re: #56 lawhawk

Jaws worked on the same principle. Spielberg desperately tried to get his mechanical shark to work, and just kept failing b/c the mechanicals failed in salt water (something his engineers had not considered or testing).

This forced him to make necessary cuts to limit on-screen time for the shark. That’s why most of the shots of the shark attacks are implied in the action. This made it all the more scary, and is why so many refuse to go into the water even to this day.

That’s what is so funny and brilliant at the same time. Watching interviews with him he’s practically laughing. The budget was seriously blasted and Bruce (the Mecha Shark) was a huge problem cutting down its screen time. Speilberg was worried his career was going to get hammered. Then they did screenings and people were running out in the first few scary parts. He’s beaming while describing it LOL.