowning is preferable.
@@Devilsnightforlife I like how you thought that through Thor….😂
@@trekerrymartin5611 he went for the head this time🤘🤘🤘😂😂😂
scariest part is: "Sometimes the shark goes away....
Sometimes, he doesnt go away."
That background music makes the scene ten X more eerie...very scary! Good job on this movie SS.
Robert shaws sounds like
Quint sounds like Dr loomis talking abou tMicheal Meyersl
@Sound Logic Spielberg learned this even while he was shooting. The mechanical shark never worked right, so Spielberg decided a completely different approach. He never let the audience see the shark, but only implied its presence. Spielberg said, "The LESS you see, the MORE you get. I had to be more like Alfred Hitchcock, less like Ray Harryhausen." Interestingly, Harryhausen could have done an excellent job with a fake shark, but it wouldn't be nearly as frightening.
@Sound Logic Complete and utter horror. In this moment, we knew why Quint was the way he was.
The way he keeps seemingly getting excited, speaking more rapidly and awkwardly smiling, it’s heart wrenching. It’s the true definition of ‘laughing to stop yourself from crying’, the rush of emotions he’s getting from reliving the story by telling it.
The crazy thing is he wasn't there but it's probably the closest we'll get to the actual event, that's the sheer talent of this man.
The way his voices trembles at "lost a hundred men, I dunno how many sharks. Maybe a thousand!"
Agreed us combat vets are the same way
“Sometimes the shark go away......sometimes he wouldn’t go away....”
Chilling
Anyway...we delivered the bomb.
“ ohh then you hear the terrible high pitched screaming.. the ocean turns red”
It’s so simple that it’s great
"I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand. I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. "
thats not even the chilling part dude. its the eyes part not the damn go away part
this is without question one of the most unforgettable scenes in motion picture history.
@Big Chap the movie was famous for its 'jump scares' but this is the scene that remains with you and is the most haunting.
@Big Chap very cool take!
Amen
I’ve been watching this movie for over 35 years and I get the chills every time I see this scene. Rest In Peace Robert Shaw one of the best.
@Big Chap he’s literally captain Ahab lol
todays directors would be tempted to do a flashback with a cgi scene with sharks swimming all around or some shit- but this- a great actor delivering great dialogue. thats storytelling.
Problem is I think a lot of todays viewers would be like "Gawwwwd, that scene was soooo booooooring!"
Yeah, but not me. What's boring is the Wikipedia article on the USS Indianapolis bomb delivery. This scene is gripping.
and the funny thing with this scene, is that he was black out drunk at one of the occations (he couldn't even remember doing the speech). And this scene is taken from two different occations, once where he was super drunk, another where he was sober
DuraheLL This I can somehow believe. And only because I've been friends two alcoholics.
I'm pretty sure I've channeled dead people when I was that drunk.
This is one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history, delivered by one of the greatest actors of ALL TIME, and Robert Shaw's potrayal of Quint, is one of those select times in movie history, that you can DEFINATIVELY say, that there wasnt another actor on this planet, that ever could have played it any better.
Decades later, I still get chills watching this scene. My god, its a masterpiece.
Robert Shaw was AWESOME.
My only gripe is that it wasn't a single take.
I'm with you, shared it often
Agreed! I wonder how many takes they did. Not many, if at all, probably. Acting majesty!!
@@Gracc112 Funny story that I saw on a documentary about the making of Jaws. Supposedly before they filmed this scene, Robert Shaw asked Steven Spielberg if he could do it while drunk, and Spielberg gave him the green light lol.
They shot the scene, and Robert made a mess of it, to the point where the next morning, he was embarrassed after not remembering much about the night before, and found out it didnt go well.
They reshoot the scene with a sober Robert Shaw, and boom, you have the finished product in the second take.
@@chocolatetownforever7537 WOW!!!!! Did not know that!!! That's cra-cra!
Notice how Shaw's character had a smile on his face through parts of the tale. Sort of his way of saying "Well, this is the ten thousandth time I've relived this story. I will never get over it." Great acting.
Well, he is a sailor, so there are probably a few embellishments. Come on!
@@jadentrez he was loaded through most of this scene lol
People have different ways of dealing with something horrible. I've known people who would put on a smile or laugh when deep down they are terrified.
@@timmyross2721 Just imagine the reality. Men fighting for their lives by the hundreds killing sharks brutally out of necessity and being picked off piece by piece. To fight off one shark is worth a warriors salute but imagine beating off 10 and then getting eaten alive. Now that is true horror.
Apparently Shaw wrote this part himself & did the first take while slightly worse for wear, . Apologetic, he asked to do it again & they mixed the two together. Someone said the varying difference is the wetness of his eyes.(?!)
"Anyway, we deliverd the bomb."
Perfect ending.
Lol perfect ending with dark levity
@Ned Kelly I will!
And those two bombs killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of people, including children.
But they ended the war, saving who knows how many other lives on both sides.
As soon as he says that he smiles....as if he was in a trance telling that story
@@georgehenderson7783 War Never Changes.
Kind of ironic really. No real action in this scene. No shark tearing anyone up. Just a story, and it's the scariest part of the whole damn movie! Robert Shaw was an incredible actor!
ditttch I’m scared 😱
Yeah, this was a chilling part of a movie that had this little kid scared of swimming for a long time ...just a guy telling a story, letting ones mind paint a picture; unnerving " dolls eyes".....!
