Jaws is a 1975 thriller about a local sheriff, a marine biologist and an old seafarer who team up to hunt down a great white shark wrecking havoc in a beach resort.
Drop what you’re doing and immediately watch Jaws on Amazon Prime. If you haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying this movie then you’re in for a real treat. If you’ve seen Jaws and this is a rewatch for you, then you’re in for a real treat. Jaws is one of the few classic movies that has withstood the test of time. There is a never-ending list of films that time has had a negative effect one. Whether it’s cheesy dialogue or poor visual effects, a lot of movies can really lose their luster the older they get. I’m a huge fan of the James Bond franchise and each film has a special place in my heart, but it’s undeniable that quite a few of the older flicks (here’s looking at you Roger Moore) are plagued by time. That isn’t the case with Jaws. To this day, Jaws keeps viewers on the edge of their seat, prepared to jump out of their shoes at a moment’s notice.
For those who don’t know, Jaws is about the small New England town of Amity as it gets terrorized by a giant, killer great white shark that begins picking off the townspeople. Amity police chief, Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), attempts to put a stop to the shark by aiming to shut down their beaches, but Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) shuts down his efforts due to Amity being dependent on the money it brings in from tourists visiting the beach on July 4th. Eventually, enough is enough, and after another fatal attack on the 4th, the Mayor agrees to let Brody hire local shark fisherman, Quint (Robert Shaw), to track and kill the shark. Quint and Brody, along with Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) who is on loan from the Oceanographic institute, then journey out to sea to kill this monster.
One of the pieces that makes Jaws so good and really aids in building the suspense is the music. If you ask people to name the three most famous movie themes, I can all but guarantee Jaws will be one of them. John Williams kept the score nice and simple and uses only a few ominous tones that crescendo as the shark is approaching its victims. You can feel your heartbeat quicken in tandem with the music. It’s safe to say that Jaws would still be a hit even if it wasn’t for Williams’s, but the score is what sends the movie to the next level of near perfection.
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I love the cast of this movie. It centers on three men who are all very different, but equally intriguing. You’ve got Scheider as the police chief with a heart of gold who is terrified of water, but will do what needs to be done to protect his family and his town. You’ve got Dreyfuss bringing the comic relief as the smart-mouthed and entitled shark expert. Last but not least, you’ve got Shaw as the crotchety and haunted shark hunter who leads the voyage to kill the shark. Any on of these characters by themselves is terrific, but in the second half when the sole focus is the three of them isolated at sea trying to kill the shark, that’s when the real magic happens. Hooper and Quint are continually at each other’s throats about seamanship, Brody is constantly battling his fear of water, and all the while a giant, killer great white shark is lurking nearby. Not to mention we’re treated to one of cinema’s all time famous lines from Scheider, as well as an amazing monologue that Shaw delivers about the USS Indianapolis.
Despite the movie having been made roughly 43 years ago, the visual effects won’t hinder your viewing experience at all. It wasn’t Steven Spielberg’s intention to have the shark on screen for such a limited amount of time (there were countless technical difficulties with the animatronic beast), but that worked out well considering more of the shark could’ve spoiled his perfect thriller. It also shows Spielberg’s true genius to be able to make what was at the time the highest grossing movie ever about a giant killer shark, and the shark is rarely on screen. This is the movie that put Spielberg amongst the Hollywood elite, allowing him to make feature films like Indiana Jones, E.T., and Jurassic Park. It is the quintessential summer blockbuster, and one that absolutely cannot be missed.