REVIEW MOVIE\ A GREAT WHITE ' PUSSYCAT\ GREAT WHITE - DIRECTED BY ENZO G. CASTELLARI, WRITTEN BY MARK PRINCI,\ STARRING JAMES FRANCISCUS, VIC MORROW AND MICKY PIGNATELLI, AT THE\ PI ALLEY AND SUBURBS, RATED PG.
Boston Globe - April 20, 1982
Author: Michael Blowen Globe Staff
Because of its "substantial similarity" to Universal Pictures' "Jaws," a federal court in Hollywood ruled April 6 that " Great White " should be barred
from release. Last Wednesday, the distributor, Film Ventures International, and Universal reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount of cash that allowed " Great White " to open. Unfortunately.
On one level, Judge David V. Kenyon, in his initial decision, was right. There are similarities between the two films - a shark, an ocean, a selfish politician, a veteran fisherman with an Irish accent and a massive marketing campaign.
However, that's where the resemblance ends. "Jaws" succeeded through Steven Spielberg's gripping direction, fine performances by Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw and Roy Scheider, punchy editing, excellent special effects and a riveting music score.
" Great White " is a shoddily constructed, poorly acted, ridiculous ripoff.
From the out-of-synch dialogue to the phony accents, director Enzo G. Castellari's fishy movie is a completely unconvincing sharksploitation film that deserves to be blown out of the water.
In one sequence, when Vic Morrow is explaining the vicious habits of the shark, Castellari cuts to a grainy shot of a great white that's obviously in an aquarium tank. In fact, the scenes between the actors and the "shark" are so horribly matched that I would be surprised if the actors even saw one shark during the filming.
The plot is the same as its predecessor. Marine author Peter Benton (James Franciscus) and fisherman Ron Hammer ( Morrow ) team up to capture a giant white shark that has killed a surfer, disrupted a windsurfing championship, lunched on a teenager's leg and yanked a helicopter into the sea. Naturally, these two intrepid sailors eventually win out. But it's hard to understand what they are afraid of.
"Bruce," the mechanical shark from "Jaws," has been replaced by a beast that looks like a balloon left over from Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Consequently, when Franciscus and Morrow set sail to kill the fish there is no fear or tension. They look like what they are - two guys trying to kill a balloon.
The only real sharks in " Great White " are the people who made it.
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A Laughable ' Great White '
Washington Post, The (DC) - April 23, 1982
Author: FRANK SANELLO
Universal failed to stop the U.S. release of a small-budget Italian movie called " Great White " because of the film's similarity to "Jaws," its mighty moneymaker, but the studio shouldn't worry: " Great White " probably will be laughed out of the U.S.
Starring James Franciscus and Vic Morrow , it compulsively yet superficially imitates the original, whose scariest elements don't bear repeating on the cheap.
The phoniest thing about the production is its "star," a bargain-basement version of Bruce the Shark. Whenever the creature appears you can almost see the taxidermist inside, still trying to make it look fierce.
The underwater stock footage has a shark that doesn't even appear to belong to the same species as a big white , and doesn't match the lighting or graininess of the rest of the film.
See if the story sounds familiar: The mayor of a coastal resort in Georgia (much of the film was actually shot in Malta) is running for governor and refuses to cancel the city's annual windsurfing regatta even though a shark has already noshed on one contestant. The shark enters the regatta and makes mincemeat of many, rather than taking his victims serially a la "Jaws."
Chastened, the mayor calls in an experienced shark-hunter, Vic Morrow , who has a Scottish accent (Robert Shaw's was Irish in "Jaws." James Franciscus has Roy Scheider's role, but instead of a logical occupation like Scheider's chief of police he is cast as a shark-hunting novelist.
The remainder, interspersed with leaden, irrelevant exposition, consists of the shark taking on various challenges and winning handily, including chomping a helicopter, which is the only original and riveting moment of the 90 minutes.
Your neighborhood seafood restaurant has more drama and marine realism.
GREAT WHITE -- At 17 area theaters.
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' Great White ' Rip-Off
Washington Post, The (DC) - April 24, 1982
Author: Richard Harrington
"I've never seen anything like it in my life!" says Vic Morrow halfway through " Great White ." Of course, after 45 minutes of de'ja viewed shark mayhem, he must be kidding.
And the filmmakers must feel it's been long enough since the visceral shock of "Jaws," because " Great White " is now on 17 area screens . . . and just when you thought it was safe to go back in the theaters.
(Actually, it may not be on those screens for long. Universal Pictures, distributors of "Jaws," succeeded Thursday in getting a preliminary injunction against Film Ventures International, requiring withdrawal of " Great White " from exhibiting theaters, cancellation of all advertising and a recall of all prints. Universal has sued Film Ventures over the new film and a trial is pending.)
Most of the elements are familiar: the Centennial Windsurfing Regatta that's vital to a coastal resort's business; an ambitious mayor (Joshua Sinclair) who's manipulating the local media in a bid for the governorship and refuses to close the beach down; a taciturn shark hunter ( Morrow ) and a likable shark-author (James Franciscus) who've settled in a town where a shark hasn't been seen in 30 years; juicy young kids (mostly with Italian names) who don't seem to grasp the fact that they're being eaten up.
Then there's a 30-foot shark who seems to enjoy playing with his food and who likes to knock all the windsurfers off their boards in a game of underwater pinball; he doesn't even eat them! This is a smart shark who traps a couple of guys in an underwater cave by piling up rocks at the entrance. This is a bold shark who seems unafraid to bite off more than he can chew, whether it be a boat, helicopter or a pier with half a dozen people on it. This is an agile shark with a bit of dolphin blood in him; like an Ivory bar in the bathtub, he spends a lot of time popping up halfway out of the water, begging for food. This is a nasty shark who, just before he sinks his teeth into someone, actually seems to gloat.
Add the obligatory underwater footage as Great White heads for his meals; every time someone steps into the water, there's little guessing about who's coming to dinner. Throw in a quick slide show about Great Whites . Mix up stock footage of a real Great White with a mighty mediocre mechanical Great White (trying unsucessfully to make them look alike). Enhance the muddy picture with a sound track that sounds like it was recorded underwater and, voila , you have, not a shark, but a turkey.
Selected dialogue: "She's gone surfing with the boys . . . must be a hell of a specimen . . . they found something . . . there's something funny here, I don't like it . . . there was nobody in the boat . . . Couldn't it have been something else . . . Good God . . . No explosion did this . . . there's too much at stake . . . No damn shark's going to ruin a whole year's work . . . I'm going for a swim. Who's coming? . . . nothing's going to happen . . . there's nothing to worry about . . . that's a mighty big fish down there . . . what if we don't find him . . . did we get him . . . it's my fault, I should have known . . . he's down there, I can feel it . . . Do you think this thing's going to work? . . . It's my shark! . . . Don't worry,it's just a fish . . . Damn you! . . . BOOOOOM!"
Admitedly, we've come a long way from "The Old Man and the Sea," but it seems a shorter distance between "Jaws" and " Great White ." Unfortunately, it's all underwater.
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