Jaws released

Jaws Released: June 20, 1975 Studio: Universal Genre: drama/action Box Office (numbers in millions) Domestic: 265.86 Worldwide: 470.70 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 1262.47 Worldwide: 2100.00

Directing: Steven Spielberg Screenwriting: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss Review: Jaws was that “rare case of a bubble-gum story (by Peter Benchley) scoring as a terrific movie.” LM “This action/adventure/horror classic” FS “emptied beaches and created the modern blockbuster.” TV “John Williams’ pulsating score still haunts swimmers around the world.” A07 A “Great White Shark…has been attacking swimmers at an island resort in New England” A98 “during the summer tourist season.” FS “Three unlikely partners team up on a suspenseful ‘fishing trip’ to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Dreyfuss), and a crusty, grizzled old-time fisherman (Shaw) resembling the obsessed Ahab in the Moby Dick tale.” FS Jaws holds up today not so much for its jolts – there aren’t as many as you think you remember – but because of…real characters. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw are more than fish bait, and the conversation about the USS Indianapolis is worth all the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.” TV “Spielberg shot some scenes at water level, making the audience feel as though they were treading water.” A07 Sources: A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies” A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 3 – Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing Nominations: 4 – including Best Picture Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Leonard Maltin Quentin Tarantino First posted 7/28/2019; last updated 6/4/2023.

Nashville, an Altman pinnacle, released

Nashville Released: June 11, 1975 Studio: Paramount Genre: drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 9.98 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: ? Worldwide: 29.30

Directing: Robert Altman Screenwriting: Joan Tewkesbury Starring: Henry Gibson, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, Ned Beatty, Lily Tomlin Review: This “satirical film…comments upon religion, politics, sex, violence, and the materialistic culture.” FS It’s a Robert “Altman pinnacle” RS as he perfects “the techniques he pioneered in M*A*S*H (overlapping dialogue; improvisational ensemble acting) and introducing a few new ones (actors singing their own, live-sync songs).” PM He delivers “an intricate, free-form, intertwining tale” FS “of cogent character studies, comic and poignant vignettes, done in seemingly free-form style.” LM It is “a microcosm of America,” FS a “brilliant mosaic of American life as seen through 24 characters” LM “from politics and country-western music…as the United States celebrates the Bicentennial in the capital of country music.” A07 The movie’s protaganists have gathered for “a pop concert and a political rally for the ‘Replacement Party.’” FS The “overlapping stories” A07 “converge in a massive traffic jam” FS at “a violent assassination scene by the film’s conclusion.” FS Some of the more notable characters include “Presidential hopeful Hal Philip Walker, frail, crooning country western sweetheart Barbara Jean (Blakley), singing rival Connie White (Black), folk-singing lecherous lover Tom Frank (Carradine), BBC tele-journalist Opal (Chaplin), a groupie from LA (Duvall), and master of ceremonies Haven Hamilton (Gibson).” FS Sources: A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” PM Premiere Magazine (Oct. 1998). “100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made” RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 1 – Original Song (“I’m Easy”) Nominations: 5 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting (Blakley), Best Supporting Actress (Tomlin) Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Roger Ebert Leonard Maltin First posted 6/2/2023.