John 2,032 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Which Spielberg monster movie (and respective score) do you prefer; Jaws or Jurassic Park? On a technical level, Jurassic Park handily beats the somewhat dated effects in Jaws, but so great is the power of the storytelling in Jaws that I personally find the later to be much more compelling. The suspense is crafted brilliantly. Every line of dialogue is pure gold. The characters are likable and well-written. The film has easily one of the greatest monologues in cinema history (Quint's story of the U.S.S Indianapolis). It succeeds not only as an entertaining popcorn flick, but also as a rich human drama and a chilling mortality tale. There's no doubt in my mind that Jaws is the superior film, by far. Williams' score for Jurassic Park is truly great and memorable, but Jaws just barely edges it out, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 8,121 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 JP in both categories. It is, after all, the greatest film and score of all time! But damn, JAWS is a masterful film and score. I'd say that while JP goes more for the visceral, experience-oriented level, JAWS is superior as a cerebral, storytelling device. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundlefly 2,392 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 3 minutes ago, Thor said: JP in both categories. It is, after all, the greatest film and score of all time! But damn, JAWS is a masterful film and score. I'd say that while JP goes more for the visceral, experience-oriented level, JAWS is superior as a cerebral, storytelling device. I agree with Thor 90%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 10,022 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Having no nostalgic childhood attachments to either, I can honestly say I enjoy Jaws more. Jurassic Park has some great action sequences and jawdropping (perhaps even landmark) tension scenes, but Jaws, like you said, has so much more likeable characters that you truly fear for them and want them to succeed, while in JP, you can point at half the cast at the second they're introduced and say "You're gonna get eaten, and I'm going to enjoy every millisecond of it!". As for scores: JP is one of the greats with many marvelous highlights, some of my favourite cues of all time. I personally don't really like the main theme all that much (how much better and more magical does this buildup sound than its resolution? 6:14-6:55) but the Journey motif is wonderful, and the Carnivore motif gets so many fun variations. However, since I first gave Jaws a chance last summer, I hold it as one of the legendaries. My main worry was that it would only be a one-trick pony with its one gimmick already being incredibly overexposed, but that couldn't have been much farther from the truth. It's a more coherent score than JP, and Father and Son, Montage, Blown to Bits, Man Against Beast, End Title* all help raise it to legendary status, even though the recording quality may not exactly be the best. *Completely unrelated note: I love movies/scores where the narrative finishes during the credits, like Jaws, CE3K, and even Return of the King to an extent. With the first two, they're essential in a listening order, you couldn't stop with Blown to Bits or Contact, they're not written to be fulfilling in their ending. With Jaws, you need that calm reading of that motif to ease you back into the real world after an hour of high tensions and action, and with CE3K, the score shows its best and most complete readings of the Mountain and the Five-Note motifs, that's what they've been building towards for the whole movie. In Return of the King, similarly, I think the Valinor motif is building towards Into the West the whole time, the one in The Gray Havens doesn't have that strong finality to it (neither should it, it's the beginning of a new adventure). When you take for example E.T. in contrast, you technically could stop with The Departure, it wraps everything up nicely, and has an incredible finale. The Credits feels more like an afterthought, or rather a dessert after a hearty and filling meal, that is still delicious, but you'd be sated wthout it. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 38,871 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I truly love both scores and films. The scores are both among JW's many masterpieces. The films are both among Spielberg's best. In many ways I "get" why Jaws is a better film than Jurassic Park, but I really have to go with my heart and say I prefer Jurassic Park if I have to pick. Seeing JP at a young age (I was 13 when we saw it the summer it came out) had more of an impact on me, and my life as a film score fan, than Jaws, which I didn't REALLY get into until the past few years (Seeing the movie as an adult made me realize how great it is, as a kid I liked it but never loved it. The score I never really LOVED until the Intrada release). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chen G. 4,427 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Its a tough choice between both scores, but I choose Jurassic Park because the main theme is, well, a theme, not a little ostinato. It just has more substance to hang on to. As for the films, Jurassic Park is much more lighthearted, which to me makes it the lesser of the two films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 minute ago, Chen G. said: I choose Jurassic Park because the main theme is, well, a theme, not a little ostinato. It just has more substance to hang on to. A common error. The Jaws theme is more than just the bass line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dutton 7,218 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/26918-which-do-you-prefer-jaws-or-jurassic-park/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 7 minutes ago, Philippe Roaché said: http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/26918-which-do-you-prefer-jaws-or-jurassic-park/ Always two Jaws vs. Jurassic Park threads there are, no more, no less. Jay and John Dutton 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 10,022 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Both have their merits. One contains the movies as well, the other has Lost World as an option. John Dutton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dutton 7,218 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 hour ago, JohnSolo said: Always two Jaws vs. Jurassic Park threads there are, no more, no less. But which is the superior poll? The score or the score and film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstrox 6,818 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Voted WAR HORSE Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Hilary Bray 235 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Double whammy of Jaws, though score-wise it's close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 15 minutes ago, Philippe Roaché said: But which is the superior poll? The score or the score and film? From my point of view, the film/score poll is superior! Sir Hilary Bray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,825 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Chen G. said: As for the films, Jurassic Park is much more lighthearted, which to me makes it the lesser of the two films. I feel a debate about escapism is coming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Porkins 53 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Jaws for both film and score but just barley on the score part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Omen II 1,249 Posted March 1, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted March 1, 2018 6 minutes ago, Darth Porkins said: Jaws for both film and score but just barley on the score part. Is that because you find the score rather corny? Darth Porkins, mstrox, John and 2 others 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmmusic 2,139 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I'm sorry to Jaws fans, but i prefer JP both film and score, by far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Porkins 53 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I thought it looked odd. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Kockroach 2,362 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Jaws is the third greatest monster movie ever made. Jurassic Park's score naturally makes for much more fun out-of-context listening though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,825 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 minute ago, kaseykockroach said: Jaws is the third greatest monster movie ever made. So what's the greatest and the penultimate monster movie to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Kockroach 2,362 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Gremlins 2 and the original King Kong. ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dutton 7,218 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 My poll at least had the correct answer. The Lost World. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 10,241 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 JAWS for both. No contest. End of. Lock now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Kockroach 2,362 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Jaws, the humans and shark scenes are equally engrossing. Jurassic Park, the dinosaur scenes are why we're here, but the humans are fun and colorful enough to warrant our stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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