Jaws is a 1975 adventure/horror film about giant great white shark arrives on the shores of a New England beach resort and wreaks havoc with bloody attacks on swimmers.
Today’s Netflix Pick is one of the greatest movies ever made, a thriller that changed everything about what a horror movie is while creating the summer blockbuster. Starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss, this classic remains one of the most influential monster movies all of time, establishing a genre that is still going to today. It’s Jaws and it’s what you’re watching tonight. Here’s why.
THE STORY: Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, the story follows a local police chief named Martin Brody (Scheider) who has recently moved to the tourist island of Amity. Not long after, the place comes under siege by a giant great white shark that starts racking up a body count. Brody calls in a marine specialist named Matt Hooper (Dreyfuss) and along with ornery fisherman Quint (Shaw), head out to sea to track and kill the beast. Not so easy it turns out as this shark is one formidable animal that seem relentless in being king of the beach.
RELATED: Take a closer look at the Poster of Jaws and the story behind it.
WHY YOU NEED TO WATCH: Thank goodness Spielberg is the one who got his hands on this tale because it is his flair for storytelling that wholly makes Jaws so compelling. He’s always understood that there is no reason to fear any monster in the movie if you don’t care about the characters they are chasing. From Poltergeist to Jurassic Park, he’s continually put the most effort in developing the people in the story so we become invested (and moved) by their fates. So it is here as well with three very distinct and colorful personalities that come together to face a common foe. It is the small details about these people, the traits that come to define them that make watching their adventure so exciting. Not too mention it’s one heck of a cool shark. Mix that with one of the most thrilling movie scores ever composed (by John William) and this is a film you have to watch. It’s streaming on Netflix right now.