The first summer blockbuster. The movie that changed Hollywood forever. The JaZ Make a Podcast Season 1 finale is dedicated to Jaws (1975) — and after rewatching it, both John and Zac are in complete agreement: this is a masterpiece. They go deep on why the broken mechanical shark was the best thing that ever happened to Spielberg's direction, how Roy Scheider's Brody works as the ultimate everyman protagonist, what Robert Shaw's USS Indianapolis monologue means for the film's emotional centre, and why John Williams' deceptively simple two-note theme is one of the most effective pieces of music in cinema history. Plus: the Hitchcock bomb theory in action, Quint's extraordinary death, Hooper's statistically improbable survival, and the larger question — are we past the era of the summer blockbuster? Season 2 has been announced.

SHOW NOTES

Film: Jaws (1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw

Music: John Williams

Topics covered:

• The broken shark as a storytelling gift — Spielberg's greatest accident
• - Brody as the perfect everyman protagonist
• - Quint's USS Indianapolis monologue — the emotional heart of the film
• - "You're gonna need a bigger boat"
• - John Williams' score and how restraint makes it devastating
• - Hooper's survival (the math doesn't add up, and that's fine)
• - Chekhov's compressed air tank
• - Are we in the post-summer-blockbuster era?
• - Season 2 announcement

Fast Facts:

• This was the JaZ Make a Podcast Season 1 finale
• - The USS Indianapolis monologue was largely developed by Robert Shaw himself
• - Spielberg has called the broken shark one of the best things to ever happen to him

Follow us on Instagram: @jazmakeapodcast

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Acast

Email: jazmakeapodcast@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.