We were reminded that on this day (October 11th) in 2007 that we finally saw our second Jaws film at the cinema. We had seen the first Jaws at a charity event raising funds for surfers against sewage but this time we were jumping to the final film Jaws: The Revenge!
Now, we obviously have all 4 of the films on VHS/DVD although only the original on BluRay (sort it out Universal pictures) but for us, you just can not beat the big screen experience and we would certainly never say no to seeing a Jaws film on the big screen as it is our favourite ever movie franchise! (We like to be different)
However, whilst Jaws: The Revenge is liked by us as part of the franchise, much like Jaws 3-D, it does fit into that category of ‘so bad it’s good’, but it is because of that reason entirely that we got to see the film as we saw it at what is known as a Bad Cinema Club.
A bad cinema club normally comes in 2 ways, just a screening of the film or in the format that we saw, which much like a director’s commentary track on a DVD, a couple of people talk over the film, and on this case as the film probably warrants it, 2 comedians were our commentators.
The good thing about a commentary track when listened for real or for laughs, is it can enhance your viewing experience by telling you about the filmmaking or pointing out things you may have missed. We remember on the Austin Powers commentary, the pointing out of the Hollywood sign, which clearly showed the film was filmed on a movie back lot or better still, those historical mistakes such as wearing watches in films like Gladiator or The Mummy.
It was at this screening, We first found out about the voodoo sub-plot being dropped from the film, I had always thought this was just added to pad out Hank Searls novelization of the film which like his version of Jaws 2 is well worth checking out if a Jaws fan.
But, of course amongst the great facts, there are the truly terrible bloopers you may have missed: the shark breaks through a boat, only for you to see all the tubes to make it work; Michael Caine’s Hoagie character being knocked into the water only to come out dry; the end sequence when all are in the water yet you can see that the horizon is a painting as the water laps up against it, and of course, possibly the most known, when Jaws attacks the banana boat, you can see his teeth bend.
If you like this sort of think, I would suggest you check out the great movie mistakes website, here are all the Jaws: The Revenge goofs: http://www.moviemistakes.com/film671
It really was a fun night but doesn’t seem to have caught on, although Bristol does have the other BBFC (Bristol Bad Film Club) http://www.bristolbadfilmclub.co.uk/
This, of course is now the sort of thing that can be done just as well at home, with many podcasts dedicated to it. The Movie Crypt hosted by Adam (Hatchet trilogy) Green and Joe (Everly) Lynch sometimes does a commentary track to a film, Jaws: The Revenge being one of them, again, if a Jaws fan it’s well worth a listen. You can find it as well as other episodes on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-movie-crypt/id669684401?mt=2
Do you have a film so bad its good, you would love to see celebrated in this way? Do let us know, we would love to hear from you.
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