Shaw takes us into that water with him...
In my opinion, SHAW was an unfairly underrated actor. I remember he masterfully performed as Francisco Pizarro in a 1969 's great movie: THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN. I agree with you...he was an incredible actor.
Leandro Luis Cruz he wasn’t underrated he was one of the finest actors the uk has produced both on stage and on film
RIP Robert Shaw (August 9, 1927 - August 28, 1978), aged 51
And
RIP Roy Scheider (November 10, 1932 - February 10, 2008), aged 75
You both will be remembered as legends.
Richard Dreyfuss is still kicking??
@@CoreyMillionaire2029Yah he's 76 still kicking
Amazing he’s only in his 40s when he did this. The Make-up did put the grey hair and wrinkles, but it’s his acting that sells us he’s wizen old, rough sea fairer. Even his blue collar New Englander accent is perfect. No hint of his British accent.
Roy died ten days before my birthday
Shaw's acting here...... It doesn't get better than that.
Listening to him we're just hanging on every word..
CGH this scene yeah, Roy Batty’s death scene in Bladerunner, that last scene in the car when Toni Colette (the mother) really realises her son does see dead people. Any Gregory Peck scene in To Kill a Mockingbird (the whole court scene and the shooting of the rabid dog esp.). I could go on...
Acting? What do you mean. Clearly Shaw is a medium and simply channeled the spirit of a man who died in the water from that ship.
The only thing missing was a pause for a thousand yard stare as Quint sees it all in his head again. That may have harmed the scene's momentum though.
@@Dovah21 Quint for his own sake may have needed to get to the end of the story and not dwell too long on any particular moment - perhaps he simply couldn't psychologically afford the luxury of that thousand yard stare. Shaw apparently delivered these lines when he'd deliberately had quite a bit to drink - the slurring was not entirely acting. Somewhat fitting, as Quint might not have shared the story without his inhibitions lowered by the alcohol and perilous circumstances.
Robert Shaw rewrote this scene himself. He was an accomplished author in his own right and he knocked it out of the park, despite the fact that he was drunk when he did it. RIP
He was drunk the first time they shot it and Shaw was ashamed at his poor performance. He asked Spielberg if they could reshoot the scene the next day. Shaw returned, sober, and with his own revisions to the dialogue and knocked it out of the park. One of the best scenes ever recorded on film!
@@davidashton1305 he was still tipsy according to accounts even during this take i think
John Milius wrote this scene for his buddy Spielberg. The original was 10 pages and Shaw couldn’t remember 10 pages and thought it was too long so he edited it himself with some spontaneous added words.
Not according to what I read. It was John Milius who wrote this scene during production.
@@zardoz73 Carl Gottlieb says Milius didn't write it.
They left out the best part, when Hooper makes a joke about the tattoo, and Quint tells him it was from the Indianapolis, and Hooper immediately shuts up. The instant respect and reverence Hooper shows was chilling.
That and the fact they were hunting the same creature that killed how many us troops on the Indianapolis
Yeah, Hooper would definitely know that story if he was a shark expert.
I think the instant respect shown by Hooper also represents a turning point in the relationship between the two men. It is also testimony to Drefus's ability as an actor who, apparently, did not get along with Shaw, but was able convey so much in a single facial expression.
CM: Yeah, the mood of the get-together turns on a dime, doesn't it?
Yes, and Hooper is hanging on his every word
@0:05 when Quint drops his hat in respect for the dead as he starts the story - that simple gesture is missed by most - but for me, it hits the hardest. I knew immediately that whatever he was about to say was something that changed him forever.
To me it's like he's so out of it that he simply can't be bothered thinking of a hat, that's how engrossed he is in the memory.
Acting is so good you actually think Robert was on the USS Indianapolis. Great scene.
Wait....he wasn't?
He was in the movie depicting this story
He was, actually.
@@PR--un4ub no, he wasn’t. But he was an amazing performer and he did write this monologue given how he was also an accomplished writer.
My youngest sister is a R.N. at the veterans hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and she called me one afternoon(she knows i'm interested in history) and said she had a patient that i would love to meet. He was one of the last living men from the USS Indianapolis. I was speechless and i told her to tell him thank you for what you did for our country and my family, i didn't know what else to say. Someone on the medical staff obtained a hardback book on the history of the USS Indianapolis and his name was in the book as one of the men on board, as he still had his dog tags believe it or not. He signed the book for them. You have all the people in this country wanting autographs from sports stars and musical artists and actors/actresses, and that book he signed is a true autograph, God bless him and his family.
Steve Logan That's awesome
@@acrustykrab thank you my friend
Thats a great story. Back in 75 when this came out, there were tears in the audience from these older guys. They said that was the FIRST time they heard the Indianapolis story on any film and that what happened was kept under wraps just like the USS Juneau. I wasn't aware until I read about it years later.
