Customer Reviews

on Location.....on Martha's Vineyard (the making of the movie Jaws)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm pretty sure that when Edith Blake was writing this book she had no idea that the film would be the worldwide smash that it was and that "Jaws" fans would snap up every bit of movie-related merchandise they could find, including her book.

I say that because it is obvious that Blake gives more than just a few nods to her fellow Martha's Vineyard residents and neighbors throughout the book. In fact, this book could have alternately been a serialized session of contributing essays for the Martha's Vineyard Gazette and would have hit its target audience smack on their heads.

Not that this is a bad thing necessarily. If it does occasionally come off sounding like a local reporter writing for local residents, then it does so with a refreshing lack of "big-time author grandiosity". The book could have used a better editor, though -- far too many spelling and punctuation errors.

For the "Jaws" fans who AREN'T Martha's Vineyard residents, then this book is a delightful, if somewhat slight, folksy account of Hollywood descending on a small Eastern town that normally would just prefer to be left alone.

The "Jaws" shoot ran way over schedule and tried the patience of more than a few locals, but the economic boon to the town during the off-season probably eased the inconvenience a bit. When the off-season turned into tourist season and the film crew was still on the island taking up valuable rental space, a few locals and businesses did get a bit testy. I imagine the success of the film and the tourist business that descended upon the island as a result made them change their tunes soon enough.

Incidentally, I first read this book as a 9 year-old in 1975 and kept the original paperback for years and years. I jumped at the chance to repurchase this book and read it again with a fresh perspective and with about 200 viewings of the film under my belt. Admittedly, it made the book far more interesting, though it comes up short compared to Carl Gottlieb's "Jaws Log". But there's no way Blake could possibly hope to compete with Carl Gottlieb's insider perspective when it comes to "Jaws" production stories.

I love all things "Jaws" (except the sequels, of course) and would recommend this book to all fellow "Jaws" aficionados. Heck, I even flew to New England to visit Martha's Vineyard in 2006 on a self-guided tour of the film's locations. I'm such a movie geek.

Sidebar: One of my college professors was an employee at a hotel on the island during the bulk of the film's shoot and loved to tease me with tales of playing in weekend softball games with the "Jaws" cast and crew. Wish I could have been there for that. What a fabulous experience that must have been, both at the time and in later years when the film's cache lent so much to his memories of it all.

I purchased this book for my son who is a complete "Jaws geek".
He loves the book that he had read about in the "Jaws Log" by Carl Gottleib.
It is a must purchase for someone who has everything else "Jaws"!

This book is a must for any Jaws fan. There is a lot in this book that will keep you saying, "Oh cool, I didn't know that." Things of that nature. Edith Blake has made a great book, with many intresting photos! Overall this book is a great buy!

I am a huge Jaws fan, and have read several other books - the best one being the Jaws Log. Ms. Blake's version of the story is pretty silly. She spends about 50% her time taking pot shots at the filmmakers and takes delight in pointing out their tremendous challenges. She also fails to note that these so called idiots from Hollywood virtually invented the summer blockbuster with this movie alone. She also seems to be annoyed because Spielberg is a perfectionist. Guess what honey - that's why he's a billionaire. Also, since when did Martha's folk get to be so much more sophisticated than the Hollywood Clan? Besides 90% of their crew came from Boston and NY, so I think Blake has some strange axe to grind. If you're die hard for Jaws info, skip this one - it is painful to finish. There is really no inside information, merely an outside observer discussing rumors from the island.

Ted Kennedy's 1969 accident on Chappaquiddick, Martha's Vineyard, first put the Vineyard on the map. Several years later, the filming of the movie "Jaws" sealed the deal. The formerly quiet island became overrun with tourists. Some chiseled pieces of wood from the "Kennedy Bridge" before it was torn down and replaced with a safer bridge. And, some incessantly asked islanders if it was safe to swim in the water. As a former Vineyard resident, I saw its decline and I moved on.