Review of Jaws (1975) by Thenewspielberg — 30 Mar 2011

Jaws is simply one of the greatest motion pictures of all time. Based on the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, the film opened to audiences around the world and apart from receiving critical acclaim, grossed hundreds of millions thanks to word of mouth and clever advertising.

Three mediocre sequels followed in 1978, 1983 and 1987 but the original from 1975 is THE definitive suspense film. The plot concerns a small New England holiday resort that is being terrorized by a killer great white shark.

The corrupt mayor of the town wishes to regard the numerous shark attacks as boating accidents. However, as the bodies mount it becomes clear to police chief Martin Brody that the problem can no longer be ignored.

So, with the help of oceanographer Matt Hooper and crusty old fisherman Quint, Brody heads out to sea on a small boat in order to catch and kill the shark once and for all. Once they get on open sea, the film suddenly becomes a straight out action-adventure film, which is a genius move by both Spielberg and the producers, because in the first half of the film, the tension is slowly built up notch by notch so that when the viewer wants the shark dead too, then the characters decide to do the same and the way it gradually makes the transition is brilliant.

Also, one cannot review the film without mentioning the iconic musical score by composer John Williams, a frequent choice in nearly all Spielberg's films. The music represents the mindless attack of the shark and it also is accompanied by some traditional swashbuckler music in the less suspenseful moments.

The film's other big claim to fame is the fact that it had one of the most troublesome shoots in film history. The three mechanical sharks constructed for the film rarely worked, and when they did it was only for a short while.

The reason for having three sharks was so that the filmmakers could exercise their control over the shark. The cast is superb also, with Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss all giving their signature performances.

However, the star of the show, as all learned movie buffs know, is really the shark. The film was released on June 20th of 1975 and quickly became the most popular film of all time at that time. It set the record for summer blockbusters since, grossing over 400 million dollars and shooting Spielberg to international fame.

Overall, a classic chiller that belongs in every DVD collection.