That's incredible knowing somebody from the Indianapolis. The first time I ever heard about it was on the news, maybe on its anniversary. They included the speech from Jaws. I have a nursing home friend who served in World War II in Europe. I don't know how well he understands me at his age but I did tell him that my mom (who was 11 in England when Pearl Harbor happened) really appreciated the American troops.
that’s crazy
When “show, don’t tell” is absolutely the wrong advice. Absolutely masterclass here in writing, acting, directing, and scoring. Absolutely perfect on all fronts
His description is very visceral. Evocative, paints a picture. In a book, this would count as showing and not telling, in my view.
it means that you should show the audience the characters emotions, not like this when recounting a story
Agree completely, I was thinking the same thing. Goes against all the "rules" of screenwriting...show a story, don't tell a story...but goes to show all rules can be broken...
@@adamp7958 Someone giving a monologue doesn't count as "telling" in writing terms. "Telling" is things like narration or text or characters calling other characters "sister" or "father" to convey information to the audience in a ham-fisted way. This monologue came off natural and flowed cohesively from the banter that preceded it.
"Telling" would be Quint saying to the men, "I hunt sharks because I had a traumatic experience with sharks back when I was in the war". This is showing Quint demonstrating that. The script demonstrated rather than explicated. The audience infers that he hunts sharks because of that experience rather than the audience being told that outright.
So the rules of "show, don't tell" were not broken here.
Interesting, but I'd say maybe he's 'showing' the effect the experience has had on him by his story and gestures. He's telling but not in a direct way, he's showing them what happened but not telling them the effect on him, like he could keep saying stuff like 'I'm upset by this' or 'now I hate sharks' but that's not necessary. During the story he doesn't ruin the talk it's a cold retelling of what happened.
The look that Dreyfus gives Roy Schneider during Shaw's monologue is great wordless acting
Really adds to his young pup character. He learned something that day
From what Dreyfus has said, that wasn't acting, they were both mesmerized by Shawn's delivery of the monologue
@@gamehengefulShaw was by far the best actor in the movie. Jaws would never have been the classic movie it is without his performance.
@LordMalice6d9 was drunk during most of the scenes but still turned in a historic performance
The absolute speed that Hooper sobers up in is chilling. He hears the name and he knows.
Kodi Benson anyone that knew the history, especially if they watched if backed when it was in theater knew and had similar reactions, regardless it’s a chilling true tale done superbly.
A shark expert would know, someone like Brody wouldn't back then.
Richard Dreyfuss wasn't acting when he was staring at Robert Shaw in awe. He said " I couldn't keep my eyes off of him."
@@casesoutherland4175 heh, he admired someone who knew his craft. All the duff acting he'll have seen in his life and then to be confronted with this...
From jokes to pale scared shitless.
Sad part is that Robert Shaw died 3 years later after the release of “Jaws.” This was one of the best scenes in the movie. His acting was top notch.
He delivered a bomb.
No distress signal had been sent
@@thereisnosanctuary6184 never had his 10000 grands, but he fought like a demon. What an actor
He always said he’ll kill mores jawses and he’ll killing more jawses. In the directors cut.
Indeed! Truly a great actor! RIP
Fun fact: this was Steven Spielberg's favorite scene in the movie
it's everyone's favorite scene in the movie.
Its my favourite scene from the movie too
He's right
Spielberg asked Jonh Milius to write this scene
How is that fun?
It’s been over 50 years and we still talk about this film, this scene, and these wonderful actors that shows you how to make a impact in the film industry
48 years actually, but whatever
Jaws is a brilliant film. It's more than just a killer shark movie, it's a study in brilliant film making, brilliant acting, brilliant tension building, and a brilliant score. The movie, in my opinion, is right up there with Psycho as far as suspense movies ago; a near perfect movie that was the genesis to the summer movie blockbuster craze, that has sadly ended in the last few years.
This movie was lightning in a bottle. It’s insane how much the producers believed in it, and how perfect Spielberg was for it at that specific point in his career, and how well everyone worked together to do it in spite of everything. Nobody would believe in it now with the obstacles production and filming were facing, much less any producer. I absolutely do not believe this movie could be made today and be as authentic as the original is. Like, they shot the thing on the ocean. Bruce was practical effects. These days this would’ve shot in a pool and the shark would be CGI. Disgusting.
Lightning in a bottle, man.
@peterrichards931
49 years. Filmed summer 1974. 😉
@@lyndoncmp5751released June 1975, 48 years
Look at that, no special effects. Just a guy acting, and you just lose yourself in what he's saying. envisioning the seen he's describing . wow. freaking nailed it!
If anyone is interested there are still 11 survivors of the Indianapolis alive today. We lost one a couple weeks ago. The oldest of the survivors is still alive and 97 years old, but currently ill. I'm a member of a Navy Heavy Cruiser forum and we're going to get the members to send him get well cards. The last person we showered with cards got 100,000 birthday cards for his 100th birthday.
Five survivors as of May 2021
Very good. God bless those soldiers.
If war wasn't hell enough, those brave men on the Indianapolis must've went through Dantes Inferno. The Greatest Generation. Do whatever you have to do to secure victory. Brave, GREAT men indeed. None of these wussies like Bo Bergdahl. My PawPaw who was 101st Airborne during WW2, or my Dad and Uncles who fought in Nam, are shaking their heads in DISGUST at the kind of "soldiers" we are creating now.
there is no nuke bomb. never was. look at the photos of the cities. they were burned, firebombed maybe. no center of blast site, all wooden structured burned, all stone still standing.
