Where Are The Originals?

In a world of remakes, sequels and franchises, we look to the rare originals out there, breaking through.

There has been so many remakes in recent years as well as sequels and franchises consisting of numerous films that feels as if there is barely any room out there for the original things to break through. I was reading this week about 'Us' and 'The Farewell' which have been two original films that broke through to the top ten US box office while the rest of the films were the usual, more of the same films. The fact that there was only two to be named was rather disheartening despite knowing full well that cinema has been in a time of turmoil of years. This isn't a dig at streaming services, as that is a whole other issue to be discussed on another post. But the steady decline of cinema attendance cannot all be blamed upon the fact that there are other ways to watch films. In my opinion, as someone who goes quite frequently to the cinema, the decline of cinema audiences is due to the cost of tickets and the lack of originality.

The cost of a cinema ticket is insane. When I was a teenager it was £5 to see a film or approximately that much, compares to now where its three times that. The fact that cinema is so expensive does put many people off. Sometimes a film is judged on whether its worth the trip and waiting for the DVD release or worse, for it become available on a streaming service seems to be the choice more and more. I know there are some people out there who illegally download films - honestly just don't as this does affect the industry, those annyoing adverts are right. Its a never endiny circle of saying its too expensive but then downloading a terrible copy of the film 'for free' just adds to the cinemas charging more money. Aside from the cost, cinema is lacking and has been ever since we entered the age of the superhero film, now a genre in its own right. I'd like to point out that I do like superhero films and I do watch and like Marvel/Disney films but they are dominating the cinema screen space.

Original stories are craved but are rarely given and when original films are given a fanfare, they are hailed by critics but audiences simply do not care. The the average audience member will see the latest blockbuster/studio offering and that's about it. Adaptations are used as a safe bet, with a built in audience who may be interested in seeing that book they read made into a film BUT even this sometimes frustrating to watch as the same books are adapted with little to no difference from the versions before. Adaptations fall between original and remake and are loved or hated, anything in between and you'd be lying to yourself.

As cinema continues to decline, the way of the world as it keeps going, there may not be any cinemas to go to anymore bit I doubt this will be for a long time, there is still hope it will become a niche things to do so there will be a market for films. As for stories and how original they are, there isn't a clear cut answer except maybe shaming the studios into realising smaller more intimate films matter. But as the whole industry runs on money, it'll be far interesting to see how this plays out when there isn't enough money to make an films.

Getting Back in the Water: Celebrating ‘Jaws’

You know the music, imagine that as you read this before you check out the latest post by Ben Flanagan and myself which was published on the Cineworld blog, originally. Check HERE.

Thanks to Park Circus, who is bringing the original Summer blockbuster back to the big screen. Check out where ‘Jaws’ is showing HERE.

See you on Amity Island film fans!

The summer blockbuster, now a staple in the cinematic calendar, often overlooked at award ceremonies, unless it’s the MTV Movie Awards, but always brings in the audience for its mass appeal and the chance to escape from the everyday. Usually a fantastical action packed non-stop big budget thrill ride, or at least, it's been increasingly the case since the dawn of the superhero film era. But back in the 70s, when there was no concept of the Blockbuster. Steven Spielberg, already on the movie scene but yet to have a hit, changed all that by giving cinemas the story about a man-eating shark that terrorised a small tourist town during the height of Summer.

The arrival of ‘Jaws’ in 1975, brought with it Hollywood’s new style of accessible stories that would usually be more reserved for a grittier adult film, but here was Jaws complete with deadly death opening, Vertigo style shots that make a beach seem like it expands around you while zooming into the face of Roy Schieder, and a nautical bounty hunter who likes nails on chalkboards and has a few secrets up his sleeves. One of the most unlikely family blockbuster films, it might never have come to fruition if Spielberg had decided to make his planned biopic of Thomas Crapper, inventor of the toilet instead. That would have been a whole other water adventure and possibly not as popular. Spielberg had emerged during the New Hollywood, a period of innovation in American filmmaking when young directors, inspired by the European art films of the 60s, were making gritty, political, and even experimental films for grown-ups that did huge numbers at the box office. Films like Bonnie and Clyde, Easy Rider and The Godfather had already changed the industry. But Spielberg, slightly younger than his peers and possessed with an extra-terrestrial talent for where to put the camera and how to capture an audience, turned the New Hollywood style into a way to tell stories for everyone.

By focusing on the orange sun-soaked beaches, and the terror of what could be lurking in the water, Spielberg and writers Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb submerged their adult themes. Politicians who put the money reaped by tourism above the safety of their people, the PTSD suffered by Robert Shaw’s pro-shark hunter Quint, who was on the USS Indianapolis, the faint, but significant subtext of infidelity and sexual anxiety between Brody and his wife. Tying all of these things together, a 4th July setting, that most American of holidays.

Jaws wound up as the highest grossing film of all time. If that $260,000,000 box office seems paltry compared to the likes of this year’s Disney grosses, then at least consider that adjusted for inflation that number stands at $1,153,990,200. Not too bad for a 28-year-old director. But like Gone With The Wind and The Godfather before it, Jaws had such a troubled production that it seemed like a bomb. Unlike other American films of the day, he shot on the water in Martha’s Vineyard rather than on a studio backlot. Most famously, the mechanical, remote controlled shark his crew built wasn’t just too goofy to be frightening, it actively wouldn’t work. The horrifying, savage scenes Spielberg envisioned had now been replaced by a broken robot the crew named ‘Bruce’. So Spielberg decided to live by the mantra ‘What would Hitchcock Do?’ and realised that he could heighten the thrill factor by showing as little of the shark as possible. The anticipation does half the work! So through POV shots of people’s legs underwater, and that indelible John Williams score (tell us that doesn’t sound like a Shark!) Spielberg not only avoided the limits of technology, but gave audiences some of the most memorable film images and moments we’ve ever seen.

From these blood-soaked sea and waves, the ‘blockbuster’ was born of gnashing teeth and Richard Dreyfuss’ unusually squeamish aquatic expert. Before 1975, the idea of the ‘Summer blockbuster’ was unheard of. Why go to a stuffy cinema during vacation? We all know the vague structure of the cinema releasing calendar from ‘award films’ to ‘Christmas family films’ but the delays on Jaws’ production moved it away from a Christmas release and created the Summer staple film, released in time for when schools are out and the office drones are likely to need some time in a dark cinema out of the hot sun. And it’s five Oscar nominations proved that blockbusters could be as acclaimed as they are popular.

With the release of ‘Jaws’ back on the big screen, in perfect time for the height of summer (British weather pending) and a chance to relive some of the most famous scenes and quotes in cinematic history. It's time to take a trip back to Amity Island and get back in the water.