EIFF and RSNO team up for Jaws in concert
Duuun dun duuun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun BOM BOM dun dun dun dun dun dun doo dedoo doo dedoo dede doo dede doo dededoo – now imagine that with a full orchestra, and you're halfway to EIFF's orchestral Jaws night
Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF)'s collaborations with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) have become one of the most popular events at the long-running film festival. At recent editions we’ve seen films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Raiders of the Lost Ark play live with the wonderful musicians of the RSNO, and this year another Steven Spielberg film and John Williams score is getting the EIFF-RSNO live score treatment: Jaws.
Released in 1975, Jaws, a shark attack saga that invented the summer blockbuster and put millions of moviegoers off dipping their toes in the ocean, was the first score John Williams wrote for Spielberg, and it proved instantly iconic. Film fans only need to hear a few notes of the famous ‘dun dun’ theme associated with the eponymous great white shark to break out in a cold sweat. “John Williams has made our movie more adventurous and gripping than I ever thought possible,” wrote Spielberg in 1975.
Williams was as excited about the collaboration as Spielberg. "I came out of the screening so excited," said Williams at the time. "I had been working for nearly 25 years in Hollywood but had never had an opportunity to do a film that was absolutely brilliant. I had already conducted Fiddler on the Roof, and I had worked with directors like William Wyler and Robert Altman and others. But Jaws just floored me."
You can relive the thrilling suspense of Williams’ music and Spielberg’s filmmaking when Jaws screens at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre on Friday 22 June as part of EIFF. “It is impossible to imagine Jaws without John Williams’ serrating score,” says RSNO Chief Executive Dr Krishna Thiagarajan. “The experience of hearing this marvellously malevolent music live, accompanying the screening will be an unforgettable occasion. We cannot wait to get our teeth into it!”
JAWS in Concert, Festival Theatre, 22 Jun. Tickets on sale now at EIFF Box Office, by phoning 0131 623 8030, or online at edfilmfest.org.uk
The 72nd edition of EIFF runs from 20 Jun-1 Jul