@@fishordie1992 My dad was in the navy in WW2 when his ship hit a mine off the coast of France. 58 men died in the explosion and sinking. The concern for the men in the water wasn't sharks, but other mines that they thought the rescue boats or their own boat might drift into. He said the lifejackets they had were crap. After he was pulled on board he threw it in the water and it sank like a rock. He told that story along with stories of his other years in the service and remembered every detail like it was yesterday. But as he got older, I could tell it bothered him to talk about the sinking.
By far one of the best scenes in history.
Without a doubt. Robert Shaw should have won an Oscar for this scene alone...
classic scene
+bearmassaro I think this is the greatest film ever
+Jason Raczkowski I completely agree. I have this movie on my tablet and I watch it every summer ,love Robert shaw
And he gets the date wrong. It was July 30, 1945. You think they would have looked that up.
One of the greatest acting performances in the history of cinema (and probably all drama since it was first created) - in 5 minutes he expresses so many things you don't even know where to begin describing them all. He's mesmerising. How the scene changes before our very eyes! Laughing, one-upmanship, male bonding, self-deprecating humour in a bad situation - and then the horror of that experience. And the terror and horror is in Shaw's eyes. In the way he modulates his voice. In his pauses. He should have won the Best Actor Oscar just for this 5 minutes alone.
Roy's reaction to it too... it's haunting. You can really see the words striking at his very psyche.
Describes the pilot as younger than "Mr Hooper". Sign of respect.
Loved the expression of Hooper's face. He had heard stories or read about the Indianapolis, now he's hearing testimony from someone who lived it.
Yes! When Quint's done and sits back...Hooper looks shocked.
Richard Dreyfuss admitted he was in awe of Shaws speech....he wasnt acting there.
I especially loved how he stopped laughing immediately and got serious when he found out quint was on the Indianapolis…he knew what happened…he didn’t realize what the experience was like though for those who survived
Especially the way Quint grabs his arm while he's laughing. You don't see it in this clip, but it was Quint telling him that the scar was no laughing matter.
3:06 when he says that line "y'know that was the time I was most frightened, waiting for my turn" it really hits home.
...Ill never put on a life jacket again. And he didn't. Neither have I towards life since and I was twelve then.
@@shihanUKS haven't worn a bike helmet except when forced in races since a friend broke his neck wearing one. He would've been better off with the fractured skull. Could've fixed that
@@capnskiddies Are you suggesting that wearing a helmet made him break his neck? That. . . that doesn't make any sense.
@@mournblade1066 ikr how can you compare a head injury to breaking neck
I like to think this part of Quint's history is the reason why he is so dedicated to go on this mission. Not just for the money, but maybe to get rid of some personal demons as well.
Certainly!
Payback yeah I feel that
Them, you could say that he was eaten by those personal demons of his.
Indeed, and the shark ends up killing him anyway, despite how much hatred he has for them and his purpose. I guess it’s to convey how powerful the shark is, that it even overcame someone like Quint.
Of course that is why he is dedicated to the mission and obsessed with sharking. That is the whole point of the story to give you a reason why he is the way he is.
I think the thing I love about this scene the most is that it's probably the first time he's told this story, but also probably the millionth time thinking about it. The details come rolling out of him so poetically, like he can't stop them. It's like therapy, but also you can see he's crossed a line and the two men are absolutely terrified by it.
That's a brilliant take on this. Shaw also pitches it perfectly, somewhere between a guy telling a ghost story to kids across a camp fire, and a drunkard rambling in a bar. It just feels so real.
Brilliant.
Awesome scene read
"Sometimes the shark would go away...sometimes, he wouldn't go away."
Watched Jaws for the first time aged 9 and seen it maybe 25 times since. That line gets me every single time.
One of the greatest ever monologues.
Back in those days during WWII, the US Navy didn't have very good protocols on how sailors should handle shark attacks. They were told to just kick and yell at them as soon as they got near, but it turned out that was exactly the wrong thing to do as it made the sailors seem like prey to the sharks. They later learned that moving as little as possible was the better course of action, and made sure they had shark repellent.
Only 25 times? You got some catching up to so with some of us *real die hard fans!*
😉
Favorite line of the movie, captures me every time.
Maybe a thousand
@@some_haqr He averaged 6 an hour... watching them at the same time, his eyes rolled back into his sockets...
This is a lesson to learn in creating tension before a major set piece. Yeah he’s just talking, but like a gripping novel, he takes you on a ride of pure emotion and fear, and makes the big bad even bigger and badder with mere words.
Take note Hollywood. You’ve forgotten this.
The music is great aswell, subtley sneaks in
He terrified me and all he did was tell a story a very true story, but man the way he delivered made it seem like he was legit there. Chilling.
They haven't. They just need to pander to idiots.
Hollywood 2023 would interject crap little Marvelesque jokes and ruin the scene completely
Yeah Hollywood take note but also how about the movie going public with attention spans the size of gnats. Demanding gratuitous violence and constant noise. I would wager that Hollywood screenwriters - who devote their lives to their craft - would much rather write scenes like these. We demand explosions and car chases.
I remember as a kid/teengager when this part of the movie came I would either ignore it or fast forward thorugh it becuase it was boring. As an adult, I can't get enough of this scene.
Same. It's crazy how your perspective on life changes over time.
i think i just couldn't understand him. then once i realized it was an actual true story thats when you realize how scary it actually is
same with me, i also treat the dinner scene in jurassic park the same way as well. Never cared for it when younger but now its awesome hearing Malcolm tell everybody what they are doing is stupid.
