Review of Jaws (1975) by Jon T — 04 Apr 2014

About a bloodthirsty shark terrorizing innocent beach-goers, JAWS was the first of its kind to become define the term "blockbuster" hit, grossing over $100 million at the box office in its 1975 year of release.

It also put a then unknown Steven Spielberg on the map as a skillful director. Humorously, though, JAWS went through a LOT of difficulties during production period, mainly on account of a "mechanical" shark that malfunctioned more often than not.

But you wouldn't know this from watching the end result. The film is tightly edited (using whatever "usable" footage of said shark could be used), and arguably benefits from a lot of moments where we don't actually see the shark as it stalks its next victim, but follow its point of view.

(This was mainly due to complications with the technology back then.) But it was John Williams' foreboding, thumping score that really set the tone for this energetic thriller. Having said all this, what really makes JAWS is the dynamic between Roy Schieder, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw as the heroic trio who set out to kill the shark.

All three are fleshed out as compelling, interesting characters that allows the audience to identify with them, making the grand climax all the more satisfactory. JAWS spawned three (dubious) sequels of degrading quality, but the original remains a classic, and deservedly so.