Kickass Movie Scene List #64: Jaws

I mentioned earlier that Jurassic Park was a big deal so far as my movie watching growth was concerned. That's very true, but Jaws is the first "don't tell mom" movie my dad and I ever watched together. I couldn't even venture a guess at how old I was - under 10, for sure.

I don't recall being that scared of it. I actually think I was more creeped out watching it again a couple years ago than I was back then. Either way, the underwater boat scene (crazy disembodied heads!) and the chumming scene (jump scares!) both blew my young mind, but neither of them made the final cut.

One of the quietest moments did.




Quint Recalls the U.S.S. Indianapolis

Watching this scene again, it's amazing the conversational shift on display here. Sure the story itself is great (and slightly fictitious), but what's really great is how incredibly blindsided Brody and Hooper are by the jarring tone switchup. One minute, they're drunkenly laughing and swapping stories, the next, they're listening to a horrifyingly transfixing sea story.

Robert Shaw is obviously great as Quint, and while it's not as great a character or acting performance as his turn as Doyle Lonnegan in The Sting, his delivery of the story more than makes up for it.