The Definitive Decade… Part 2 *
Revisiting the Summer Blockbuster Films of the 1980’s (1980 — 1989)
Remembering the best era in film.
1983…
Summer time at the Movies…
When we last took a trip down memory lane in the Part 1 of The Definitive Decade, (an excerpt from my book article) it was full of stories about the great summer blockbuster movies from 1980 — 1982.
I love the 80’s era and adore cinema so much that I have been writing a book on it, and the incredible movies that were born in that decade. Being brought up in the thick of it and experiencing it firsthand, is something I’m so very grateful to have been able to do.
This article serves as a prelude of that book and some of my most celebrated and cherished memories from that era.
The decade started off with some incredible movies and absolutely shaped the 1980’s for what was to come, with that summer lining up more blockbusters.
In fact, no other decade had more blockbuster summer movies than the 80’s including my favorite of all time, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back which became the highest-grossing film in the summer of 1980, the most successful movie sequel of all time and it’s legacy has never been matched…
It is a cinematic masterpiece and among the greatest films ever in movie history.
It was a great time to be a movie fan. No other decade produced more successful big blockbuster films than the 1980’s.
Those days were spent finally getting to see, and in some cases more than once, movies that you had waited to see for what seemed like ages.
Movie theaters were buzzing, especially during the summer as those silver screens showcased huge summer movies and were packing the seats week to week. Most movies had a theatrical run for several summer months and in some cases, even longer before they stopped showing.
In fact, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial was shown in theaters in its initial run in 1982 for almost 8 straight months. The VHS cassette was also rented over six million times during its first two weeks in 1988 when it was eventually released on home media. A record it held until the VHS release of Batman ‘89 the following year.
Just the other day, I was flipping through the channels, and turned on HBO… to my surprise, The Flash starring Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton was on. I couldn’t believe it… this was a movie that released in June 2023.
The Flash was a big blockbuster movie, this year. It had a production budget of $200 million and an advertising budget of at least $65 million. That meant that the film had to make around $265 million to $400 million at the global box office to break even.
That didn’t happen. The Flash grossed $269 million worldwide on a reported budget of that $200 million budget, making it a disastrous box office flop as far as the box office take was concerned.
Today was August 25, 2023 and this movie was already on television. A mere 2 months or so since it theatrically released.
This would’ve never have happened back in the 1980’s or ‘90’s. In fact, back than we had to wait up to a year or more for many of the big blockbuster movies to come out on paid cable or on VHS. Generally, a newly released movie in the current era stays in theaters for about four weeks.
The movie studios in current era, almost have to rush to produce their movie endeavors into home media format in order to make some of their money back, never mind a profit. A stark contrast to the older days of film making, it’s theater run and eventual production of home media on VHS.
Additionally, this sort of thinking also hurts movie studios… as the potential movie going public knows that they only have to wait a couple of months and they can see or even own any movie in this new age of streaming technology and 4K movie media.
Nowadays, many people do just that without having to pay the high theater costs, a very different practice from what happened in the era of the 1980’s… and that’s not always a good thing for cinema.
In those days, my summers were filled with days of joy as I grew up on the coastal shore of Massachusetts after moving from the City of Boston.
I grew up in a suburban neighborhood that was filled with kids. We all loved the same things and making friends was pretty easy.
Often those hot summer days were spent playing pickup baseball in old sandlots, trading sports cards and after bike ride, sharing toys from our favorite movies.
Back then, things were … well quite frankly, better than they are today.
They were a more simpler of times when people felt good about themselves in the 80’s rebirth coming out of the 1970’s and pop culture had a buzz like no other.
Often, I’d invite my friends to take one of George’s complementary movie passes and we would take a trip down my beloved home away from home, Showcase Cinema in Lawrence, Massachusetts and watch a movie to escape the heat.
Riding our bikes down to the showcase was the norm for us growing up in the early 80’s and something we looked forward to during those long summer days.
