Jaws Movie Review

Jaws (1975)

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Written by: Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb (screenplay), Peter Benchley (based on the novel by) 
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Rated: PG
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Plot
A shark terrorizes a small beach town.

Verdict
Combined with a great score, the tension and pacing continue to make people afraid of the beach. We've all wondered what's that brushing our leg in the ocean. Spielberg provides a frightening explanation. Even if you haven't seen the movie, you've heard the title and the song. It succeeds with out blood and gore because Spielberg taps into your imagination.
Watch It.

Review
This movie is the genesis of the summer blockbuster and caused fear in millions of people who began to think twice before entering the ocean. Sixty-seven million people went to the movies  to make this the highest grossing film of all time (at the time) despite it playing in a limited number of theaters. Beaches and hotels had to hate this movie during the summer of '78.

John Williams did a great job on the score, now synonymous with impending terror. At first Spielberg didn't like it, but admitted later the score was half the movie's success.

Brody (Roy Scheider) is the big city cop transplanted to a small town who knows something is in the water, but can't convince anyone to believe him and close the beach. The mayor is concerned about losing money during their busy season, dismissing Brody as overzealous. This is bolstered by the fact that Brody doesn't even like the water.

Fear the water.

Spielberg got the directing job after the first director pitching to executives kept referring to the shark as a whale. The executives dismissed him, not wanting to recreate Moby Dick. I'm glad Spielberg took over. He does an amazing job. Almost every scene has a sense of movement. The camera is rarely still. He capitalizes on the fear of what lurks beneath the ocean's surface. Spielberg is a master at creating anticipation and tension.  We quickly learn that the Jaws theme means watch out.

We really don't see much of the shark, which is a good thing. Numerous shots from the shark's point of view increase anticipation. The one downside to this movie is how bad the shark looks when we see anything more than the dorsal fin, but that fin splitting the water is a classic image.
Spielberg operated within the constraints of the time, minimizing the shark's screen time and for good reason. The shark isn't bad for the '70s, but even a movie today would suffer from the shark looking too much like CGI.

The attacks culminate in Brody, scientist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) taking to the ocean to kill the shark head on. They have no idea what they're up against. Quint is a seasoned veteran and he's killed his fair share of sharks, but this doesn't play out like you might expect.

Spieberg includes two jump scares, and later admitted he got greedy. He stated the audience can only handle one good scare. After that, the effect diminishes. The legacy of Jaws has not diminished. There is a reason it entered the cultural lexicon. It's thrilling and intense.