Can you remember the age where you stopped to listen and take this in?
It was boring!?
“Anyway….we delivered the bomb”
So casual but deeply unsettling.
"I'll never put a lifejacket on again"
How tragically prophetic that line would be. One of the greatest monologues in movie history
The lifejacket wouldn't have helped Quint anyway. He literally slid right into the shark's mouth
The most chilling and realistic line
The point of that line was to say that he'd rather drown than be eaten by a shark or live with the terror of it.
Not only that, but imagine memories that traumatic, all having been first experienced while wearing a soggy kapok life jacket- perhaps just putting one on again could trigger flashbacks.
i couldn;t agree more
The whole story just sends chills down your spine. That's what I love most about this speech of Shaw's. He's just talking, but it still strikes you with fear and intrigue.
This is probably one of my favorite monologues in a movie, hands down.
black eyes like a dolls eyes
The part that I always found eerie was the whale. As a kid, it always sounded like a ghost. It probably had something to do with Quint's story about death. To this day the sound of the whale still kind of creeps me out.
for me the part that hit the worst is one no one thinks about "I'll never wear a life vest again"
SM: Mine, too, and the best part is its matter-of-fact delivery, not played for dramatic effect, utterly real--because what he's saying is chilling enough.
The most frightening thing is, it really happened.
"Like a doll's eyes"
Jesus Christ how accurate is that?
That was Roy Scheider's contribution to the rewrite.
Moderately, they are pretty lifeless, and for most sharks they roll over when they get close to anything (like when they are about to attack).
@@Teampegleg evolution..sharks eyes have to protect themselves in deep water so the rolling makes sense
@@patrickoliver9133 actually don't so much roll over as a nictitating membrane goes over the eyes even when they are being patted and stroked on the nose, as the hand gets anywhere near or seems heading to the eye the membrane rolls over the eye.
@@infowolf1 still it's an interesting nugget of info
Shaw told this with the conviction of a man who lived it. Incredible performance.
I love the way he says "1945" at 3:27 - it sounds like he's about to burst into tears, but he holds up.
ricarleite it’s my new favourite moment of my favourite ever movie monologue
I remember when I was little I’d always fast forward this part on my old VCR because it was slow and boring, and I just wanted to watch where they’d battle the shark. Now as an adult, I look at this scene with new eyes, as not only my favorite scene in the movie, but one of the best speeches in cinema history. Absolutely incredible performance!
Yeah, it's very much true that if you return to your old favorites, whatever it was that appealed to you while young tends to look vastly different later on. But Jaws is an extreme exercise in disciplined filmmaking; where excesses could have been made but are almost always curtailed in the service of heightened mood, atmosphere. (to my thinking, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers fits the category of extravagance, rivaled only by Moulin Rouge). Whatever neat tricks were pulled before, the film shifts gears and suddenly goes: "Okay, now we're going to go back to the old ways, and just present a straight up ghost story, one slow tracking shot. Except, this one really happened, and happened to quite a few people.
This gives Jaws a gravitas and authority it might otherwise not have, and is extremely effective.
My grandfather was a survivor and never talked about it … as a kid watching this it was sobering and I never looked at him the same . Respected his silence…
This is the best part of the movie Robert shaw shouldve got a Academy award for this performance he was robbed that year
You look at with new eyes. Black eyes, like a doll's eyes.
Precisely the same as I was too.
Rewatching old films and scenes, realizing just how amazing they truly are.
No other actor could have portrayed "Quint" the way Robert Shaw did.
His “USS Indianapolis monologue” is one of the most memorable scenes of the film.
Sterling Hayden was originally cast for the part, and I've wondered how he could have done Quint. Hayden was a great actor, but he didn't have Shaw's theatrical background, for what that's worth. That being said: Hayden was a highly experienced sailor, and might have brought authenticity to the second half of the film. We will never know. I love Shaw's Quint.
@@TheRealGnolti I actually didn't know that... I wonder how different the role might have turned out. I can't imagine anyone else in the role now, Shaw was immense.
Charlton Heston evidently wanted the part badly 🤭
In my opinion one of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history.
Only one other actor comes to mind that has that intimidating look, toughness, and gruff pattern of speech that could pull off a character like Quint at that time: Oliver Reed.
Even in real life, they are the type that if they suddenly look up from their drink, squinted menacingly at you, and started to rise from their seat, I’d throw money on the bar and head for the door.
Watching Richard Dreyfuss, with his eyes rivetted on one of the greatest actors of all time delivering one of the greatest self-written monologues of all time, is a sheer pleasure. Both the actor and the character are in awe of an astonishing story and storyteller.
Seriously one of the best scenes in the history of cinema. Still sends chills down my spine every time I watch it.
I fucking hate this scene. How is it historic? Motherfucker sounds like he's high
Irfat Issabaev I'm sorry, take some trolling lessons, then.
he was
It's gives me the chills to.if you look at quints eyes there are almost in a daze like he's just lost in his memories of the story while at the same time telling the story
DarcMetal02 It helps that Shaw was drunk.
Robert Shaw wrote this speech for the film . He was a brilliant author as well as actor. Loved him in A Man For All Seasons. Died far to young.
John Milius wrote it and Shaw whittled it down to what we see here.