In fact, no other decade inspired more original films and movie intellectual properties like the 1980’s and it continues to inspire modern day films which try to recapture its magic.
And we were spoiled… as the screens were filled with fantastic memories of all the movies those summer months brought us… and in 1983 for sure.
So when we were done cooling off in the neighborhood pools, and the smell of hot dogs filled the air from the neighbors’ grills on the block… I’d grab another pack of George’s Showcase free movie passes… and slide down to the cinema.
That summer was incredibly special… that summer, one my most anticipated and favorite movies ever came out…
… that summer the Jedi returned to silver screen.
Summer of the Jedi…
When the summer of ‘83 came around it came in with a bang… the top song on the radio was Let’s Dance by David Bowie, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer became the first pitcher in major league history to win a World Series game in three different decades, Namco’s racing game Pole Position, was the most hottest arcade game in neighborhood pizza parlors and arcades.
That summer also brought us the long awaited final chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi dropped like a meteor into cinemas across the country and when it did it absolutely crushed the movie competition during that hit after hit blockbuster summer.
In 1983, I must’ve seen Return of the Jedi in theaters, some 7 or 8 times when it debuted and throughout the summer and it still wasn’t enough.
I was lucky enough to have parents that appreciated my passion for not only Star Wars but movies in general and they let me go to see it several times and again with friends and their families to get my fill of my beloved Star Wars.
I was only 12, but already a huge Star Wars fan. I couldn’t get enough and already I was so immersed in its beauty, culture and lore. That summer I collected the Star Wars figures, slept on Return of the Jedi sheets and collected the movie cards before the movie even released.
I was so excited to see my already beloved iconic characters and the new ones that were coming in this gigantic Lucas extravaganza.
That week, I must’ve watched the TV ads for Jedi hundreds of times. Stormtroopers and lightsabers filled my mind… I was so excited with anticipation, as this was the biggest thing a young Star Wars fan like me could hope for…
Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo… all in a new Star Wars film.
When Return of the Jedi came out, I didn’t know what to expect. How could we explain everything we saw in The Empire Strikes Back?
Would Han be rescued? Will Luke face Vader again? Would the Empire defeat the Rebels?
All questions that boggled my young mind.
Who could ever forget those first experiences of seeing that intense starship assault with Lando and Wedge taking out the Death Star II?
Or the incredible last lightsaber battle between Luke and Vader? …Or Obi WAN’s revelation about Luke and Leia?
Jabba the Hutt, the Imperial Guards, Speeder Bikes, the Emperor, the Ewoks… all of it.
Nothing like the original Star Wars trilogy had an impact on me as a child and even more so now, in my older days.
I counted the days down until I could eat some delicious popcorn and see my favorite Star Wars characters once again on the big screen.
For many, Star Wars Return of the Jedi is the best film in the original Star Wars trilogy. It was to be the conclusion of the Star Wars franchise at the time, and aimed to be bigger and bolder than the first two films.
In the mind and heart of this child…it definitely was the biggest film that year for me during the summer months and I was first in line to see it when it opened.
To say the least… after I saw the movie, I felt complete.
Return of the Jedi was everything I wanted in a new Star Wars film. It was packed with action, new characters and brought a close to the original trilogy perfectly.
Sure I was going to miss my beloved Star Wars characters as this was the (at the time) last installment but this film just made me feel so many emotions that I couldn’t stop talking it for weeks.
As I watched racing Speeder Bikes, the Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader, Jabba the Hutt, an iconic redemption and lightsaber battle between father and son played out onscreen, I was hyped beyond anything.
Going to the premiere of Jedi, was an event in and of itself. The lines stretched all the way out into the parking lots, as large groups of people wearing Star Wars T-shirts gathered waiting to be let into the theater.
