Scott, love this movie and love this scene. The first time I saw “Jaws” I knew fate was going to catch up with Quint and he wouldn’t survive this encounter with the shark. But as brilliantly written as this scene may be, do you think the studios would allow it today? Would they edit it to get to the next action sequence more quickly?

I thought the orchestration from Spielberg was spot on: this horrifying story, a peek into what makes Quint Quint, that eerie silence and then BAM!

This is a great scene. I read somewhere that there are five types of monologue. Anyone know what they are?

justwrite7, in answer to your question, unless the movie in question had a (A) super heavy hitter director ala Spielberg, (B) a super heavy hitter actor ala Pitt, and (C) a super heavy hitter screenwriter ala Zaillian, I doubt it. The other way a monologue this long might slip through is in an indie feature. But your main point I think is accurate: Mainstream movies today for the most part reflect the 'quick cut' mentality that has taken hold of visual storytelling since the advent of MTV music videos.

H, this is not an endorsement, but I did find this book that claims to specify 5 types of monologues.

Of course, I have my own 5 categories for monologues:

Great monologues
Good monologues
Average monologues
Poor monologues
Shitty monologues

That's probably not what you're looking for. ;)

The link to the video doesn't work but you can go to:

Quint Monologue

and watch it. Brilliant performance and the editing is perfect how they hold on Quint for so long before they cut to the reactions of the others.

"Quint's tale of the USS Indianapolis was conceived by playwright Howard Sackler, lengthened by screenwriter John Milius and rewritten by Robert Shaw following a disagreement between screenwriters Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Shaw presented his text, and Benchley and Gottlieb agreed that this was exactly what was needed."

I’ve always loved that scene. But wondered how it could break the “Show Don’t Tell’ rule and get away with it so well.

After cogitating on it for a good bit, I don’t think it does. It’s actually showing, not telling.

The tragic story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis has little relevance to the story.

What the scene really SHOWS is the respect and fear that Quint has for sharks. If this badass shark hunter is as afraid of sharks as he seems, then we (the audience) should expect more than just civilized fishing expedition.

The stakes have been raised, the tension ratcheted up by showing us Quint’s dread of sharks.

My two cents.

Uberpossum, that's a damn good point. By seeing Quint's feelings about sharks, so clearly etched in his face as he recounts this story, he ratchets up our fears.

And now that I think about it, you can draw the parallel with Peter Finch / Howard Beale's great "I'm as mad as hell and not going to take it anymore" monologue in Network. His rant about the insanity of modern living is reflected in his own crazed behavior, which gets conveyed to the viewer.

Great observation!