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4 Responses to “Scene from Jaws: the USS Indianapolis”

1. 1 Jason P Aug 5th, 2009 at 7:38 pm

   This is truly one of the greatest scenes in motion picture history. Wasn’t there some long running debate about who wrote it and how much Shaw improvised?

   Jaws is one of those movies that I never seek out to watch but can’t turn it off if I stumble on it.

   Anyway, thanks Reverend, and here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women!
2. 2 Brad Aug 5th, 2009 at 7:52 pm

   The way the soft music echoes the creaking of the ship is brilliant, & I know it’s a common technique used in Jaws. Excellent first clip, trying to understand him through the strange accent makes the scene that much more riveting.
3. 3 Reverend Aug 6th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

   @Jason P:
   Yeah, the debate as whether John Mileus’ re-write or Shaw improv was responsible for its genius, and I tend to think both. For Mileus was the mind behind Apocalypse Now and Red Dawn, where Shaw was nothing but brilliant in The Taking of Pelham 123, so i think it’s a throw up.

   @Brad:
   Yeah, the sound effects are awesome, but the way he says “the thing about a shark, they got black eyes, lifeless eyes, like a doll’s eyes” gives me shivers every time. The insertion of this scene into Jaws makes a great movie that much greater, and pushes me to a place I don’t want to go, namely re-examining the genius of Spielberg—which I have to do, and even stopped the formative 10 for fear of what might come. But it is high time I did.
4. 4 Bryan Alexander Aug 7th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

   Like a doll’s eyes. A touch of uncanny valley.

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