Experiencing Return of the Jedi back then was just an intense moment to behold… an the excitement was at an all time high. The new characters, action and storyline had me sitting on the edge of my seat and when the all out rebel assault on the Death Star II in those concluding moments happened on screen… my hair was simply standing on end.
No other movie quite blew my mind like the Star Wars films did in the 1980’s… many of the movies in this decade were incredible, but this one was special.
Star Wars was my life… and Return of the Jedi just captivated me just as the first two films, A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back had.
I kept returning to the theater to see Return of the Jedi over the course of that summer, over and over again and it never got old cementing Star Wars as one of the greatest achievements in movie history to me of all time.
I am thrilled that it was born in my younger years taking me along with it in the moment as few films had the ability to do in my lifetime.
Name changes at the last minute… and Poster Art.
The original teaser trailer for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in fact carried the name Revenge of the Jedi at first.
In December 1982, before its theatrical release, director George Lucas decided that “Revenge” was not appropriate as a ‘true Jedi should never seek revenge’ and thus returned to his original title of Return of the Jedi.
“Revenge” was not appropriate, so I changed back the title name of the film… as a ‘true’ Jedi should never seek revenge…” — George Lucas.
To many, this meant Luke Skywalker fully becoming a Jedi. To others as the film was ending, it was a realization of Darth Vader’s (Anakin Skywalker) redemption with the light side of the almighty Force.
The complex name change wasn’t unexpected as Lucas’ logic made sense, but many of the marketing materials had to be changed just months before it’s May theatrical release.
As I discussed briefly in Part 1 of The Definitive Decade, (available in my article listing) — the iconic North American theater Return Of The Jedi movie poster was designed by Japanese artist Kazuhiko Sano and is considered one of the most popular Star Wars movie posters due to featuring most of the ensemble cast.
The art of Star Wars’ Jedi had many variants by many different artists for the film.
The awesome “Revenge” poster was designed by renowned artist, Drew Struzan as one of his many legendary movie poster works which included Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Back to the Future, the complete Star Wars series, E.T., Blade Runner, Rambo, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Hook ™.
Drew Struzan, has been billed — “The last of the great poster artists,” according to newspaper, The Boston Globe, and has created the images for some of the biggest and most successful films in cinematic history. His Revenge of the Jedi work is a valuable masterpiece and sought after heavily by collectors as a piece that exists with a title of movie that was renamed.
“Marketing, Marketing, Marketing… ” — Philosophy of George Lucas.
The hype for Jedi was enormous and I loved every second of it. In fact, in addition to the movie… fans had an amazing line of Kenner ™ action figures, spaceships and other merchandise to collect.
As video gaming became mainstream- Return of the Jedi made its way into arcades and at home video gaming consoles and computers as well.
I remember playing these games quite often, and loved them incredibly so. It was such a thrill to be able to play Star Wars video games and it reinforced my love even more, as I was already a huge fan of both Star Wars and video games.
The Atari ™ games were some of the very first movie licensed video games ever produced and were released in North America during home video gaming’s infancy.
With the hype for Jedi at an all time high, it was almost impossible for many of the summer films to come close to the box office numbers that Return of the Jedi would set and its merchandise sales soared.
When I think back, even though Empire Strikes Back is technically my favorite Star Wars film of all time, Return of The Jedi was close in terms of ranking…
— but yet, Jedi for me was the most fun from the trilogy to experience on the big screen of all the original Star Wars films.
So much so, that I got the chance to see it again on the big screen in 2023, for its 40th Anniversary celebration… and the excitement somehow returned just like it did in 1983.
When I got the chance to see Jedi’s return for the 40th Anniversary special engagement, I absolutely couldn’t say no. I was there for one of the first showings just like the when I was a kid for the original theatrical release and was able to experience it with my best friend since grade school.
I felt more than satisfied as the “then” Saga trilogy had come full circle, with Vader’s redemption was made and all was right in the Star Wars universe… a repeat performance on the big screen was inevitable for a lifelong Star Wars fan like me.
