10 Off-Screen Moments That Change How You See Movies Forever
9. Jaws - That Opening Terror Was Completely Genuine
In terms of setting the table, Steven Spielberg's Jaws has one of the most impactful openings in cinema history.
That opening scene, of course, sees Susan Backlinie's Chrissie Watkins opt to go skinny dipping after a night of campfire-lit beers on the Amity coastline. Unfortunately for Chrissie, she's attacked and killed by the then0unknown beast that lurks below the waves.
Part of the brilliance of Chrissie's demise - and of Jaws, period - is that Spielberg's 1975 picture never shows its audience all that much of the apex predator causing chaos for the residents of Amity Island. Granted, that was more by accident than design, with the only reason we didn't see more of 'Bruce' being that the mechanical shark kept breaking down. Still, this enforced less-is-more approach worked wonders.
What audiences don't see during Chrissie's time in the spotlight, though, is that Susan Backlinie was attached to a mechanical harness, with several technicians under the water and yanking Backlinie from side to side.
This offscreen way of throwing Chrissie across the water was certainly effective, but the reality of this is that so aggressively was Backlinie jolted around, the actress broke a rib - meaning the pained terrors seen in the face of Chrissie were extremely real.