Day 9: A Movie From Your Favorite Director

 

JAWS (1975)

Anyone who's met me knows who my favorite director is (and probably always will be). There are another dozen directors that I could have picked, but only Steven Spielberg has been able to be more commercially successful while rarely compromising on the quality of the film (I know, he's not perfect, but his track record will be extremely difficult to beat).

I can watch this movie again and again, quoting it almost from beginning to end, and it was Spielberg's genius that made the film so scary and successful by choosing not to reveal the shark for a majority of the film. And that's why it also stands the test of time, that even though the shark looks fake now, since it hardly has any screen time, it doesn't ruin the picture. This movie is the reason why people don't like to swim in the ocean... 36 YEARS LATER.

"Martin, it's all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, "Huh? What?" You yell shark, we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July."

Additionally, the book is just as brilliant, but in a completely different tone. Try reading the first chapter -- like watching the opening scene -- in the dark and tell me it doesn't stick with you forever. Just ask my dad, who hasn't seen the film in decades just for that reason alone.