Jaws (1975)

Widely regarded as the film that began the "summer movie blockbuster era", JAWS (1975) was also rightfully one of the year's most critically acclaimed movies. It was also the recipient of an Academy Award Nomination for Best Picture and a winner of Oscars for film editing (Verna Fields) and music score (John Williams). One of the reasons the film received no acting nods is that everyone involved is so good, how could one single out just one or two? (I personally feel Robert Shaw should have gotten a Best Actor nomination, however). Roy Scheider is wonderful as New York cop Martin Brody, who has relocated to a small coastal island town, only to have his bad case of "aquaphobia" put to the ultimate test. Richard Dreyfuss is perfectly cast as a shark expert and provides some truly funny comic bits along the way. Lorraine Gary (who director Steven Spielberg says was the first person to be cast for the film) does an excellent job of being the concerned wife and mother. Finally, there's Murray Hamilton, who gives one of the best performances of his career as Mayor Vaughn, who seems to be more concerned about the economy of the town than the safety of the residents. In a way, Vaughn is really the film's villain. Solid cast indeed. The screenplay (by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb) is tight and well-written, as is Spielberg's direction. Whether it was the mechanical shark's failure to operate correctly or Spielberg's decision to simply see less of the shark until the end of the film, the "less is more" idea works perfectly, particularly in the opening scene, which is chilling to this day.

One thing I do want to add: if you choose to watch this film at home, do yourself a favor and rent or buy the WIDESCREEN version. The full-screen pan and scan version is a travesty that ruins the great camerawork that Spielberg and cameraman Bill Butler made. I always recommend the widescreen version but it is especially important for JAWS.

No offense to fans of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, but this is the film that should have taken home the Oscar gold. Grade: A+

Fmovies: This is the movie that started it all. I'm not talking about the Hollywood blockbuster, or the insane madness that sent thousands of misunderstood Great Whites to their deaths, I'm talking about the beginning of my interest in movies. This is the movie that did it. I couldn't tell you how old I was when I first saw it, but I do remember this is the movie I made my parents rent time and time again when we went to the video store. This is the movie that drove my parents and some of my friends nuts while I watched it day after day after day when my mom gave it to me for Christmas. This is the movie that made me want to turn a real interest in the movies from just a hobby and into a career. For that, I owe Spielberg, Benchley, Scheider, Shaw, Dreyfuss, Williams, Fields and everyone else a sincere and heart-felt thank you. I own this movie on every format in which it is available. I love it that much. I've probably seen it between 200 and 300 times. I guess you can say it is an obsession. A sick obsession. The plot, the pacing, the editing, the score, the acting, and, oh yes, the shark. Who cares that is fake? By the time we finally get to see it, do we care? Truly, a more suspenseful movie was never made. Several come close, but none quite reaches the primal level the JAWS does. No other film so effectively taps into our fear of the unknown, and then gives it a riveting score to boot. No other movie grips us so strongly with heart stopping suspense that we find ourselves nearly falling off our seats. And no other movie leaves us feeling so spent and wasted after a viewing. And the reason for all the fear, suspense and emotional withdrawal is not top-notch special effects. It was the mid-70's. You can barely apply top -notch to anything of that era. The reason the movie does all that to us is that it is a great story. It is filled with real people, who have real jobs, and who have real fears. And who must now confront a real shark. Can you think of anything more terrifying that getting on a rickety, leaky boat to kill a 25-foot shark when you already have a paralyzing fear of the water? I can't. And Martin Brody sure can't. And so, no matter what ranking JAWS may get on AFI's list of the 100 greatest movies, or TV Guides list of the top 50 movies, or any list for that matter, JAWS will always come in number one on mine. Steven, Peter, Roy, Robert, Richard, John, and Verna -- thank you. Not for just giving me a sense of direction in my life, not for just making me want to be a screenwriter, but also for making a movie that still thrills me as much now when I watch it as when it did when I saw it for the very first time.

Many people love Jaws and credit it as their favorite film. It's my favorite, so I have to say happy 44th anniversary!

I think it's a masterpiece mixing horror, action, drama, and humor perfectly. Watched it growing up before every summer beach trip and still do! Thanks Steven Spielberg, Jaws is such an cinematic masterpiece.

Jaws fmovies. A man eating shark is terrorising the holiday island of Amity. Police chief Martin Brody, shark hunter Quint and marine biologist Matt Hooper set sail in the hope of killing the great white monster.

Jaws is responsible for many things, it's responsible for propelling director Steven Spielberg's career into the stratosphere, it was responsible for a downturn in the package holiday trade, and it was responsible for shaping the summer blockbuster release practise's. There are many other things which one doesn't need to bore you with, it's just true to say that Jaws is firmly ensconced in movie history, if one hasn't seen it then one surely knows about it, it is, even today, part of popular culture.

But is it any good? Is it worthy of a long standing reputation as one of the greatest monster movies of all time? Hell yes it is, one or two easily overlooked flaws aside, it busted the box office {world wide} and tapped into a primal fear that resides in the majority of mankind, the unseen that resides in the sea.