When I eventually saw the movie, I was so enthralled. It instantly rekindled the feelings and emotions I first felt all those years ago with one of my most favorite Star Wars films.
From the opening crawl to the bittersweet ending, Jedi’s 40th Anniversary was just as fun as when I first saw it.
I smiled and recited lines under my breath…
It looked spectacular on the big screen with thunderous Dolby Sound.
It was just how I remembered it, with every plot twist still as fresh as when I first saw it.
Return of the Jedi “The Smash of 83" grossed $314.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $166 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $480 million, against a production budget of about $32.5 million.
It’s still legendary to this day, and a hallmark in cinema history spawning 8 more cinematic film releases and more than a half dozen series made for Disney + weekly shows continuing the stories of the Star Wars universe.
“Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is one of those films that stays with you all these years later just as fresh and exciting as when you first saw it. ”
— CJ.
Action Filled Summer…
Most of the movies in the summer of 1983 aside from Return of the Jedi, in fact grossed over $40 million each and offered a great selection of different styled and memorable films. Adjusted for inflation for todays market that would be three or four times the amount of money those films grabbed at the box office.
The Sci Fi thrillers WarGames with Matthew Broderick and Blue Thunder with Roy Scheider were filling summer movie screens across theaters.
Blue Thunder…
In the 80’s, police action films were very popular and really started to explode as both technology in real life and in film production, along with the sudden change in culture at the time helped shape these films.
Some of them were comedies, buddy cop movies and drama.But one of the most winning formulas for a great summer blockbuster was that of the all out action film… and police action dramas were of the most influential and intriguing in the era of the 80’s. One of those films was Blue Thunder starring Roy Scheider from JAWS.
While I was too young at the time to see it in theaters because of its R rating, I marveled at the posters, magazines and ads, as my infatuation with both police officers and military helicopters was at an all time high.
I did see the film some years later and loved the film, always regretting not being able to see it on the big screen… as it was a perfect balance of action and dram in an allegorical sense that was both thought provoking and engaging.
The story of BLUE THUNDER was just that… a pretty slick thought provoking story police action film that showcased a dynamic state of the art Los Angeles Police helicopter with Big Brother-type surveillance systems.
In the film, Roy Scheider portrays Frank Murphy, a courageous and honorable Los Angeles police officer and pilot who is selected to run the Blue Thunder program, and pilot the high-tech helicopter, and wrestles with its use lawfully versus unethical practices.
While flying Blue Thunder, Murphy and his partner discover that local government officials intend to use the helicopter for corrupt crowd control and illegal surveillance contrary to its publicly announced intended use and operations in combating crime.
Coming off the success of many films and his role in the blockbuster JAWS, Roy Schieder is perfectly cast in the film, and brings a great sense of urgency to the role.
The film itself was an excellent action police drama that came out in an era of this genre in the 80’s and was quite popular and filled with incredible airborne shots and spectacular special effects considering the time period it was filmed in, akin Rambo or Predator and the like.
To film Blue Thunder, the producers employed two modified French-made military helicopters — Aérospatiale SA-341G Gazelle light utility helicopters 1066 and 1075, both built in 1973 and custom made components for the aircraft for the film including the stealth technology and its surveillance equipment.
Produced on a budget of 22 million by Columbia Pictures, and countless real aerial cinematography… Blue Thunder was a success and went on to take in 43 million at the box office that summer.
Shall we play a game?…
In the summer of 1983, one of the most impressive and impactful films that came out was WARGAMES from MGM/United Artists.
It starred Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club) in an eye opening and compelling drama filled with action, drama, suspense and high-tech adventure involving a possible World War III threat.
The film also featured fantastic performances by Dabney Coleman and Barry Corbin in what critics called a “brilliant…funny…and provocative fast-paced cyber-thriller.”
