Review of Jaws (1975) by Jeff B — 14 Jul 2014

Still swimming mightily in the hippest of H'Wood waters, film's first bona fide summer popcorn blockbuster possesses as thrilling and entertaining a bite as it did nearly 40 years ago. And yes, the rubber mechanical shark still looks a bit dodgy. It looked dodgy back then as well, however, which is why the captain of this ship hid it away until nearly the end of the film...well, that and the fact that it luckily kept breaking, that is. Granted, Jaws didn't invent the genre. In fact, the film employs a Hitchcockian style of suspense in building up to a slowburn reveal of the actual shark. And, at its heart, the film remains a first-rate monster movie that often baits its audience from the creature's underwater point of view in the tradition of Universal horror classic The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Indeed, a certain soon-to-be legendary director knew his film history which is a major reason why he became a part of film history. Because of his vision, all aspects - from letter perfect performances to expertly written script to powerful score to masterful direction - amount to a ridiculously exhilarating scaremaker of the highest order--then, now, and for years to come.

In this surprisingly PG-rated thriller, a police chief (Roy Sheider), marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss), and seasoned fisherman (Robert Shaw) set out to stop a gigantic great white that's threatening the island town of Amity during its busiest tourist season.

Regardless of the legendary technical problems that plagued the process, the production also boasted a weapons grade talent who still would've been on a superstar trajectory whether the mechanical shark worked or not. Indeed, the path to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., The Color Purple, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and Lincoln may've been different without Jaws, but this director was always bound for greatness. Spielberg cut his teeth on television (Rod Serling's Night Gallery, Marcus Welby, M.D.) and already had a few flicks under his belt (Duel, Sugarland Express), but consider that his landmark filmmaking touchstones were already in full effect in Jaws. Framing ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Maintaining humanity and morals while facing inhuman terror. Finding humor even in the most horrific of moments. Zoom-in close ups of his star's awe-struck faces. It's all there, along with soon-to-be frequent collaborators John Williams (giving us an unforgettable - admit it, it's playing in your head right now - score) and Richard Dreyfuss (giving us a quirky career-making performance). Roy Scheider, who Spielberg admired in another '70s classic called The French Connection, brings an authentic feel to the lead character, Police Chief Brody, which grounds the drama all the more. Luckily, the script developed the players beyond caricatures. Perhaps, no character evinces this more than Robert Shaw's Quint, who turns from a salty son of a sea cook into a tortured survivor with one speech that gets burned into your mind forever from the first time you hear it. When talk came of Jaws 2, Spielberg initially wanted nothing to do with the inevitable sequel. At one point during pre-production of the film, however, he reportedly entertained one possibility. What if they made it a prequel based solely on Quint's searing USS Indianapolis speech, a chilling first-hand account of hundreds of sailors getting picked off by sharks in icy waters following their vessel getting torpedoed that was written by writer/director John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn)? The sharks at Universal, of course, said 'no.' Perhaps, this muted prequel idea remains one of H'Wood's greatest unfulfilled coulda-beens. Without this follow-up, we'll just have to make do with the scary near perfection of Jaws. Lucky us.

Bottom line: Here's to STILL swimming with bow-legged women.