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Jaws
Posted on 7/1/25 at 8:16 pm
Posted on 7/1/25 at 8:16 pm
Grew up watching movie (unedited on hbo with a half naked girl at beginning) and edited on tbs probably every summer of my life. I have always loved the movie. I’m not a shark enthusiast or anything. It’s just a good story. Brody and Quint are two of my favorite characters ever. I’ll watch it again later this summer.
With this being the 50th anniversary of the movie, I thought I’d read the book. I just finished it. It kept my interest and I think it was well written. But this is definitely one instance where I think the movie was better.
SPOILER ALERT: Spielberg was right to take out the affair between Hooper and Ellen Brody. It gave nothing to the story. I actually like Hooper’s character in the movie, but there’s no way he’s hooking up with the Chief’s wife. I also think it was good that Spielberg left out the part about the Mafia shaking down the mayor to keep the beaches open. Leaving that out makes you feel more sorry for the vendors in town who are losing business, but also makes you more supportive of the police chief for doing the right thing by closing the beaches.
Finally, the movie moves Amity to Massachusetts from Long Island, New York. I like it better in Massachusetts. I think it fits better. Could you imagine Quint with a New York accent?
I’ve always been a movie buff but in the last ten years have become a bookworm. I read a lot but have recently been on a kick to read books of some of my favorite movies for comparison. Jaws was my first. On the list are Papillon, The Godfather, and First Blood.
Anyone else read Jaws the book and what are your thoughts compared to the movie?
With this being the 50th anniversary of the movie, I thought I’d read the book. I just finished it. It kept my interest and I think it was well written. But this is definitely one instance where I think the movie was better.
SPOILER ALERT: Spielberg was right to take out the affair between Hooper and Ellen Brody. It gave nothing to the story. I actually like Hooper’s character in the movie, but there’s no way he’s hooking up with the Chief’s wife. I also think it was good that Spielberg left out the part about the Mafia shaking down the mayor to keep the beaches open. Leaving that out makes you feel more sorry for the vendors in town who are losing business, but also makes you more supportive of the police chief for doing the right thing by closing the beaches.
Finally, the movie moves Amity to Massachusetts from Long Island, New York. I like it better in Massachusetts. I think it fits better. Could you imagine Quint with a New York accent?
I’ve always been a movie buff but in the last ten years have become a bookworm. I read a lot but have recently been on a kick to read books of some of my favorite movies for comparison. Jaws was my first. On the list are Papillon, The Godfather, and First Blood.
Anyone else read Jaws the book and what are your thoughts compared to the movie?
9
Posted on 7/1/25 at 8:42 pm to Gerry Laval
I have and agree with most of the points you made. The movie was the rare case of an improvement over the book, but I did enjoy the tension between Hooper and Brody in the book, as well as the way Brody struggled to fit into the Long Island social circle even though he was married into it. The humorous and friendly relationship between Brody and Hooper in the movie was the right call though, as well as Hooper surviving in the movie.
Posted on 7/1/25 at 9:00 pm to Gerry Laval
My tenth grade English teacher (prim, proper, stick up her arse) said once that Jaws was the filthiest thing she had ever read.
Posted on 7/2/25 at 12:03 pm to Gerry Laval
quote:
The Godfather,
Haven’t read Jaws, but this is one of the few where I think the Movie was significantly better than the book
Posted on 7/2/25 at 7:49 pm to Gerry Laval
The story of how Spielberg in his twenties got that movie made is amazing.
Posted on 7/3/25 at 8:22 pm to Gerry Laval
I agree with you about the weird side plots in the book. I would also add that the ending of the book was pretty anticlimactic compared to the movie. Quint gets caught on a rope and pulled under and drowns, and the shark just dies after getting harpooned several times. Sure the book was more realistic, but the movie was more exciting with Quint getting chomped and Brody blowing up the shark. And speaking of Quint, the best scene in the entire movie, the Indianapolis speech, was not in the book. Hearing the speech and learning Quint’s backstory and then seeing him meet the same fate as his fellow sailors is far better than anything in the book.
Posted on 7/9/25 at 11:04 pm to Gerry Laval
Doesn’t Hooper die in the book too? I forgot. They made a much bigger deal of the Hooper /Ellen Brody affair and that she was a big and rich snob. I love reading the old books like that.
Godfather was essentially part 1 and part 2 movies. Much less info of course. Al Neri is a big character in the book. Ex cop who comes to work for the GF. Michael also didn’t kill Fredo in the book, which is much more realistic.
Papillion is a great read especially since is is allegedly all true. Fairly different than the movie.
The Right Stuff book is great, but no comparison to the movie’s visual and audio power.
Godfather was essentially part 1 and part 2 movies. Much less info of course. Al Neri is a big character in the book. Ex cop who comes to work for the GF. Michael also didn’t kill Fredo in the book, which is much more realistic.
Papillion is a great read especially since is is allegedly all true. Fairly different than the movie.
The Right Stuff book is great, but no comparison to the movie’s visual and audio power.
Posted on 7/10/25 at 7:59 pm to zippyputt
Godfather is great. Read it in one sitting in college. The large vagina subplot is the best part, hands down.
Posted on 7/16/25 at 6:15 pm to Gerry Laval
I read the book before I saw the movie. Both were great, but the ending of the movie was kinda ridiculous. A shark will swim around with a compressed air tank in its mouth without spitting it out or swallowing it? The book ending was so much better. Chief Brody surrendering to his fate, treading water as the shark comes to tear him apart...then the shark succumbs to his wounds after being harpooned and shot, dying and stopping just short of Brody.
Another horrifying part of the book was at the end, when the shark surfaced with Hooper in his mouth. When Brody or Quint (can't remember) took a shot at the shark with the rifle, they end up hitting Hooper in the throat while he was in the shark's mouth. I am guessing that this was Hooper's punishment for screwing Brody's wife.
Another horrifying part of the book was at the end, when the shark surfaced with Hooper in his mouth. When Brody or Quint (can't remember) took a shot at the shark with the rifle, they end up hitting Hooper in the throat while he was in the shark's mouth. I am guessing that this was Hooper's punishment for screwing Brody's wife.
Posted on 7/27/25 at 3:30 pm to FightinTigersDammit
quote:
My tenth grade English teacher (prim, proper, stick up her arse) said once that Jaws was the filthiest thing she had ever read.
You should've hit on her. Be the guy in front of the trend.
Posted on 7/27/25 at 4:10 pm to deltadummy
fricking her would have been like fricking a CPR dummy.
Posted on 7/27/25 at 11:28 pm to Gerry Laval
Who was Hooper? Richard Dreyfuss' character?
Posted on 7/29/25 at 3:05 pm to PrattvilleTiger
Matt Hooper, yes, from the Oceanographic Institute.
To hear Quint say it is more like, “Hoopah”.
To hear Quint say it is more like, “Hoopah”.
This post was edited on 7/29/25 at 3:06 pm
Posted on 8/5/25 at 2:35 pm to FightinTigersDammit
quote:
My tenth grade English teacher (prim, proper, stick up her arse) said once that Jaws was the filthiest thing she had ever read.
I was 14 when I read it and it was definitely one of the filthiest things I had ever read. LOL! Back in 1975.
Posted on 8/5/25 at 2:53 pm to LaLadyinTx
She was a married woman with children
Posted on 8/11/25 at 10:36 pm to Gerry Laval
quote:
recently been on a kick to read books of some of my favorite movies for comparison
Not sure if you’re a fan of the Jason Borne Movies. I think they decent action flicks. The books are a million times better. Books are set during the heart of Cold War era and the spy stuff is more old school versus all the technology shown in the movies.
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