It thrilled audiences that summer and kept them talking for weeks after they saw it. I remember seeing it in theaters and was overwhelmed at such an early age by the computer technology and the concept of a possible nuclear war during the Cold War days.
In fact, it scared me. The concept was so surreal to my young mind, as the movie itself was fast paced and it’s concept was very much real, especially during the time period.
After watching this movie and seeing all the cool technology… I wanted a computer, just like every other kid in the worst way. In fact, I asked my mother for a Commodore 64 as the world of computers was so fascinating and really just dawning in popularity when this film released.
Surely I wasn’t going to use it to hack into any sort of Federal Government agencies but I wanted one nonetheless… if for anything to play games on. Specifically the strategy and WarGames type games.
In the film, computer hacker David Lightman (Broderick) learns that he can bypass the most advanced of security systems, break intricate secret codes and master even the most difficult computer games.
Not something that was an everyday occurrence, so the concept was quite different and interesting for a feature film given the fact that it mirrored a possibility that it could happen for real given the right circumstances.
Early in the film, 1980’s technology is the very core of the film’s narrative. Lightman sees an ad for ProtoVision, a game company coming out with new computer games that he wants to play.
He finds out that they are based in Sunnyvale, California a major city in what is considered Silicon Valley and where Atari Computers were born.
However, he unwittingly taps into the U.S. Defense Department’s war operations computer system accidentally initiating a confrontation of global proportions all the while thinking its a game… but possibly starting World War III for real.
Together with his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy) and a wizardly computer genius (John Wood), David must race against time to outwit his computer opponent…and prevent a very real threat of a potential nuclear Armageddon.
The computer in the film, starts a simulation game that briefly convinces NORAD military personnel that actual Soviet nuclear missiles and submarines incursions are inbound toward the United States.
David is forced into a scenario in which he MUST win the game, as the computer does not understand the difference between reality and simulation.
WARGAMES was released during the Cold War when tensions between Russia and the United States are at an all time high, both with missiles, nuclear weapons and enough fire power to annihilate the world, let alone each other.
The AI computer in the film, continuously feeds false threat data of an enemy invasion to NORAD, pushing them to increase the DEFCON level toward a retaliation that will initiate World War III.
After the initial screening of WARGAMES many government officials including President Ronald Reagan became very concerned with what they saw in the film.
Could this really happen?
This became a very real issue with the government and they were not going to let a movie prove them wrong.
When movies persuade real life scenarios…
WARGAMES was so thought provoking, it served as a outlet for some of the earliest global discussions about information tech and warfare technology planning.
In the wake of the film’s popularity and release, major news media focused on the potential for the “WarGames scenario” to exist in real life.
The focus shifted from fantasy to reality when the Ronald Reagan administration created the first U.S. federal internet policy, the Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the development of the Star Wars defense program in 1984.
These policies were preventive measures against cyber attacks and other acts of physical aggression.
These well-designed policies continue to be refined even today as technology advances to better equip both analysts and military strategists with new tools when facing uncertainty of potential dangers.
The computer era…
In the midst of its blockbuster success and inspiration for political and global war policies — video games were introduced in the WarGames vein.
As personal computers were becoming increasingly popular although still moderately expensive companies like ColecoVision in 1983 and the Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64 in 1984 released video games based on the film.
The video game WARGAMES played similarly to the NORAD side of the “Global Thermonuclear War” game in the film, where the United States has to be defended from an imminent Soviet Union strike.
WARGAMES was a critical and commercial success at the box office grossing $125 million worldwide against a lowly $12 million budget.
The film was nominated for three (3) Academy Awards. Renowned movie critic, Roger Ebert gave WarGames 4/4 stars, calling it “An amazingly entertaining thriller” and “one of the best films so far this summer, with a wonderful ending.”
Another Super Summer…
There’s no doubt that two of my most favorite movies from my childhood, were Superman the Movie and Superman II.
So I was very excited in June of 1983 when Superman III released.