@@LoganWood121 that's right.
@@LoganWood121 Milius credited Shaw with more than just whittling.
He really was a wonderful writer. I was just telling my Holocaust students about his play, "The Man In The Glass Booth," a riveting riff on Adolf Eichmann's trial, with some deep and memorable twists.
Carl Gottlieb was the lead screenwriter. According to him, there were TEN versions of the monologue, and Milius' was just one. Milius was not on set. He was 4 hours away on the west coast. The scene was shot at 9:30 a.m. local time. Milius claim to have written it at the last minute is BS according to Gottlieb. Carl said that they gave all 10 versions to Shaw. Two days before the shoot, Shaw said "I think I have this monologue liked...." and he read his edited, final version to Spielberg and crew at dinner. Spielberg instantly said..."that is what we are shooting". According to Gottlieb, Shaw himself deserves most of the credit. Many people do not know that at that point, Shaw had 5 novels published, and won a Pulitzer prize as a playwriter! He was probably the best writer they had....
Quint's ferocious character is balanced by the shark's brutal nature..
..one of the greatest monologues of all time in any movie.. thank you Robert Shaw..
How this could not have garnered Shaw an Oscar is a travesty. One of the most amazing pieces of acting ever seen. If you saw this in the theater back in '75, like I, and I'm sure a lot of you, did, the level of tension this created was indescribable. Everything about this, is perfect.
I saw Jaws for the first time at the movie theater when it came out in '75. I was 12 years old and to this day seeing Jaws is the greatest movie going experience of my life. I must've seen Jaws over 100 times and never get tired of it.
Note the fact that for one minute, there's no music. Just speech and the sound of the creaking boat. And then slowly the strings come in. This movie knew how to build suspense like almost none other. This scene is still terrifying, 40 years later.
thesolo Spielberg is a genius and he learned from Hitchcock how to build suspense....Jaws is a great movie , equal to any of Hitchcock's
Morbus Hitchcock himself loved the movie, saying that "young Spielberg" was a master innovator in his uses of the camera.
Not for the first minute of the scene there isn't. The strings come into it at 1:01 or so.
Just watched it. And I live nowhere near any water where any great white could live. Tho a bull shark can, if someone put it there.
Yeah , when Hollywood actually knew how to make good , no not good awesome movies . Everything is cgi bullshit nonsense I can't remember the last time I saw a good movie Ive walked out of the theater a few times because I was pissed at myself for wasting 45 minutes of my life watching some garbage if I ever actually go to the movie theater again itll be a miracle I'd rather save the fucking $25 or however much theyre charging now
Everybody in this movie where great actors.Even the shark but mr Shaw was in a class of his own.He really did the movie."Swallowed you whole and down you go".
Except in the real world, sharks wouldn't actually swallow you whole.....they think it's a lot more fun to sever one or more of your limbs and then swim away, allowing you to bleed to death slowly!
“A little shakin’, a little tenderizin’, and down you go.”
"Farewell and ado to ye fare Spanish ladies...."
The scariest part is that he’s talking about a real world event
@rockn roll The people on the ship didn't even know what they were transporting. Neither is any of the sailors on the ship responsible for the Government deciding to drop the bomb. Stop being so ignorant.
@rockn roll I am speaking about the people who were sitting on that boat not about the Us Army leadership.
@rockn roll We are speaking here about some young men drafted into military service. You can only be thankful not being part of this time period and living through the horror of a world war.
@rockn roll Japan got what it deserved for launching a brutal war of aggression that killed 17 million people.
@rockn roll oh stfu wanna talk about what the Japanese did at Nanking? Or the Filipino babies the Japanese threw in the air and caught with their bayonets?
One of THE great movie scenes! Even after nearly 50 years and countless times watching it, i still get chills. Simply brilliant.
I'll never put on a life jacket again.
That line is the most heartbreaking and insightful thing into Quints mind. Great subtle performance that steals the whole movie.
"You know the thing about a shark is he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a dolls eyes. When he comes at you, he doesn't seem to be living. Until he bites you, and those black eyes roll over white and then.....then you hear that terrible high pitched screaming, the ocean turns red, and despite of all the pounding and the hollering they all come in and they rip you to pieces"
Isabella W you know what that beginning part makes me think of? That quote Dr Loomis tell sheriff Brackett in the first Halloween
"the blackest eyes...the devil's eyes."
makes you hate dolls ...
STONECOLD1998 that was based on a real experience Carpenter had visiting a mental institution. Another iconic speech.
No other actor could have told that story like the great Robert Shaw. This is one of the best scenes in acting history. For those five or six minutes you were there, in the water with these guys from the Indianapolis, wondering if you were next.
Even to this day, I can’t listen to this monologue without getting goosebumps down my spine. The way the story is told, along with the music. Chilling.
John Williams really knows how to set the mood with music. His score in this scene was terrifying. Even with just a man talking.
This was the beginning of his truly great period.. he rewrote the language of film music for the next quarter century and beyond with his work in the mid to late 70's. If it wasn't for his success in rebooting the old fashioned "romantic" school of film scoring with orchestra in Star Wars, film soundtracks as we know them would have evolved on a completely different trajectory. Most influential of the last 50 years by a mile.
The greatest composer of the modern era, imho.
