Comments on: “You’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat”

By: Terry W. Colvin

Terry W. Colvin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:09:28 +0000

I enjoyed his acting, especially in Seaquest DSV . This television series should have in my opinion continued beyond its 1993-95 run.

My wife and I saw Jaws in Tysons Corner, Virginia. She had left Thailand for the first time in January 1974. She laughed a bit at some scenes which I thought peculiar at the time. I attribute this to a cultural viewpoint different from ours. Scary scenes to us Americans (Westerners) are not necessarily
scary to other cultures.

By: windigo

windigo — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:20:01 +0000

He was a great actor, and one of my favorites. I loved the way he potrayed his characters and the compelling nature he brought to them. He was gifted, and made it all look easy. It’s a sad day in Hollywood.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:32:38 +0000

I think “Jaws” is one of those movies I could watch over and over again, forever, probably “2010″ too, and Roy Scheider has to be one of the main reasons for making them so repeatedly watchable (Unlike “2001″, which it took me years to be able to sit through anything beyond the ape sequence, and which I think you could probably cut down to about 30 minutes long without losing anything). He made “Seaquest” something more than it would have otherwise been, much as Patrick Stewart did for Star Trek. I was saddened to hear of his passing, but I think we can all take a moment to join in ceremonious and reverent song-

“Show me the way to go home, I’m tired and I wanna’ go to bed…”

By: kittenz

kittenz — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:12:28 +0000

Quint is a cool name

By: Dr. Strings

Dr. Strings — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:05:15 +0000

Sad news indeed. ‘Jaws’ is one of my all-time favorite films, and turned out to be one of the best movies ever made, in my eyes. A gripping story, a cast that turned out to be perfect, suspense and terror . . . it had everything you could ask for. Scheider was a very underrated actor, but I actually think that worked well for him; he didn’t end up in a thousand mediocre films that would’ve lessened his greatness. Nice to see somebody mention ‘Sorcerer’, another film I enjoyed as a youth and don’t think many people saw.

For those interested in trivia, not many of the leads in ‘Jaws’ were first choices, and it’s a prime of example of alternate choices working out brilliantly together and bringing out the best in a film. The only actor to be Spielberg’s first choice was Murray Hamilton as Mayor Vaughn. Scheider’s role of Chief Brody was offered to Robert Duvall, and Charlton Heston was considered but rejected. Robert Shaw’s role was offered to Sterling Hayden and Lee Marvin; Hayden had IRS problems and Marvin declined, saying he’d rather go fishing. Jeff Bridges, Jan-Michael Vincent, Timothy Bottoms, and Jon Voight were considered for the role of Matt Hooper; Dreyfuss declined originally but later accepted. Peter Benchley wanted Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen in the three major roles, and I assume they would’ve played Hooper, Brody, and Quint respectively. Thankfully, the casting worked out perfectly and couldn’t have been better. On another note, my son Quint is named after Shaw’s character in the film
My condolences go out to Mr. Scheider’s family and friends. He was a great actor and seemed to be an even better gentelman, and he will be missed. He’s entertained millions and will be fondly remembered.

By: kittenz

kittenz — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:35:53 +0000

Scheider was really great in The French Connection. All That Jazz wasn’t my cup of tea, but Scheider’s performance in it was powerful.

Scheider’s classic line “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” was actually his alone; he ad-libbed it. That whole scene is a gem. His timing in delivering that line was perfect.

By: SOCALcryptid

SOCALcryptid — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:38:18 +0000

Wow, there is a lot of good comments above. My sympathy goes out to Kittenz as well. Roy Scheider was one of my heroes when “Jaws” hit the big screen. So sad to hear about his death. He will be missed.

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:39:31 +0000

KITTENZ:

Sorry about your brother. BUMMER.

Ditto the comments about SEAQUEST. That’s the second cast member whom I know has passed away. The other one is Jonathan Brandis, who died WAY too young (suicide).

CHRIS1980:

I liked 2010 but I’m sorry, you CANNOT compare that movie to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Scheider WAS good as the EVERYMAN character (as was John Lithgow, too, who was also in the movie, for those who remember) but the ending to 2010 was WAY too literal, and it lacked the mysticism and mystery of the KUBRICK classic. 2010 may have a place in the 100 best sci-fi films of all time—but the top 10? No way. Peter Hyams is a good director—(OUTLAND, 2010, etc.) but he cannot compare with Kubrick.

Let’s not forget though, THE FRENCH CONNECTION. He almost stole the movie away from Hackman in his own laid-back, quiet way.
ALL THAT JAZZ was great, too.

I also liked him in BLUE THUNDER. Anyone remeber that one?

By: squatch-toba

squatch-toba — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:22:02 +0000

Sad news for sure. What a great movie!! The music was perfect in that film. I could’nt go near a GLASS of water for a month after seeing “Jaws”!!!!

By: mrbf2007

mrbf2007 — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:28:03 +0000

I send out my condolences to you, Kittenz, on your loss. And wow, I am deeply saddened by the death of this great actor. He really brought something to this role which I do not think would have been pulled off by any other actor. The interaction between he, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss was great too, especially the scene where they are comparing scars, which led into the USS Indianapolis story, which led to them singing Show Me The Way To Go Home. A wonderful ten-minute segment which really stands out as a great scene. There was also the scene where he says, “Slow ahead? Yeah, I can go slow ahead. Come on down here and shovel some of this s***,” and the shark pops up out of the water and scares him, which prompts the aforementioned “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” line, which was also spoofed in “Abominable” by Matt McCoy, who said “I’m gonna need a bigger knife.” referring to the Sasquatch creature he had to deal with in that movie. Thanks, Loren, for this wonderful write-up on a great and talented actor.