When I look back it’s obvious that it was nowhere near as good as the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies- but it was still Superman.
And for me — that was enough.
I already loved Christopher Reeve’s personification of the Man of Steel, and couldn’t wait to see another movie with him reprising his iconic role.
In fact, I was one of the very few kids that liked it. I saw it several times that summer, and those who didn’t like it were very much left out in my opinion.
Those days with the Reeve Superman were incredible to see on screen. He was just magical. The action and story held me on the edge of my seat and this 12 year old boy was quite simply, stoked… my heart raced with excitement.
I read the newspapers for a synopsis of what the new Superman film would be…
Computer programmer Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) is hired by financial tycoon Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) to seize control of a weather satellite and annihilate Colombia’s coffee crop. When Superman (Christopher Reeve) manages to thwart the plan, Webster commands Gorman to use the satellite to locate kryptonite, the Man of Steel’s mortal weakness. But a missing unknown element in the kryptonite — replaced by Gorman with tar — causes an unintended side effect when presented to Superman.
… I was ready.
This movie sounded good to a 12 year old kid, especially one that constantly played the Atari 2600 Superman video game and sported t shirts with the iconic Kryptonian “S” symbol of hope constantly…
So I went to see it… and let me tell you that I was not disappointed.
Now it’s widely known that Superman III is actually quite different from the first 2 films, and in fact, it’s because of the amount of comedy.
Huge sequences of this movie were dedicated to exposing the comedy of legendary Richard Pryor… and filmed as if they were part of some‘80’s comedy on HBO on a Friday night.
In fact, a good length of time is spent in the beginning of the movie as we drop into Metropolis with a ton of slapstick and tongue in cheek humor.
Many small comparisons to Superman II (which was co-directed by Richard Donner and Richard Lester) with Lester taking over the film completely after Donner had filmed much of it but had a disagreement with the Salkinds — he left as director.
While it’s known that Superman II contained iconic, sweeping, and action filled scenes which were part of Donner’s epic storytelling intent …it also had a mix of comedic moments. These were a tell tale signature of Richard Lester — and found it’s way into Superman III in which he directed.
Despite the comedy, the action scenes in this movie are really well done. The film is a product of its time, but the action sequences are on par with the films as they showcased great moments on film with Reeve.
So did Superman III — and that is what I, as a kid, was looking for in a superhero movie with the Man of Steel.
I mean, what’s a Superman movie without that awesome action???
Nothing. But this film had it in spades.
That’s what I remember the most… the awesome action… so reminiscent of the quality of the awesome films of the 1990’s.
Superman freezing over the surface of a lake to put out a raging fire at a chemical plant, fighting the devastation caused by the hijacked satellite, him flying at super speeds.
Now this was a movie I wanted to see!!
Superman (Clark Kent) fighting his evil clone in the dumps after a synthetic Kryptonite splits Superman in two… oh yeah.
It’s easily my favorite part of the entire film.
And let’s not forget that iconic John Williams theme that kicks in perfectly everytime… bringing me to goosebumps upon goosebumps everytime I hear it.
… but the comedy, well… not so much.
And that’s okay because in this film — it works. It works because the characters and the plot however far fetched they may be… are Superhero quality and all brought to life by the amazing presence of Reeve on screen.
He’s the Star, whether he’s cracking jokes or not, and that’s what I wanted to see.
Is it a perfect film? — No. Not at all.
And that’s okay… because it was a fun and entertaining film, which what these blockbusters were back in the summers of the 80’s.
Pure entertainment, not Shakespeare, and Christopher Reeve is and will always be the definitive Superman.
He was lightning in a bottle and no one can ever match him in that respect.
So, with that being said… this movie, in my opinion- will never be bad.
Box office and merchandising…
Superman III grossed $60 million at the United States box office, and $20.2 million internationally, for a total of $80.2 million worldwide. The film was the 12th highest-grossing film of 1983 in North America.