Agreed the score is amazing
Force of nature musically
This scene completely explains in three minutes Captain Quint's motivation: why he's obsessed with killing sharks, his guilt at surviving when so many of his friends had died and why his death at the end of the film has got to be his worst nightmare come to life. Compare this scene to what passes for "character development" in movies these days.
I always hate seeing the poor guy get killed at the end. Rest in peace Quint :(
wcw2793 yeah even though he and Richard Dreyfus hated each other's guts
His delivery along with Williams music still sends shivers down my spine
The ability to have us there in that boat with them, feeling the confines of it & the impending danger is the brilliance of the movie...
You don't feel like you watched it, you feel like you were a character in it...
You had yourself to the script & become connected to it on a deeply personal level.
Wonderful!
Robert Shaw deserved an Oscar for his performance in Jaws!
He only blinks *THREE* times during this entire 3 min 34-second monologue...and two of those were when he said 'sometimes he wouldn't go away' which only enhances the terror of what he would be thinking when he said it. Freaking AMAZING. Another great one is Jack Nicholson's 'You can't handle the truth' scene. Check how little he blinks in that as well.
Robert Shaw should've won an Oscar for that amazing monologue; he really deserved it.
+Agent E The speech was total hollywood nonsense. The Indianapolis medical officer said that only about two dozen actual deaths were from shark attacks. The rest were from exposure, dehydration and drinking salt water. The medical officer actual swam between groups and was never attacked. He said one entire group never even saw sharks. So much for hollywood BS. Also there was no distress signal sent, because the power went out immediately on the ship. Read the actual history.
Absolutely agree and fact!!!
I remember catching a bus into town, back in 76, to see jaws as a 14 year old kid. And Robert Shaw's monologue still resonates with me almost 50 years later.
''I'll never put on a life jacket again'' - That line always stuck with me
And he meant it. A few scenes later he gave jackets to the other two, had none for himself.
I was always partial to the line, "what are you some kind of half assed astronaut"
For me, it was, 'Sometimes they'd go away, sometimes they wouldn't go away'
@@Phillip_JT Also when he said' Lifeless eyes, like a doll's eyes'.
Gives me goosebumps every time. Mr. Shaw was a great horror storyteller.
what does he means with that ?
this is a clip they should show in every film class...just superb
Robert shaw was awesome
Especially since Robert Shaw wrote it himself -- ---
"So anyway we delivered the bomb"
I love that line. It's technically quite important given the significance of those two bombs but the fact that feels trivialized in the weight of the rest of the story just proves how good and terrifying the story itself was.
He feels depressed about the fact the whole mission helped kill over 200000 Japanese people. That's why. He's drinking at the same time as delivering that line. They copped it even worse than him.
Quint mentioned the bomb at the beginning and cleverly closed out his monologue by mentioning it again. The total package.
@@alvargas5095 It's actually the part he's most depressed about, since he knows it killed 200000 Japanese people, and they copped it much worse in the end. Brilliant acting.
This is literally quint foreshadowing his own death. It’s masterful
In the book (yes, Jaws originally was a book) Quint's death was differently done.
@@Svensk7119 yeah, he and Captain Ahab basically shared a death scene
Robert Shaw masterfully transitions from Ahab-like rants and utterances to quietly and directly describing what it must be like when man becomes food chain's weakest link.
its like melville and Hemingway
Indeed the link is clear: shark is an obsession for Quint as the whale as for Ahab.
This somehow makes his death even worse. He already narrowly avoided that fate and it clearly still haunted him decades later. Only for him to end up in the jaws of a shark anyway.
He who.lives by the shark, shall die by the shark...sorry. Couldn't resist :)
think that was the point of it all
Winds of March Journey/Perry tribute band it was actually true. Quint had all those Shark jaws hanging up in his boat wall showing he had hunted sharks.
He was making the same high pitch screams....just decades after his crewmates.
@@seansimms8503 Quint imo died on the Indianapolis this was fate catching up to him
When I was a younger kid, the significance of this scene was not apparent to me, but even in not getting the full magnitude of what he was talking about, you could feel the tension rise: how Brody and Hooper go from laughing and drinking to dead silent and looking terrified, John Williams’ subtle and eerie music begins, and Quint seemingly becomes another person as he revisits the darkest time of his life, which explains his obsession to get the shark: payback for his lifetime of nightmares and flashbacks.
One of the greatest acting scenes ever. Notice that he doesn't even blink his eyes for the first 50 seconds
Imagine watching this in the theater, in 1975 as a 12 year old, just moved to Massachusetts of all places, 45 mins from the Cape. Scared the crap out of me, and I didn't make it through the the whole movie. I left midway with my mom. This scene still gives me chills to this day.
Now consider this, Spielberg's original plan for Jaws 2 was to adapt the story of USS Indianapolis.
Amazing recounting of it from your perspective. I was 10 when I saw this movie. We lived close to the Atlantic oceanfront in Virginia Beach. Nothing affected me as much as Jaws did (up to that point in my life). Going into the water at the beach was never scarier and sharks became undersea Satans I expected every time I got in two feet of water. Quint must have never wanted to quit finding revenge for his lost comrades.
@@samfrito Haha, so true. By this point in the movie, it was scary enough, but this scene was enough for me. Night, on the water, can't see anything, tension filled music in the background, and the story. This scene had it all!
