JellyRollGeorge t1_jed74ms wrote on March 31, 2023 at 3:51 AM

I don't think Arnie would get a good signal deep in the Guatemalan rainforest even today though.

wBuddha OP t1_jed7d2z wrote on March 31, 2023 at 3:53 AM

That is why sat phones are now widely available, iridium makes phones just for this, emergencies, to call in the cavalry.

Article in the times, they used an emergency satphone (and an iphone) that brought this to mind: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/world/asia/sailboat-whale-rescue-pacific.html

doc_55lk t1_jed90q9 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:09 AM

Newer iPhones can function as satellite phones too. Just thought I'd add that.

cosmoboy t1_jed8ljo wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:05 AM

Yeah, but Arnie as a military guy, sure he might have a sat phone as standard equipment, but would Roy Scheider have taken one on The Orca? He had no idea what he was after. I think there are a lot of situations where a character wouldn't have a thing regardless of its availability.

wBuddha OP t1_jed96ly wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:10 AM

It was a regular family in the Times article, the boat was equipped, not them, with the satphone.

Roy also wasn't that far off shore, regular cell probably would've had service.

Science Fiction films too, where the protagonist isn't believed, he now has a camera where ever he goes.

drveejai88 t1_jedo6rj wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:06 AM

When you consider Jaws, Shaw was adamant he would be the one to catch the shark. He knew the dangers. It was more a vendetta for him.

That's why the flashback was there. He was hunting the shark on Amity in retaliation for the death of his navy buddies.

So even if his boat was equipped with all the modern communication devices and come to think of it Shaw would not do. His character is more a salt of the earth kind), he would not ask for help. That's why when Brody called for the coastguard, he smashed the radio. He has to be the one to kill the beast.

wBuddha OP t1_jedouxc wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:15 AM

Agreed.

If remade though he'd have to smash the radio and both Matt's and Martin's cellphones.

Spielberg does explain why contextually they don't call for help.

drveejai88 t1_jedp168 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:17 AM

Cell reception will notoriously be spotty on the ocean. Also they say that the shark leads them to deeper waters and more away from land. So cell reception can become more restricted. Or Shaw can merely forbid them from getting phones onto the boat.