It’s interesting to note that some of the Atari games that were prototypes for the Superman franchise were not released… particularly Superman III.
So then why did the Atari Superman III video game fail to come out?
From Matt Reichert’s excellent Atari prototypes site, “It was determined that after playtesting by focus groups that the game was not a strong enough candidate for release (ie. good, but not good enough). Not surprisingly the focus groups cited the difficult controls as their main complaint. Although a prototype 5200 box has been found, there is no evidence to suggest that Superman III was ever planned for the 5200. In fact the part number (CX-5222) was actually assigned to Jungle Hunt. This may have been due to a miscommunication with the art department.”
Which stunk for a kid like me who lived for Superman movies and loved his Atari… but sometimes things are just not meant to be.
Jumping the Shark … JAWS 3D
If there’s anything I love more than movies, it’s the ocean. Spending some of my summer on the sandy beaches of Cape Cod was something that I’ve been doing all my life.
In the late 70’s, my parents bought a small cottage in a small Cape villa right on the water’s edge. It was a private beach and the usually only packed during the weekends or on the Fourth of July. And those beaches were packed, just like Mayor Larry in JAWS said that would.
It was full of families and I got a chance to meet some friends, many of them I still know today now with their families.
Those days skim boarding on the sandbar and catching the high tide surf, we’re the best as the sunburn set in on this cool waters of the cape.
I was well aware of the sharks as well. In fact, after seeing the first two Jaws films, it was something that we continued to joke about but knew that it was a very real reality. Especially with the seals off the point.
But a very real reality, as Cape Cod has high numbers of Great White Sharks in a such a dense region according to many oceanic and coastal specialists.
There was a lot of pride, as the very film that started the shark phenomena was filmed right in the very spot as where we vacationed and my summer home is on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Only a short ferry ride for some to Martha’s Vineyard to many of the very famous shots in the films of Jaws of the Brody trilogy. Which is a short distance from my beach home.
In fact many portions of the open beach shots were filmed in parts of Plymouth where my beach home is located.
Plymouth and the surrounding cove is home to thousands of tourists every year for its unique nature being America’s home town, the Mayflower and the pilgrim voyage and settlement where the very first Thanksgiving was.
Needless to say I was spoiled. That cottage is no longer there but the memories are. However, the cottage was indeed strong, as it withstood the famous blizzard of 1978, in which most of the buildings were destroyed.
In its place, myself and parents built a year round home with 3 bedrooms, and a master suite with a second floor deck over looking the surf. It’s my favorite place in the world even after traveling.
We even had a real life Quint. His name was George Quilty. He was a burly man who lived to fish. He and another beach resident, Vinny Kane would cruise the 2.5 mile stretch of the beach flounder fishing and always looking for sharks in a small wooden boat with peeling green and white paint.
They would bring back pails of fish and pull their lobster traps sharing their catches with the small beach community.
One summer they caught a small sand shark. It was incredible to see as it was very much alive when they hooked it and showed it off to the crowd, before cutting it loose into the surf.
We were visited over the course of the summer by many Great White Sharks, and as the years and decades passed so did the monitoring techniques of the harbor master, and the lifeguard and spotter towers.
Needless to say, that the first two Jaws films will always be special to me and New Englanders as it parraelled our every day summer lives.
When the third Jaws film was coming out, a lot of people thought that Hollywood was indeed jumping the shark- literally.
At this point, the JAWS franchise reached a point at which these far-fetched events were merely for the sake of novelty, indicative of a declining interest in another JAWS film and the quality suffered.
Eventually it enveloped into several scrapped projects before the Universal settled in a change of direction and began filming an entirely new project, away from the shores of New England. But they needed a hook… and that hook eventually became the focus on making it into a 3-D film.
Many people thought that the film would flop, especially after the first 2 films were engaging and entertaining with the first Jaws being such a legendary film in its own right, which I discussed in great depth in part 1 of this series of articles.