I lived one block from the beach in Salem Massachusetts, hear you loud and clear
I was 8. We were at the drive in. There was nowhere to go.
I love how when he says, "They come in and...rip ya to pieces." He exhales almost like hes trying to stifle a sob. Man I love simple effective scenes like this.
Same
Makes you wonder how many sharks Quint looked straight in the eyes. That line "sometimes they wouldnt go away" is chilling alone.
One of the best scenes in movie history hands down. Robert Shaw gave an incredible performance.
"Anyway we delivered the bomb" The delivery of that line was Sad, Funny, And Chilling all at the same time.
The bomb
Jcurva99
They succeeded in their mission - even if the cost of it was down to sharks and not the Japanese.
I love the look on Dreyfuss’ face after Quint states “he’d been bitten in half below the waist”. You can see the terror in his eyes as he looks over at Chief Brody, the seriousness in his expression as he visualizes that in his head. Great acting.
How Robert Shaw didn't get nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1976 is one of if not the biggest snub for any actor of all time at the joke show known as the Academy Awards (Oscars).
George Burns
Earl Gordon ya right mate
The same knuckheads that somehow never gave Kubrick an Oscar for directing...... With the Academy nothing surprises me.
Could it be because he was an English actor
This is a haunting scene…it really lingers in your mind. It makes his death later seem like it was fated to happen.
Robert Shaw should have gotten an Oscar for his performance.
The scariest part is not just the speech and atmosphere, but the fact that such a badass like Quint is genuinely frightened. We’ll never see anything like this again.
Agreed. Cause before this scene we saw him as a fearless fisherman who was tough.
This speech really gives you an idea of the horror the crew of the Orca were up against.
Dreyfuss's intense fascination in the detail makes the scene even better.
Words, groaning ship boards, just a hint of background strings. This scene never ceases to amaze, and for me it's the scariest one in the movie. Quint's verbal description conveys all the imagery needed, and the intermittent creaking of the ship rounds it all off.
Hooper in the background absolutely stunned/mesmerized by being in the presence of someone who survived the Indianapolis sinking.
This scene completely captures what Jaws is all about, great story telling and suspense. This movie had that in spades. I remember when I first saw that scene it put the most horrifying image in my mind and I was speechless like 0_0
I always found The Excorcist, Jaws and Alien to be the three kings of what horror films would be like in the future, movies ahead of it's time.
They just don't make them like this anymore
What was always horrifying to me is that Quint basically foreshadows his own death at the end of the film :(. Anyone ever notice that any Spielberg film involving hunters usually ends with the hunter meeting a gruesome and terrible death?
***** What happened to Muldoon in the book?
***** Excuse me while I go click my heels and cry tears of joy lol. Why did Spielberg change his fate if he survived in the book?
TRUE
What I love about this scene is how Hooper goes from laughing and joking around like a college kid to awed respect.
"...You were on the *Indianapolis*?"
SCE2AUX2 Like any self-respecting man he (Quint) keeps his past, his secrets and the events that had a profound impact on him and which turned him into the person he is to himself. These things only come out under the influence of alcohol, good company or serious/life-threatening moments. This is also the reason he had the tattoo removed, since he didn't want people to ask him and tried to bury it in his past.
I think Hooper actually is more shocked/scared that Quint was on the Indianapolis. It suddenly dawns on him why Quint is the way he is and why he kills sharks. He obviously knows what happened, but hearing a firsthand account from somebody who experienced it half scares him to death, especially since their own fates might be the same as the one as most of the crew on the Indianapolis.
Sharks have been a part of Quint's life for a long time. The sinking of the Indianapolis made him the man he is. It suddenly all makes sense to Hooper but he can hardly believe it. Brody may never have heard of this story and has a completely different reaction.
McLarenMercedes Consider too that both actors hated each other. Notice the friction throughout the movie - it ain't acting, it's for real.
Exactly, one of the great sub plots, Hooper and Quint didn't like each other, but both respected the other.
The scene after this when the shark attacks the boat.. About the time in the movie even the old seasoned Quint started to realize he was in deep trouble.
+Patrick Dezenzio makes for some good entertainment.
It's open to debate whether Shaw just did it deliberately for a better performance on screen. He really was one hell of an actor.
Shaw doesn't blink once.
He's gone into the actor "Zen zone."
Where few actors have ever been.
Holy cow! Shaw/Quint doesn't blink at all! Amazing.
He was actually blackout drunk but po-tay-to po-tah-to.
@@willgold9989 I don't believe he was, the story goes that he was originally blackout drunk and couldn't perform the scene, so the next day he came in stone cold sober and delivered it in one take.
@@LastRenegade as I understand they cut in parts from both his drunk performance and his sober performance. But I could be wrong.
The camera cuts away several times.
When you first see Robert Shaw in Jaws, you can tell straight away that he'd been sharkin' his whole life. I've never seen a movie to just flow from one great scene to another so seamlessly, despite all the problems during filming. I love everything about this movie. It captures a nostalgia of time and space but is also timeless. You watch this movie today and you don't think 'old movie'. It's a masterclass in casting, cinematography, editing, acting, score and of course, directing. It's just the perfect start, middle and end movie. Pure unadulterated gripping entertainment, what movies should be.
I think Spielberg has a genius ability to do this. It's the same feeling in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.' Every detail is flawless