A haunting John Williams score and a menacing great white shark seemed to be the recipe for the very first summer blockbuster…at least in 1975. Williams swept the Academy Awards that year. Helmed by a now-generational director, Jaws changed the movie industry forever. In fact, as of this writing, it still holds an 8.1 rating on IMDb and a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Let’s fast forward almost 50 years. Jaws is still considered one of the greatest films ever made. However, that may just be the nostalgia talking. If you take a closer look, as many have, the shark, commonly known as “Bruce”, looks fake. Now, I’m not saying they should have used a real shark in the movie, but the problem is that it’s obvious. I mean, imagine having one of the most iconic scores in movie history building up so much suspense to only have the reveal be so disappointing. These days, that would be enough for the audience to just leave the theater. So why did so many people stay in 1975? Because that was the pinnacle of technology at the time.
These days, if there’s even the slightest opportunity to use CGI, many people will take it. There are some movies such as the ones that exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that need these effects because their stories almost completely rely on them. But there are also filmmakers like Tom Cruise, who push the boundaries of real stunts, whether he’s holding his breath underwater for six minutes, or actually flying the helicopter while being chased and shot at in the sky by Henry Cavill (who, by the way, is also in an actual helicopter) through Queenstown, New Zealand.
This is where I feel TV shows hold a slight edge in the race to stay timeless. If you scroll through channels out of boredom, you are bound to come across re-runs of these sitcoms from the late 80s and 90s: Friends, Everyone Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, and Family Matters. Aside from a laugh track, which continues to be employed today, each of these shows bring something different, but relatable that allows them to be engage viewers from various generations: a group of friends in New York City (Friends), a man dealing with his nagging parents who live across the street while trying to balance his own work and home life (Everybody Loves Raymond), a show popularly known as “the show about nothing” (Seinfeld) and a middle-class Winslow family dealing with the annoying nerd next door (Family Matters). These are all completely relatable situations, which allow the comedic galore to unfold and hold their weight over time.
But what does it take to be timeless and should that goal be part of making a show or movie? I’m guessing 99 percent of people don’t think so. Steve Urkel was only meant to be a guest/recurring nagging nerd as the show was centered around the Winslow clan. However, he ended up becoming the central character and taking over the entire show. He is the first character that comes to mind when people discuss the sitcom these days. The audience can also draw parallels to their own life. Everyone has that one person that constantly annoys them and those around them (even if they won’t admit it).
As some people might know, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean, and Jurassic Park marked a new era of filmmaking, particularly because it showed the true capacity of computer-generated images for the first time. Imagine what Steven Speilberg could have done with today’s technology. It’s not the filmmakers’ fault that they created the movies when they did. In fact, it makes their feats even more impressive. Sure, there are shows and movies that are obviously terrible regardless of when they were made, especially when it comes to writing and other factors. But production value is a constantly evolving aspect of filmmaking subject to time and technology. That’s why when people do remakes/sequels and start franchises off an original piece of work, I believe it is a stain on the effort of those who have put forth the best (and maybe even the most memorable) installment. Sometimes having the ability to improve on an original piece of work doesn’t mean it should be done.
Time and technology will continue to aid filmmakers create better and more expansive projects. But does that mean audiences will take comparisons to movies made decades before seriously? I think people are too smart for that these days. At least, I hope they are. Let’s leave films where they are in the movie timeline. If they are able to hold their own in their particular year of release, chances are audiences will remember them and maybe use them as a reference point when watching movies of similar genres and storylines. They may be remembered decades later, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be improved upon.