The studios had a loose script, but there was no Spielberg involvement… so they booked on the talent of Joe Alves.
If you’ve never seen the film, JAWS 3 (3-D) its narrative is as follows… After a young great white shark finds its way into a sea-themed park managed by Calvin Bouchard (Louis Gossett Jr.), workers try to capture it. But the facility’s attempt to keep the shark in captivity has dire consequences: A much larger mother shark appears in search of its offspring.
The filmmakers were hoping to reel in the movie public so that they could recapture the box office numbers of the first two films popularity with a hook in the novelty of the film’s 3-D.
In the summer of 1978, Jaws 2 debuted to a respectable box office, in total earning about $81 million and ending up as the seventh highest-grossing film of the year. So that was great news for Universal Studios… Sort of.
The original Jaws (1975) was made for somewhere between $7 and $10 million, after production ran over budget. But the studio didn’t mind so much when it went on to take the box office by storm and became what many consider the very first summer blockbuster movie at the time.
In fact, JAWS, when adjusted for inflation, is the seventh highest-grossing feature film of all time.
It pulled in $260 million in 1975. To put it in perspective, that’s 2600% of its budget. And that’s a big damn deal.
So when producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown went back to the drawing board. Clearly there was still an audience who wanted killer sharks and Jaws 3 was made.
Spielberg was already known to not be coming back. Like JAWS 2, Spielberg’s choice to pass on future Jaws projects post the first film and it was influenced by multiple factors.
First and foremost is the fact that filming “Jaws” was a nightmare for him… and actors like Richard Dreyfuss. Also passed as money was a major factor.
None of the cast or crew of the original JAWS film, were ever rewarded monetarily for being part of one the most successful films of all time.
Spielberg also had his head in the game in other projects. He was off making two of the biggest classics in modern movie making. The 20th highest-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and the fourth highest-grossing film of all time (also adjusted), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Both legendary Spielberg films that are among the crème de la crème in cinema history.
Even legendary composer, John Williams decided it was time to stop playing with the fish and left the new film’s scoring up to Alan Parker.
In JAWS 3D, the famous theme is used but the rest of the incidental music is all new.
Which left the studio without many options, but to recast, refocus and push out another movie in a hurried manner…
Which in turn, creates shitty movies….
Like Jaws 3D.
I was kinda pumped, if I’m being totally honest as a kid to see Jaws 3D that summer, given the fact that I loved Shark movies, I loved the first two Jaws films, and I loved the novelty of 3D. Which was a pretty big thing with some of the films, especially the horror genre, back in the 1980’s.
What I found is that Jaws 3D lives and dies by this very gimmick.
But mostly dies as the bite radius of the film paled in many ways from the first two films.
It hasn’t been rebroadcast in 3D much at all with the exception of very few special engagements and the fad died out within the next few years.
JAWS 3D was made for about $20 million, two-thirds of the last film’s budget. And when it opened on July 22nd, 1983, audiences went to see it.
The public was divided on its reception of the new film… critics hated it and the box office take was bad.
Jaws 3D ended up grossing around $45 million, a little over twice its budget but it certainly didn’t recapture the original phenomenon that the first film created not the semi- popularity of it’s sequel.
When I look back at all the JAWS films I cannot hold any of them to the standards the the very first movie was. JAWS was and is an all time cinematic masterpiece.
I’m actually quite fond of the second film, JAWS 2 a lot and it’s one of my guilty pleasures.
Over the years, I’ve continued to enjoy the other JAWS films (bad or not) on occasion for what they are…
… mindless popcorn movies and old relics from an awesome era of movies in the Definitive Decade.
Next time… we take a peek at the incredible summer of 1984.
Until then… stay classic.
-CJ.
To be continued…
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C.J. CardiacDrop Copyright ©️ 2023
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Thanks for reading! — CJ
C.J. CardiacDrop ©️ 2023.
