coffeeandprozac.com
Home Page For Those Of Us Who Need A Daily Kick In The Butt!
Never
Say
Uncle!
Attack
Your
Life!
ARCHIVES:
12/06-06/07
We would love it if you would provide a
link to us on your website.
Click Here!
You're Going To Need A Bigger Boat
He was a successful actor who earned two Academy Award
nominations. The first for The French Connection and the second
for All That Jazz.
However the role that arguably earned him the most popular fame and the one
that most of us will remember him for is the water phobic Chief Martin Brody
in Jaws.
Many believe that Jaws hailed in the blockbuster age when it brought in over 100 million dollars, a first.
Anytime someone asks what my favorite movie is, my response has been Jaws for many, many years. This response usually brings on raised eyebrows and laughter before they realize that I am not kidding.
I have sat and watched that movie with many people and forced them to rate the movie on its merits. Sometimes I feel as if I am on a one man mission to present the movie to a generation of film lovers who have never seen it. It appears often on cable TV where it is broken up and slashed up before we get to see it. However if you revisit the movie on DVD I think you too will have a new appreciation for it.
It was not successful simply because it scared audiences but also for the wonderful soundtrack, the skillful acting and the meaningful dialogue. In addition to Scheider the film featured acting greats Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfus.
To paraphrase the response of most people upon finishing the movie, "You know that was pretty good."
Scheider's character is responsible for the ultimate demise of the movie's antagonist. It is this scene moments before the end of the movie which I am thinking of now.
Martin Brody is getting ready to go down on a sinking boat and with the last bullet in his rifle he is taking aim at a pressurized air tank that is lodged in the jaws of the great white shark. Just before he fires this bullet which meets its mark and blows the shark to bits he utters another great line. "Smile, you son of a bitch."
I can not help but smile when I think of this. What a wonderful way to be remembered.
---------------------------------------------------------------