Jaws (1975)
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss
Plot: Martin Brody is a new police chief on Amity Island, a New England island that depends on tourism
during the summer. But when a shark starts attacking people by the shore, at first the businessmen and the mayor disregard the danger. But when more people are killed, its up to Brody, a marine biologist, and an experienced shark hunter to try and kill it before it claims more victims.
Good: If there's one thing that Steven Spielberg loves to do, it's scaring people, and Jaws certainly delivers on that aspect. It's not the gore that brings the scares (although it certainly helps), it's the suspense. You never know when the shark will strike next or who will be the next victim. The special effects are also very well done. From what I've heard, there were many technical difficulties with the animatronic shark, and it was a smart move for them to work with what they have, and only rarely show the shark, and this helps build the suspense and let the audience's imagination scare them, which is a common trope used in horror movies. Another great aspect of this movie is the casting, which is absolutely fantastic. All the actors do an amazing job, but my favorite would have to be Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper, who gives a great mix of charm, intelligence, and humor needed for a movie like this. The dialogue is also fantastic, with the best scene in the movie being where Quint (Robert Shaw) describes his encounters with sharks in World War 2. John Williams' iconic score is amazing, and makes the suspense even more heightened, with a few exceptions. One element that I find particularly good is the fact that, for most of the film, the shark isn't treated like a supernatural monster, but as just an unusually large an aggressive great white shark. This is the factor that I believe elevates it above your standard horror flick.
Bad: Despite all of these good qualities, Jaws does have some flaws. For example, sometimes the score (while great to listen to) sounds out of place in some areas, like when it sounds to much like a fun adventure when it should be playing the more suspenseful section of the music. Also, the pacing does feel uneven in some parts, especially near the end, where the pauses between action scenes only last about thirty seconds. Another pacing issue is that all the attacks happen in the first half of the film, the hunt for the shark takes up the last half. It would've been better for the story if the attacks were more evenly spaced throughout the film, rather than have all of them in so close together. While I did say earlier that for most of the movie the shark is treated like a real animal, in the last few scenes, the shark starts feeling more like a monster, with it deliberately attacking the boat instead of swimming away. One minor nitpick is that it annoyed me that nobody except the main character listens to the scientist. This is a common trope in movies that can get pretty old. However, my guess is that the audience was supposed to feel this way, and therefore I'll let it slide.
Trivia:
Final Verdict: Despite its flaws, Jaws is still a very entertaining movie, with great acting, great writing, and great effects. It was interesting to see the film that would make Spielberg a legend for years to come. I would recommend it to fans of horror, action, and/or (of course) Spielberg.
Bad: Despite all of these good qualities, Jaws does have some flaws. For example, sometimes the score (while great to listen to) sounds out of place in some areas, like when it sounds to much like a fun adventure when it should be playing the more suspenseful section of the music. Also, the pacing does feel uneven in some parts, especially near the end, where the pauses between action scenes only last about thirty seconds. Another pacing issue is that all the attacks happen in the first half of the film, the hunt for the shark takes up the last half. It would've been better for the story if the attacks were more evenly spaced throughout the film, rather than have all of them in so close together. While I did say earlier that for most of the movie the shark is treated like a real animal, in the last few scenes, the shark starts feeling more like a monster, with it deliberately attacking the boat instead of swimming away. One minor nitpick is that it annoyed me that nobody except the main character listens to the scientist. This is a common trope in movies that can get pretty old. However, my guess is that the audience was supposed to feel this way, and therefore I'll let it slide.
Trivia:
- The famous line "You're gonna need a bigger boat" was not in the script originally, and was improvised by Roy Scheider.
- The shooting star that appears in a scene that takes place at night was a real and happened to show up when they were shooting that scene.
- During the filming process, Steven Spielberg named the animatronic shark 'Bruce', which was later the name of a shark in Finding Nemo.
- This film is considered to be the first blockbuster, and changed the way movies were made and marketed.
Next time, we'll get a look at the unknown, the unexplained, and the mysterious with Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Stay tuned
