Jaws 3-D (1983)

The sons of police chief Brody must protect customers at a SeaWorld theme park after a thirty-five-foot shark becomes trapped in the park with them.

Director:

Joe Alves

Writers:

Peter Benchley (suggested by the novel "Jaws"), Richard Matheson (screenplay)

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale

Bottom Rated Movies #60 | 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Mike Brody
Bess Armstrong	...	Dr. Kathryn 'Kay' Morgan
Simon MacCorkindale	...	Philip FitzRoyce
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Calvin Bouchard
John Putch	...	Sean Brody
Lea Thompson	...	Kelly Ann Bukowski
P.H. Moriarty	...	Jack Tate
Dan Blasko	...	Dan
Liz Morris	...	Liz
Lisa Maurer	...	Ethel
Harry Grant	...	Shelby Overman
Andy Hansen	...	Silver Bullet
P.T. Horn	...	Tunnel Guide
John Edson	...	Bob Woodbury (as John Edson Jr.)
Kaye Stevens	...	Mrs. Kallender

Storyline

Several years after Amity's former Police Chief Martin Brody electrocuted the shark at Cable Junction, his sons, Mike & Sean, are now working in different roles at Sea World Orlando. Mike is working as a park engineer and considering marriage to his girlfriend, killer whale biologist Kathryn Morgan. Sean is also involved with 1 of the park's water skiers, Kelly Ann Bukowski. Sea World is about to open a massive 'Undersea Kingdom' which will bring visitors closer to marine life than ever before. The park is accessible from the ocean by a series of gates, one of which malfunctions. A young Great White Shark swims through the gate, and when a maintenance diver heads down to fix the gate he does not return. The young Great White is captured & placed in a tank but soon dies despite Kathryn's best efforts to save it. More alarming though, is the young shark's massive, 35 foot mother which has followed the baby shark into the lagoon and killed the maintenance diver, whose body is recovered. ...

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Plot Keywords:

1980s | orlando florida | orlando | florida | orange county florida | 

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Taglines:

Reaching new depths of terror.

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jaws 3 People 0

Filming Locations:

Orlando, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,422,500, 24 July 1983

Gross USA:

$45,517,055

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,987,055

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Alan Landsburg Productions, MCA Theatricals

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Superman III (1983) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) were also released in cinemas during the summer of 1983, and like this movie, they were the third films in successful film franchise.

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Goofs

When the water is safe to enter for repair, Mike is lowered into the lagoon attached to a rope and umbilicals (oxygen hoses). In the next shot, he is only wearing an oxygen tank. When the mother shark appears and Calvin gives the order to "get 'em up," the rope and umbilicals reappear, then disappear when returning to Mike. It is standard commercial underwater arc welding practice to always be attached to a rope and umbilical for safety reasons. Mike was lowered by a winch, which could have been used to alert him and bring him to the surface. The helmet (also standard) would have had a communications device in it to keep in contact with the surface.

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Quotes

Mike Brody: White sharks are dangerous. I know 'em. My father, my brother, myself. They're murderers.

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Crazy Credits

In the original 3D version, the Universal Pictures Logo is in 3D. Plus the title "Jaws 3D" comes "toward" the viewer, clamping together as if it was like a shark's mouth.

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Alternate Versions

Released in Japan in 3-D on the short-lived VHD format. This release has been widely copied to make bootleg 3-D tapes and DVDs.

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Connections

Referenced in The Meaning of Life (1983)

User Reviews

It could have worked, but DOES NOT

I'm certain if you read the screenplay for this third entry in the Jaws franchise you'd think it could amount to a solid sequel. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the idea, it at least adds many new elements to the Jaws formula. Where it all goes wrong is in the execution. The acting, direction, and production values are way, way below what they should have been. The 3-D effects are ridiculous. They bring to mind a SCTV parody of 3-D films, with exaggerated tricks that add nothing to someone watching this in regular format. Compare this to something like The Creature From The Black Lagoon, or It Came From Outer Space- those films were 3-D but play perfectly well as flat films. But those were made by people with talent, this film is not.

There's also the weird idea of using the Sea World park, but making it a fictitious one located near the ocean with completely different attractions- it's a strange bit of promotional advertising. The real Sea World is quite different, and yet it's shown with all these fantastic elements that are pure fantasy. A better idea would have been to name the marine attraction something original. The scenes somehow come off way more corny and trite than the actual theme park was at the time. The use of the dolphins is a great idea that is staged horribly. The old Flipper show had better shark vs. dolphin scenes.

The effects are wretched. In fact, had they worked it would have helped save the whole film from being a waste, but they are totally amateurish, below that of a Roger Corman exploitation film from the 50s or 60s. One expects more from a major studio mounting a sequel to a mega-hit.

The actors offer nothing here. Dennis Quaid and Louis Gosset have shown remarkable talent, but none of it is on display here. Bess Armstrong and Lea Thompson are both very attractive, but again they don't really add anything, and Thompson seems especially vapid here. Luckily all these actors are in a film so filled with incompetence that the music, effects, editing and overall storytelling distract from their work.