Emily Blunt has seen her “perfect” favourite movie of all time “about 30 times”
Rising to prominence throughout the late 2000s, actor Emily Blunt now operates at the height of Hollywood cinema. Performances in esteemed pictures like Oppenheimer have robustly supported roles in some of the industry’s fluffier side.
It is a delicate balance to strike, but Blunt has managed to do it with grace and charisma, providing not only great performances but a likeable off-screen persona that has endeared her to millions. Striking a balance between being a respected thespian and a mainstream movie star is no easy feat—but you wouldn’t know it from the way Blunt has seamlessly moved between both worlds throughout her career.
Now carrying a loyal following of fans, Emily Blunt has recently revealed more about her industry inspirations, telling Rotten Tomatoes that when it comes to her favourites, she often looks to such directors as Steven Spielberg, Robert Benton, Rob Reiner and Miloš Forman. Picking out Kramer vs. Kramer, The Princess Bride, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Lives of Others as some of her all-time top picks, none of these films better the influence of one particular 1970s blockbuster.
“Jaws is my favourite film of all time,” Blunt reveals to the publication, noting the Steven Spielberg classic, which scared a whole generation of people to avoid the open water, as her coveted personal pick. The movie is wracked with doom and has since defied categorisation, with it falling between horror and thriller. But that doesn’t mean it’s a picture to watch once and move on.
In fact, Blunt herself admits to being somewhat addicted to the movie: “I’ve seen it about 30 times. Even though it has a ludicrous backdrop of them trying to find this Great White shark, I think it’s a film about people and relationships — and I just think the performances are fantastic,” Blunt lovingly exclaims.
“I do think it’s a perfect movie,” Blunt explains, giving no let-up as she rains compliments down on the film, praising it for its “amazing characters” and special, “very commercial, suspenseful backdrop”.
Released in 1975, the film is credited for sparking the modern Hollywood blockbuster, with audiences queuing around the block (hence the term) to see the brand new shark flick that was advertised with heavy merchandising. The model of the film’s release would go on to influence Western cinema in the remainder of the ‘70s and into the 1980s, when the industry became obsessed with the ‘movie franchise’.
Spielberg tapped into the vulnerable psychology of fear, and the film’s impact was so great that many people avoided water bodies altogether. “I was naive about the ocean, basically. I was pretty naive about Mother Nature, and the hubris of a filmmaker who thinks he can conquer the elements was foolhardy,” Spielberg reflected. “But I was too young to know I was being foolhardy when I demanded that we shoot the film in the Atlantic Ocean and not in a North Hollywood tank.
“But had I to do it all over again I would have gone back to the sea because it was the only way for the audience to feel that these three men were cast adrift with a great white shark hunting them.”
Leaving an indelible mark on the fears of an entire generation, Jaws was known for terrifying audiences at the time, with Blunt adding, “I know so many people worldwide who became victims of Steven Spielberg and will not go in the water”. This extends to the actor herself, revealing she was scared of the film for a long time, adding she’s “still terrified” of sharks to this day.
