CinemaDome: Jaws vs Star Wars

I would say what Jackwraith said, but half as well.

Jaws is the vote.

Mr. White wrote: These 70s giants may be two of the most influential films of the modern era. One is credited with igniting the summer blockbuster craze while the other launched films as merchandising platforms.

vs

LOL. I know that Brexit, Cubs and Trump but this is getting ridiculous

My wife works for Turner Classic Movies so we got in to this big outdoor screening of Jaws a few weeks ago for free. We took the kids. They had no idea. My son was TERRIFIED. It was funny seeing the movie actually work like that after the thrill has long since worn off.

It is a great movie, no doubt, and it is one of the best films from a decade filled to bursting with best films (without a doubt, the 1970s were the greatest era of filmmaking, period). And it is rich with subtleties and character moments, like Robert Shaw telling that harrowing story.

But people get with it. Star Wars. It isn't just a movie, it's a cultural institution. Watching it isn't even like watching a movie anymore, it's like reliving a memory.

You know what I think my favorite moment in SW is? When Luke busts in and says "I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to save you". That's such a naïve, innocent moment. He introduces himself and what he's there to do, that's it. No "COME ON WE"VE GOTTAGETOUTTAHERE!" followed by the characters running from an explosion. But there's also kind of subtle, almost giddy emboldening of the character- at that point, he feels like a hero saving the princess and he's expressing that. Its the kind of thing you say when you are playing out in the yard, not when you are under fire on a dangerous life or death mission. I love that.

It's easy to dump on Lucas now, but the writing in Star Wars was really quite good. It is another quintessential 1970s film.

Barnes is right, the writing in Star Wars is fine. I mean, it's garbage, but it's intentional garbage. He wanted to make a cheesy sci-fi flick like the Flash Gordon movies he grew up loving and goddamn if he didn't knock it out of the park. It's the perfect big boy movie and every little kid just fell in love with it. On top of that Alec Guinness is better than Robert Shaw... and not by a couple of inches either. By leaps and bounds. Alec Guinness saves Star Wars in some ways, he makes the entire thing palatable. He brings a sense of class to the film, he lets you take this silly world seriously. Jaws may be the first big blockbuster but Star Wars is the best.

That said, Star Wars is a niche film... still to this day. My Mom has no time for it, Grandma too. Even my wife is supremely uninterested. They aren't being hip, cool or reactionary, they just think it's silly and have no time for it. Nothing against it, the film just does not click for them and the entire thing seems ridiculous. They aren't wrong, but us nerds don't care. I know dozens of people like this.

But everyone likes Jaws. Everyone. Star Wars will never be that film. It happens in space, it's preposterous and the characters are laughable... maybe not to us who grew up loving it but really, look at those characters, the whole thing is silly. Darth Vader... seriously?

I love it, I've seen it more times than I've seen Jaws (Mad Dog's metric is surprisingly convincing) and it's just a ton of fun. No denying it. But I can't shake the feeling that everyone I know who loves Star Wars also loves Jaws... but everyone I know who loves Jaws does not also love Star Wars. Jaws is a universal film on many more levels than Star Wars. Star Wars panders to a certain kind of film nerd whereas Jaws is a true blockbuster. It's for everyone. There's nothing special about it, it's not made for a small subset of nerds... it's a film for everyone about something we call all relate too. I'll never get to see Star Wars with my Mom, but we've watched Jaws a couple of times. There's lots more I can say but you've heard it all before.

I'm going with Jaws... for Mom.

Yes yes yes... Obi-Wan > Quint. Absolutely.
Also, Luke > Brody
the Orca < Millenium Falcon
stupid mechanical Vader > stupid mechanical shark

BUT

Hooper > C-3PO


so,,,,, JAWS

#voterfraud

Star wars is the trump of this thread. Loud, boisterous and full of bullshit that is fun to watch.

Jaws is the Bernie sanders of this thread. Overlooked for its brilliance by the unwashed fanboys whose attention can't be kept longer than the beat between laser rifle fire.

Vote: Sanders.

Back when kids were allowed to do this sort of thing, my younger self went across town on two different buses, alone, just to see Star Wars. I did this three times. I wouldn't have gone across the street to see Jaws. Still wouldn't. Sure Jaws is the better film, but Star Wars was the perfect film for a twelve year old. Jaws isn't the perfect film for anybody.

Star Wars.

No idea what you guys are smoking. Star Wars is so clearly the better film, leaving a rich cultural legacy, and from Jaws we get Sharknado.

First of all, this is great pairing, Mr. White! Very tough choice.

I agree with the general gist of the conversation here. Jaws is a better movie. Star Wars is a better movie for a 12 years old. Agreed. .

Truth is, I love them both, even if none of them stars Kurt Russel (although Star Wars was really close, but they opted for that Ford kid in the end... whatever).
I was about to say Jaws, because I'm just a boring, not young, pedantic man (I can't stand the prequels, and Force Awakens, and most parts of the Return of the Jedi..). But... I watched Star Wars for the first time when I was 11 or 12, on a crappy VHS at a neighbor's place, it was a bootleg copy dubbed to Italian (which I don't speak now or back then). I also have to say it was in Soviet Russia in mid eighties. Star Wars was labeled as anti-Soviet propaganda and forbidden (as I later would find out, because of the anti-missile shield program developed by Reagan administration to stop our nukes from hitting US - ancient history). Anyway, my neighbor, my brother and I felt like goddamn criminals just for putting the tape into the VHS. And then... then we saw this world, that had nothing to do with the world that we knew, or communism or capitalism, or anything that we were familiar with. Only later in my life I started to realize that Star Wars was not as original as it seemed to me when I was a kid, that it drew from many influences and rested on several weathered pillars even back in the day. The thing is, I still don't perceive anything derivative about it on the emotional level.

So, for me it's Star Wars, (although Jaws is a better movie) .

Jaws is a great film if you're suffering from insomnia.

Star Wars is a great film if you like to have fun.

Vote: Star Wars

That was a wonderful story Vlad. It didn't make me as happy as seeing Star Wars as a boy, but I think it's the first time I've smiled in a week.

In Soviet Russia, wars star you!! Soviet citizen!! Enlist today! Or don't, we come get you anyway.

Vote: Star Wars - best soundtrack ever.

We're at the half-way point and this appears all tied up at 10 apiece.

that's cuz the Jaws voters stayed at home thinking this should have been a slam-dunk for the big fish.