srirammeera

Jaws remains a quintessential example (pardon the pun one of the character names!!!) of an evergreen classic.

Endless theses have been written on how it ignited the summer blockbuster genre, how it did for sharks what Jurassic Park (20 years later) would do for dinos etc etc - all of which are true.

After an umpteenth viewing recently I was delighted to discover yet another angle that struck me about the film.

The first half of the movie is, say, a creature horror thriller etc - but the second half is an absolute rip-roaring sea adventure, in the classic mold of "adventure stories for boys" that used to be popular back in the 50s, 60s 70s etc.... It is Spielberg's tribute in many ways - not just to that classic genre but also to a heady mix of Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Tintin, and other mysteries and thrillers set on the high seas.

Robert Shaw's character of Quint is a delightful mix of Captain Ahab from Moby Dick and Long John Silver from Treasure Island. To this potent mix add the unforgettable shots of long sandy lonely coastlines, lighthouses, the glimmering sparkling quiet yet mysterious ocean at night in which who knows what monsters lurk, and the sense of mystery about the ocean is complete. (One of the best sequences in Jaws is Quint regaling Brody and Hooper about his World War II ocean adventure and shark terror story related to the USS Indianapolis)

This boys' adventure theme is an absolute straight line that one can sense animating a great many Spelberg's works - from Jaws to Close Encounters, through Indiana Jones, ET, Jurassic Park, Tintin etc.....

This same spirit animates two of Satyajit Ray's most loved movies - Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath - both Feluda movies.

There have been great geniuses in world cinema in every age but only Spielberg who has been able to combine cinematic genius with extraordinary commercial success on an unbelievable scale - without sacrificing the artistic sense of mystery, wonder, excitement and high adventure that are an intrinsic part of so many of his movies.

Truly one of the greatest intellects and forces in world cinema .....no one comes close in this regard....with Jaws capturing so much of what is quintessential Spielberg......

Legend.

The perfect Hindi masala action romance comedy thriller. And the opening train heist scene shot LIVE, still one of the best ever in cinematic history.

Every cast & crew member at the peak of their careers.

It made Gabbar Singh synonymous with Villainy and turned Amjad Khan into an overnight all-India sensation.

And of course it shot Bachchan into superstardom, even though his was not the main role.

The script and dialogue - all of it - was memorized start to finish by children who came of age with Sholay...... and became part of daily colloquialisms.

Who can ever forget iconic lines like "Kyon Thakur? Ab tak jinda ho??" Not to mention the permanent classic "kitne aadmi..........?"

Very few if any other Indian movie comes even close as a total package. Even now circa 2025.

I was fortunate to watch this in theaters in true 70mm format as it was meant to be seen.

No further reviews needed. Just watch it.

🙏🙏🙏

Effective but really grim movie, about an extremely dark time in Europe during the Nazi occupation. It's about the assassination of the Nazi butcher Heydrich by Czech resistance heroes, and its bloody aftermath - on which many books and other movies too have been made, the most famous being Operation Daybreak in the 70s.

This movie packs some star power as well (Cillian Murphy, Jamie Dornan, Charlotte Le Bon etc) but they never overwhelm or distract from the central story. The focus here is on the main Czech heroes and not so much on the Germans (for which you need to watch the other movie The Man with the Iron Heart - that focuses on Heydrich)

A Hard-hitting and haunting piece of history that will stay with you for a long time.