Episode Five: Jaws vs. The Deep

If we review the material...

We find that one of these movies started a Revolution and the other tried to follow.
Jaws was a Blockbuster and set Steven Spielberg up for making Close Encounters in 1977 even though Spielberg "Hated" the Mechanical Monster and Thought that the movie was going to sink.

Jaws (1975) vs. The Deep (1977)

The Deep was better left as a Novel but is fun to make sport of.

We will find that they are both Educational in a "National Geographic" sort of way.

One, Intriguingly Frightening...

...and the other, Frighteningly Intriguing!

I Must Say...that the "Head Popping" Experience goes to: JAWS!

Jaws kept me and everyone I knew out of the water for a Long Time!

To this day, the Most Horrific Films are the ones where "This Could Happen To YOU"!

Although I am "all grown up" now and Love & Collect Modern Horror Films (as well as the classics), I still can't stomach movies like "Saw". That reality based "Psychotic Dude" themed movie is Way Too Creepy for me.

My girlfriend got a Good Laugh on My Behalf recently, when I was Not willing to see "127 Hours" for Fear of watching the guy cut "his own" arm OFF!

Back in the day Large Monsters were from Japan or New Zealand, and Most Monsters were Fancy Dressed Dead European Guys.

With JAWS we Americans had our Very Own Monster!

This Movie was a little TOO CLOSE to Home!

I grew up a few blocks from Ocean Beach in SF where the water is Very Cold & the surfing is World Renowned. San Francisco Bay and the Farallon Islands are home to more Great White Sharks than ANYWHERE in the Mid West.


I had a Surfer friend who once told me how he was "paddling out" one day and saw a cute little seal swimming near him...

AND THEN...a Sharks "Mouth" came up and "Ate" the little Seal.

Now..."That" is Frightening!!

Jaws was playing at the Coliseum Theatre on Clement Street by my Grandparents place in the Richmond.

My Grandparents actually took me to this movie one Friday Night in 1975 (I know my Grandpa Missed the Rockford Files that night). I don't remember them taking me to many movies back then, in fact I don't think of them as people who went to the movies...but they must have Loved Me because this was a "Horrific" film AND had Nudity (brief albeit).

I don't recall what their reaction or critique was. I did not really care...as long as I didn't have to take a bath...EVER!

...but I DID need the T-Shirt "Stat"!


I loved the T-Shirt "decal" Shop on Clement Street where my Mom got me my "Jaws" shirt. I found out that AC/DC was more than a Rock Band when we got my cousin an "AC/DC" shirt there.
My old Uncle Marty almost "Peed Himself" with Laughter when seeing my cousin receiving an "I go Both Ways" T-Shirt for Christmas.

So obviously The Deep is a "Thriller" filmed in Paradise and Not anywhere close to the movie that made "Everyone" go to the movies.


The Deep is...

Packed with:

SEX (not really)

Drugs (not really)

Action (sort of)

...and Violence (sort of)

...Yet runs a little slow.





"she won't tell anyone"















Robert Shaw plays the same type character in BOTH movies. I guess "they" were looking for a Sexy & Romantic "Jaws".

Well Folks,
"Here's to Swimmin' with Bow-Legged Women".

Episode Four: King Kong (1976) "A Great Big Love Story"

Don't tell me this one sucked...at least it doesn't have Jack Black.

I Really enjoyed King Kong when it hit Theatres in 1976. Even at 10 years old, I understood why Kong was into "Jessica Lange".

They were still using a "Guy in a Monkey Suit" back in those days, but they did have a "Giant" mechanical arm that slowly moved our starlet around the set and those were our "special effects".

The "Green Screen" work is bad since it was the early days...But No Matter!!

This is a Fantastic and Fascinating Film. I believe that the quality Cinematography and Casting outweigh the "outdated" effects.

All three King Kong Movies change the "Jack" character around a bit.

The 1933 version has Jack as the second in command, where the new "Paul Jackson" version has Jack as the script writer tricked aboard by Jack Black.

My favorite Jack was Jeff Bridges as the "Hippie" environmentalist/photographer/stowaway.
Please Note: Jeff is on the Right

There are some Beautiful shots of the "Twin Towers" in New York, shot just three years after they were finished being constructed.

There were worse movies in the 70's with men in Gorilla Suits.




Such as:

The Thing with Two Heads (1972).














That guy had his sideways walk "Down"!

We had to write one page a day in school back then. When I decided to write about Kong, I remembered that I had "King Kong" stickers on one of my writing journals from 1976.

I decided to take a look and found that I could not spell worth a darn but I wrote well for a kid in an open forum "Hippie School" where we prioritized learning about people and how we are "All the Same" instead of concentrating on such things as math and spelling and such. Quite a bit of my writing were stories...and they were mostly Monster tales. Kong Kong was a Pretty Big Deal around school when I was a kid and I remember writing my own Kong stories as well as Star Wars & Godzilla (my Godzilla was named "GORGO").

Sometimes I wrote things like "we have to write one page per day, so I've decided to write about how we have to write one page per day and soon I will be at the bottom of this page"...However one day I apparently wrote this:

I forgot all about that experiment.
Kids are So Funny.
I noticed how the teacher did not correct any spelling that day...I am sure she had No Idea what to do or say about that journal entry...Ha!






I am sure we never did smoke that Joint, as we were Great kids and never did anything too crazy. Odd though to me is that as I write this "Journal Entry" I recall that my friend mentioned now owns a Business called "Gorilla"...Big Monkey/Small World.

Episode Three: Horrific O'Pinion

The Exorcist was the first movie made Famous by how many people were "Throwing Up" in the theatre. 

We were yet to be desensitized by the "High Gore & Violence" we are now used to, and here was a little girl projecting split pea soup across the screen into a "Priest's Face"!!  BY GAWD!! 

While "Father Marrin" was wiping barf from his glasses, movie goers were chucking their popcorn & candy upon each other.

I remember being too scared to see The Exorcist.  It was only 1973 the first time it came out (William Friedkin had just made The French Connection in 1971).   I vividly remember the Theatre Marquee and thinking "I'm too young for this movie". 

The Exorcist was "Mind Blowing" once I allowed myself to see it.  I love the slower pace that keeps you at the edge of your seat.  "Kids these Days" don't think of it as a very scary film.  This movie is from a generation of film making that delivers you a fine work of art.  Such as reading a book, a fine film builds until you are SO deeply involved, when the "Puke" hits the Fan...You are THERE with Father Marrin and "Freaking the Fuck OUT"!!

I remember visiting Washington D.C. during High School and my FAVORITE part of the Tour was the "Staircase" from The Exorcist.

I got to see The Exorcist when they re-released in the summer of 1976...

By then I was practically over the Freaky Hippie Kid Nightmares with Big Furry "Maurice Sendak" style Monsters coming from my closet and chasing me down my stairs in the Sunset District of San Francisco. 

I still pee myself when thinking of Sid & Marty Croft's "Sleestaks" or "Sigmond the Sea Monster"!