Jaws (1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss

Run Time: 124 mins

Certificate: PG

Plot Outline: When a giant Great White shark starts attacking swimmers off the coast off Amity Island in New England, it is up to the town sheriff, a no-nonsense fisherman and a young shark expert to track it down and kill it.

The Review: What more can really be said about Jaws that hasn't already been said? One of the greatest films ever made - period.

Nearly everyone in the Western world has seen this film and rightly so, Jaws is a masterpiece of audience manipulation. It's is full of suspense and sheer horror at times. Who hasn't jumped when the head popped out of the hull of the submerged boat? Who didn't cringe when Robert Shaw was bitten in two? Who didn't get scared when the shark popped its head out of the water when Brodie was chumming? I could go on for ages. There are some many great scenes in this movie.

The beauty of this film was that you hardly saw the shark at all and even though it looks dated now, it packs the punch when it needs to be seen. Jaws was successful because you are usually more scared about something you can't see. It leaves more to the imagination. Spielberg gives us some point-of-view shots from the shark and these are particularly unnerving towards the start of the film when the shark attacks Chrissie and the little boy on the raft. We know the shark is there and we know it's target but the characters don't so the suspense when the shark silently moves in for the kill is gripping. Another more terrifying and infamous sight was seeing the shark fin glide along the water towards its victim. We can see the shark but we can't see all of it. The ironic thing is that the shark doesn't look that good nowadays when you eventually do get a good glimpse of it in the final fifteen minutes. Spielberg has said he wanted to show the shark a lot more but for technical reasons, he was unable to. I'm trying to wrack my brains to think of how many classic scenes Spielberg would have missed out on had he been able to show the shark a lot earlier. Jaws was original and scary back in 1975 and despite countless imitations and inferior sequels, this still ranks as the best. John Williams' legendary score probably made this film what it is. You know when the shark is coming and you know when its going away, as the tempo of the music slows or speeds up. It is just an atmospheric theme and, along with the shower music from Psycho, is possibly the most recognisable in the film business.

The cast is superb but the real meat to the story only really picks up when the three main characters set off on their quest to kill the shark. Roy Scheider plays it perfectly as the straight, fearful cop who's scared of the water but knows he has a duty to perform. Scheider's performance is just so natural, it's like he really was a cop on Amity Island. His reactions to the worsening situation are priceless. To the audience, Scheider is us on that boat and someone we can imagine ourselves being. We can't take ourselves seriously as Hooper or Quint because their characters are too different. But Scheider is the regular Joe in an extraordinary situation and that makes us relate to him. Richard Dreyfuss adds a touch of humour as Matt Hooper and although a little young and inexperienced at this time, he manages to add the necessary youth factor to the film to balance the older characters. Robert Shaw adds grit and determination in his best ever performance as Quint. Whenever he is on screen, he just captivates you with his sheer presence. The three men play off each other very well and as you grow to like them, you grow more concerned for them as the boat slowly starts to sink and the shark gets the upper hand. On their own, the characters don't stand up to much but together, the three play off each other perfectly. There's a grudging respect between everyone but also a growing realisation that the tables have turned and the situation isn't in their hands anymore. There's some brilliant shots of the boat out at sea to convey the sense that these men are isolated and there are only two ways out of this: to kill or be killed.

Final Verdict: In my opinion this is the greatest horror film ever made. It's suspenseful. It's exciting. It's classic entertainment, especially when the trio on the boat realise that the shark is hunting them! Jaws will remain great forever and even today, continues to scare a generation out of swimming in the sea.

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