Review of Jaws (1975) by Reid C — 17 Feb 2014

A string of fatal shark attacks have beached on Amity Island's doorstep in the week leading up to the 4th of July weekend, the Island's biggest tourist attraction of the year. Local Deputy of Chief Police, Martin Brody (played by Roy Scheider), struggles to get the Mayor to understand that the beaches must be closed to prevent any more deaths. Unfortunately, Mayor Larry Vaughn fears the opposite; closing the beaches will ruin Amity Island's summer tourist season, the town's primary income source for the year.

It's not long into the film before we and the terrified people of Amity Island discover that this creature of the sea is not one to be messed with. Unseen for the majority of the film (mainly the first half) Steven Spielberg creates a fear of the unknown. And who doesn't fear the unknown? Clever use of the camera and iconic musical score hints that danger is nearby but for the poor guy on screen, they have no idea what's lurking underneath them. It captures the feeling of helplessness I have every time I swim in the ocean, or even when I was younger just in the local swimming pool. Maybe it was Jaws that made me feel this in the first place!

Throughout the film, floating objects are used to portray the sharks sense of direction. One scene in particular shows an old wooden dock being snapped out of place and dragged out to sea by the shark before turning and charging back to a panicking swimmer. By using the wooden dock not only can we see the unknown but also register it's sheer strength. It's a monster.

I had to wonder who the 'villain' of this film really is. The man-eating killer shark doing what it can to get by or the 'putting everyone's life in stake for profit' Mayor. One shocking scene halfway through the film shows a crowded beach with nobody in the water. The Mayor walks over to a friend, a father with his family, and forces them to get in. They do so unwillingly, their faces read pure fear but eventually it leads to a sea filled buffet for the shark (I don't refer to the shark as Jaws because that's just the name of the film, not the shark itself). It may be shocking but it was a shockingly great way to make the Mayor even more of a douche.

Martin Brody soon teams up with shark enthusiast Matt Hooper and shark hunter Quint. There's some tension between them which is escalated with the fact they are alone on a small boat out in the ocean. It creates exciting chemistry when they are risking their lives trying to catch this beast. Despite having more camera time in this part of the movie, the shark looks and moves incredibly well for a film from the 70?s. It definitely still holds up today.

It's been almost 40 years since it's release and still Jaws remains as one of the best suspense/thriller film ever released. If you haven't seen this film for whatever reason you need to check it out. If you've already seen it before, maybe it's time to watch it again.