R.I.P., Chief.

Jaws was, for me, the first time cinema grabbed me by the throat and let me see how viseral the movie going experience can be. If you ask someone what Jaws was about...the answer is almost always "a shark". But that's where they miss the boat. Jaws was about a reluctant hero named Martin Brody...a man who lived on an island who hated the ocean....a cop who grew tired of all the crime in the big city...and sought a nice cushy job in the sleepy resort town of Amity. Little did he know, that nature would provide him with a challenge that made the dirty city street crime he left behind feel like a cake walk.

Roy Scheider embodied the role of Chief Brody, and captured the fear, desperation and triumph of a man who only wanted to deal with the local karate class breaking fence posts and keeping the city safe with the help of one lone deputy and an assistant named Polly.

Because Bruce the Shark was constantly misfiring, and was unable to perform 80% of the tasks the script called for...the movie was transformed from what could have been a bad "monster movie" about a man eating shark...into a compelling character study about the men fated to killing the beast.

Had Bruce actually worked as planned, we would not have gotten the well drawn, carefully crafted characters that ended up making the film the classic that it is today. And Mr. Scheider was a big reason for its tremendous success.

The scene where Mrs. Kintner slaps Chief Brody's face...when, in reality, she should have been slapping the face of the man standing next to him...the greedy, and repugnant Mayor Vaughn...was priceless...and made so much of an impact due to Roy's understated work. I also think back to the scene at the dinner table, where Brody shares a quiet moment making faces at his son...who is mimicing his father's movements. That scene goes overlooked...and it's a shame...because that's the type of scenes where Roy turned Brody into a living, breathing person...the man we know is just doing the best he can to insure eveyone's safety...and his family. The man who conquers his fears and faces the problem head on...with the help of an old salt...and a wise-cracking young oceanographer.

By the time Scheider delivers his famous "Smile you son of a bitch" line...and the triumph of finally destroying his nemesis...Roy's pitch perfect performance is realized...and you feel as though a friend has just gotten a demon off his back...not just a movie character.

I saw Jaws 16 times the summer of '75...many times staying in the theater for the next show. I even snuck an old cassette recorder in with me and recorded the entire film so I could listen to it as I dozed off at night. Since that summer...I've seen Jaws dozens of times...maybe hundreds...I can't tune past it when I find it playing on TBS or AMC. And Roy's reprisal of Brody in Jaws II was the only reason to watch that movie. It was like meeting up with an old friend.

RIP, old friend. Thank you for being such a big part of my life these past 30+ years. Hopefully you and Robert Shaw are having a big laugh together right now. Thanks for the memories, Roy Scheider.

"Can you do that, Martin?"...."I can do anything....I'm the Chief of Police".

While an otherwise OK film, the car chase scene was one of the best I have ever seen. And, the end of the chase made me cringe.

Very good. Watch it if you can.

I know it's not a popular opinion, but I love 2010. A lot of people hold the mistaken notion that it somehow diminishes 2001 by its very existence, but I disagree. It's a completely different kind of movie and works very well on its own, in no small measure due to Scheider's great performance.

Other favorites include Marathon Man (why can't modern thrillers capture the sinister atmosphere that so many 1970s thriller seemed to do with ease?), Cohen & Tate (why isn't this on DVD?) and The Fourth War (crap movie, but unforgettable Scheider performance).

R.I.P.

I saw Sorcerer at the theater when I was way too young and of course loved it. F'ing incredible film that burned itself into my memory.

R.I.P. Mr. Scheider

The Fourth War: silly premise that's saved by two amazing performances by Jurgen Prochnow and especially Roy Scheider.

Naked Lunch: One of Cronenberg's masterpieces in my opinion, and Scheider was truly creepy as Dr Benway.

The Russia House, where Scheider, for my money, stole pretty much every scene he was in.

52 Pickup, one of the last of the bare-knuckled Elmore Leonard film adaptations, before Leonard films became all slickened and hollywoodized, where Scheider just owned the screen.

The Myth Of Fingerprints: Roy Scheider's performance as the head of the family was, along with Julianne Moore, the best thing about this strongly acted ensemble drama.

Romeo Is Bleeding: An under appreciated film (that I always loved personally), and an under-rated performance by Scheider in his supporting role as a mafia don.

The Seven-Ups: One of the most unjustly over-looked and nigh on forgotten films of the 70's, and Roy Scheider really was top of his game in this one. Oh, and the car chase *is* better than the ones in Bullitt, The French Connection and To Live & Die In LA. Check it out if you ever get a chance, and you love 70's crime.

Last Embrace: Not a perfect film, but still a quality old school thriller from Jonathan Demme that benefitted greatly from a superb central performance from Roy Scheider.

Of course in addition to all those he was of course fantastic in all the roles that he's most often remembered for: Jaws, Sorcerer, The French Connection, Marathon Man, All That Jazz, Klute, 2010, Blue Thunder, and even SeaQuest DSV. That's quite a legacy to leave behind, and one we're all richer for having experienced.

Cheers to you both.

Last film I saw him in was 2004's Punisher. R.I.P. Roy, atleast at the age of 75 you lived a modest full life wihout scndal and all the usual Hollywood BS. Peace.

Thank you Mr Scheider.