Everyone knows the music, everyone knows the suspense, and anyone who is anyone knows that this is one of the best thriller/monster/horror films ever made. Steven Spielberg's Jaws is an incredible film with a great cast and a simple but wildly effective story. It's very difficult to truly describe how influential and legendary this movie is without seeing it yourself and being able to draw the iconic comparisons. The characters are complex, the practical effects are groundbreaking, and the edge-of-your-seat cinematography is sure to make the hair stand up on the back of your head. Adapted from the terrifying novel by Peter Benchley, this movie has practically set the guidelines on how to make a horrifying film of this genre.
Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) is the ironically aquaphobic chief of police on Amity Island, a small town whose beaches and town shops get most of their business during the summertime. When a young girl is killed by an unknown attacker, the residents of the island start to get skeptical about how safe the water actually is. Unbeknownst to all of them, there is a predatorial great white shark stalking the beaches and killing people off one by one. With the help of oceanologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and local shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw), Brody must track down and kill the monster once and for all. This narrative is as classic as it is engaging. There is an endless plethora of monster and water-based shark films nowadays and Jaws has set the bar for how they should be made. Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb's script paired with Spielberg's emerging direction makes this film the amazing story that it is. This movie is a film about hunting a killer shark as much as it is about family and the importance of protecting the ones you love. Brody is shown to be such a family man and even though he has gone through a traumatic experience in the water as a child, does not stop when it comes to protecting his own. Brody is the most interestingly developed character throughout this whole film. The divisive feelings in him between wanting to shut down the beaches while simultaneously having to please the mayor and local government is awesome. Being able to see how torn he was between these different motivations is fantastic character writing and makes for such an interesting story. This of course was aided by the often comedic relief of Hooper and the begrudging stubbornness of Quint.
The performances from these main three actors were amazing. Even though none of them particularly stood out among the rest, they have embodied these now iconic characters incredibly well. All of the technical aspects of this film are what help it to become such an intense experience as they all work together beautifully well. Bill Butler's cinematography is so detail-oriented as he has proven himself a master of framing and composition. There are endless perfect shots from this film that are as legendary as Bruce the shark himself. The timeless John Williams' score has become a staple in pop culture as Williams name has become household commonplace when discussing great soundtracks; this film is no exception. The practical effects done for the shark in this film are legendary as well. This part of the movie would not have been as terrifying if it were done in CGI or any other means than realistically. Animatronics have come a long way since the release of this movie, but that does not change how effective the shark actually is. And of course, Spielberg's direction in this movie cemented his career as an incredible storyteller. The narrative moves along so nicely and maintains an amazing balance of human and shark drama. My only issue with this film is the second half during the actual hunting of the shark. This film is paced so well throughout, but in the second half when the three men go out for the hunt, it seems to drag in many places. Every aspect of the writing was necessary to build up to the final, explosive, scene between Brody and the shark, but there were some establishing scenes while the men were on the boat that I just found a bit dull.
Jaws is a classic and a necessity for anyone who enjoys thrilling experiences. For being more than 40 years old, this movie has held up amazingly well and still manages to get a fright out of me. I would, without a doubt, recommend this film and if you hear "dun-dun-dun-dun" behind you, swim as fast as you can (but you may already be too late).
My Rating: ★★★★½
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