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Jeannot Szwarc

post #1 of 9
12/6/10 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
What a weird career trajectory. TV, TV, TV, three high-profile directorial gigs on the bounce (JAWS 2, SUPERGIRL, SANTA CLAUS) and then back to TV again seemingly forevermore. Whenever his name crops up in the credits of whichever middle-of-the-road procedural he's currently working on, I always find myself trying to find a contemporary analog for him.
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post #2 of 9
12/6/10 at 1:36pm
That Jaws sequel (surely the ultimate unenviable directorial task? I like to imagine that Szwarc and Peter Hyams hang out sometimes for drinks and mutual consolation/healing) is by no means a great film but I do kinda like it.

Somewhere in Time I used to fucking love. It's been a long time though and I'm afraid to rewatch in case it's shit. John Barry I have no doubt in, but the rest...
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post #3 of 9
12/6/10 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
JAWS 2 is crud compared to the original, but it's fucking Hoawrd Hawks when held up against some of the mainstream genre trash released today. Although I didn't know until today that Szwarc was a replacement for the fired John Hancock.
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post #4 of 9
12/6/10 at 9:43pm
Szwarc's most interesting feature is the obscure EXTREME CLOSE-UP (1973), a subversive (anti)thriller and commentary on privacy rights scripted by Michael Crichton. Excellent essay on the film here:

http://templeofschlock.blogspot.com/...-frighten.html
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post #5 of 9
12/6/10 at 9:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Merriweather View Post
JAWS 2 is crud compared to the original, but it's fucking Hoawrd Hawks when held up against some of the mainstream genre trash released today.
...or Jaws 3 & 4 while we're at it.
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post #6 of 9
12/7/10 at 6:54am
Jaws 2 is awesome-sauce. It was never going to be another Jaws, so it wisely went in the direction of being a good old-fashioned monster-mayhem flick, and did it quite well. Truth be told, even in spite of its popcorn aspirations, it still makes me jump during one scene in particular.
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post #7 of 9
12/7/10 at 9:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
Jaws 2 is awesome-sauce. It was never going to be another Jaws, so it wisely went in the direction of being a good old-fashioned monster-mayhem flick, and did it quite well. Truth be told, even in spite of its popcorn aspirations, it still makes me jump during one scene in particular.
The scene with the dude falling out of his boat and then swimming towards it while the shark approaches from the other side is pure nightmare stuff.

I love this movie. Not being the 10 of 10 that Jaws is doesn't make it bad. I'd still give it a 7 or even more. Deep Blue Sea wished it was as good.
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post #8 of 9
12/7/10 at 11:44am
He also directed great final film of William Castle, Bug. That movie is a whole bunch of creepy.
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post #9 of 9
12/8/10 at 1:48pm
I remember back in the early '90s he directed a TV movie adaption of The Murders in the Rue Morgue starring George C. Scott that was pretty good stuff.
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