10 Huge Problems You Consciously Ignore Because The Film Is So Good

5. Jaws - The Mechanical Shark

In 1975 movie-goers found Jaws so disturbing they famously refused to go into the water. Much of mental effect was induced by combining John Williams' genius score with a Hitchcockian technique which used clever editing to obscure what was happening onscreen, withholding information from the audience. This increased tension to unbearable limits in some viewers, leaving an impression on many of them that would last a lifetime. Rarely before or since has a film had such a significant effect on audiences after they leave the cinema. Yet this could all have been thrown away with one scene, when a mechanical shark leaps onto the boat near the end of the film. The shark is so obviously fake it is hard not to laugh, but people seem to steadfastly ignore this one moment of madness in order to enjoy the rest of the movie. Jaws is a perfect example of why the old adage 'more is less' rings true in cinema. If the possibilities of the film are restricted by budget or simply practical issues, often creative camera techniques have to be adopted to disguise this. In this case, the director got it right, except for one brief moment.