The book portrays Ellen Brody as snotty and stuck-up, hating being "just" a cop's wife. In the book Ellen is from a wealthy 'summer" family like the kid who was with Chrissie, and meets Brody on Amity when she's young. She's written as a slut, and Quint knows her reputation on the island. She knows Matt Hooper from that time in her life. Hooper is just as awful as Ellen, and they have a gross affair. Chief Brody is an unlikable character too, and he doesn't get a triumphant win at the end. Benchley kills off Hooper. There's no bromance between Brody and Hooper. There's some unconvincing pablum about the mafia for no reason. And Benchley's writing, come on. It sounds like high school writing. For the screenplay, it's pretty clear that Carl Gottlieb's rewrites did most of the heavy lifting for Jaws and Jaws 2. I think Jaws was one of those books that got chucked across the room when I finished it. It's a miracle that someone found enough good in it to make a movie, and for god's sake, all hail Speilberg!
Also, a great deal of credit goes to Williams for the score. The music in Jaws is like another character.
(About Carl Gottlieb...he has writing credits across a certain spectrum. At one end, there's Jaws and The Jerk, a classic I will watch anytime. At the other end, Caveman. The Ringo Starr vehicle also starring Ringo's wife, Barbara Bach, whose acting chops, with a nod to Dorothy Parker, run the gamut from A to B.)
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5 comments:
oh i had a similar experience a few years ago, i really enjoyed the IT movie so i gave the book a chance and i hated stephen kings' writing, specially the way he wrote women.... it's really fascinating how someone can read a shitty book and make it into an iconic movie, very cool.
I started the book, but just couldn't get into it. I'm a a kind of reader that if a book doesn't hook me in right away or I have to struggle to get through, it gets put down. Brave New World is another good example. I did however just finish reading Frank Herberts "Dune" for the first time, and Denis Villeneuve is doing it justice. Sure there's a lot detail left out (it would be a much longer movie), but what is in the movie is pretty faithful to the source material. It was just well written and easy to follow.
I tried reading IT when I was younger after the the TV series came out, but really struggled with his writing. Then i tried again when the remakes came out (Which I absolutely LOVED), only to give up a few chapters in. So I feel exactly the same way about his writing, but someone suggested I go to his earlier stuff so I started at Carrie, and then it was The Shining and Misery. If you haven't, I suggest you start there.
I never attempted IT, but I love Stephen King and read a ton of his books. I thought The Stand was much too long. And for some reason, I stopped reading him at Rose Madder. I have mixed feelings about Rose Madder. That means I'm Stephen-King-ignorant from The Green Mile onward!
...and one more thing about Jaws the book? Look at the shark on the cover! No teeth? It looks like a thumb. Whomever made THAT decision had never seen a Great White before, and did the book no favors.
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