History was made

[hjmick]

On June 20, 1975, history was made. On that day a movie was released that changed the face of the movie industry forever and set the standard for the summer blockbuster.



[YOUTUBE]V7qSTTW7whA[/YOUTUBE]



To truly be appreciated, this movie should have been seen on the big screen. Especially the opening sequence.

[jackass]

My wife and I were talking about what the first "summer blockbuster" was. We werent sure if it was Jaws or ET. I think we decided on ET moslty because they expected ET to be big. I dont think anyone had a clue what Jaws would do to people....

[Hobbit]

Actually, the one that gets to take credit is Star Wars. While there were signs that the industry was changing, Star Wars showed how much money could be made by throwing something exciting at people that was targeted at slightly younger audiences. Before then, 'summer blockbusters' included such cerebral and slow-paced (albeit really good) movies like 'The Godfather.'

On the down side, Star Wars is one of the two things we have to blame for 'summer blockbusters' that are jam-packed with nothing but cheesy explosions, special effects, and mediocre one-liners, the other being Hollywood people who look at a successful movie, latch onto the easiest part of that movie to make, and cram that into another movie, expecting it to do well, despite the lack of plot, characters, etc.

[gabosaurus]

I didn't like ET or Star Wars. I was an odd child.

[hjmick]

Actually, the one that gets to take credit is Star Wars. While there were signs that the industry was changing, Star Wars showed how much money could be made by throwing something exciting at people that was targeted at slightly younger audiences. Before then, 'summer blockbusters' included such cerebral and slow-paced (albeit really good) movies like 'The Godfather.'

On the down side, Star Wars is one of the two things we have to blame for 'summer blockbusters' that are jam-packed with nothing but cheesy explosions, special effects, and mediocre one-liners, the other being Hollywood people who look at a successful movie, latch onto the easiest part of that movie to make, and cram that into another movie, expecting it to do well, despite the lack of plot, characters, etc.

We will have to agree to disagree. I will always believe that Jaws set the precedent fo summer blockbusters. Though after reading your post I was inspired to Google "the first summer blockbuster." The results? The first three returns credit my choice. To your selection, the Business Week article does go on to say, "The next big summer release was two years later: George Lucas' Star Wars became a cultural phenomenon and solidified the idea among Hollywood studios that the action/adventure/suspense genre worked for summer releases."

In a way, I guess we're both right.

[hjmick]

I didn't like ET or Star Wars. I was an odd child.

Hell, you're an odd adult.

[jackass]

Hell, you're an odd adult.

LOL

That was funny!!

[namvet]

On June 20, 1975, history was made. On that day a movie was released that changed the face of the movie industry forever and set the standard for the summer blockbuster.



[YOUTUBE]V7qSTTW7whA[/YOUTUBE]



To truly be appreciated, this movie should have been seen on the big screen. Especially the opening sequence.

my x wife and I saw it at the theatre. it did have a major shock value. I remember hearing people were afraid to sit in the bathtub. the bad side to it was the real sharks paid the price. they hunted sharks worldwide and killed them for revenge. last year I rented a copy and burned it. forgot how great it really was in the unedited version. the TV version was edited chopped and compressed for time and language. remember when quint was showing his scar and brought up the story of the USS Indianapolis ???? that was a true story.

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