Jaws sets out its marker right from the start with a truly shocking and attention grabbing opening sequence, from then on in Spielberg {learning from Hitchcock for sure} tweaks the tension to have the audience living on their nerves, even as character building {by way of Brody's family arc} sedates the pace, we just know that it's all relative to an extension of fear and terror that is around the next corner. After the first victims remains are found Brody glances out at the ocean, Spielberg perfectly framing the shot to say so much that we are about to be witness to. Jolts and shocks pop up from time to time to help build the unease whilst Spielberg makes the audience wait before we even see what it is that so coldly and efficiently destroys man, and then the claustrophobic switch as our brave protagonists are out at sea on Quint's boat, unaware that the giant menace is now hunting them, eyes as black as death itself.

So many great scenes linger for all time in the memory, the entrance of Quint is a hum dinger, a mournful widow reducing Brody to a stunned realism, the Indianappolis monologue, the bigger boat! Just some of the reasons why I personally love cinema so much. The score from John Williams is as effective as any for the genre and Robert Hoyt's sound team's work furthers the dread unfolding. The cast are superb and uniformly excellent, casting aside technical problems {and genuine resentment at times} to portray this story with verve and genuine depth of feeling. Yet Roy Scheider {Brody}, Robert Shaw {Quint} and Richard Dreyfuss {Hooper} were from from original choices, Charlton Heston was wanted for the role of Brody, Sterling Hayden and Lee Marvin were both mooted for Quint, and John Voight was Spielberg's preferred choice for Hooper, whilst Jaws author {and co screen writer here} Peter Benchley was heading for the top by asking for Newman, Redford and McQueen!! Imagine that!

Still it all turned out well in the end because Jaws stands the test of time as one of the best films of its type to have ever been made. No amount of complaining about continuity and a rough looking mechanical shark will ever dim its appeal, even as I revisited it recently for the hundredth time I still got tingles all over my body, file it along side King Kong in the pantheon of Monster Masterpieces, 10/10 always, now go enjoy your dip in the ocean.

I re-watched this film recently and was blown away by the absolute suspense it invoked in me. My daughter (whom is 17) and I were both stunned at the quality and realism of a film made in 1975!! Our TV is 55 inches which showed the movie off to it's full potential and it certainly did not disappoint.

That iconic moment of the young lady going skinny dipping in the dark with her male friend is utterly haunting. You know the horror of what's going to happen, the buoy dinging in the background gives you the chills. Steven Spielberg captures pure terror in that scene.

Jaws completely absorbs you, as the trio of shark hunters venture off to try to snare the great white you begin to feel part of their adventure. You fear for them, get excited with them and dread what will happen next. When that fishing line starts spinning your heart starts pumping. This is pure class.

The dynamics of Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw's relationship(s) work brilliantly. The differences in their characters persona's is such that they rub each other up the wrong way, disrespect one another and wind each other up but in the end they are there for each other and develop a bond that I think surprises them all.

As things begin to unravel your heart goes out to the trio and trepidation is the only way forward. They have the fight of their life on their hands, their bravery is boundless. You feel in awe of them.

An absolute legend of a movie which I am grateful to have been able to watch and enjoy.

Jaws is a movie the I grew up with, it's like the first real horror film I ever watched. What a great one to start with, right? This movie not only scarred me out of the water, I was afraid to go to the bathroom! I thought Jaws was going to pop up out of the toilet and bite my butt! :D I know it was silly, but that was how much Jaws effected me. I know also that it has not lost it's effect to this day. I'm questioning, because it seems like all the terrific horror films came out of the 70's.

Jaws is based on the best seller book by Peter Benchley. Steven Spielberg, before he was STEVEN Spielberg turned this horrifying book and made it into a reason to hate sharks. He brilliantly took what could have been a cheesy movie and turned it into a classic that will never be forgotten. To this day, I still need a friend to hold onto, it's that score! Duh na... duh na.... dun dun dun dun.... Oh, my gosh, that music just scares the heck out of me! On such a low budget, Jaws not only turned into one of the greatest horror movies of all time, it turned into one of the greatest movies, period.

Jaws starts off with one of the most terrifying scenes in horror movie cinema, a young pretty girl goes into the water and is brutally attacked and killed by an unknown creature in the water. The next day Chief Brody investigates suspecting a shark attack, and urges the mayor, Larry Vaughn, to shut down the beach, but afraid of a panic and less tourists, Larry ignores the chief's suggestions and keeps the beach open leading to another attack on a young boy. Brody calls in Matt Hooper, a marine scientist to see if they can find the shark. But when another attack ensues and almost kills Brody's young son, Michael, he, Matt, and a cocky man, Quint go out to find Jaws themselves.

This turns into several of the greatest cinematic scenes of all time, like the "Indianapolis" speech brilliantly given by Quint, how he describes seeing his first shark was just so intense and you couldn't turn away from the screen. Then, one thing that is interesting about this movie, you do not see the shark until Brody is just chucking blood to attract the shark over his shoulder and Jaws appears roaring out of the water! "We're gonna need a bigger boat!" he replies to Quint. And then the scene where Jaws jumps onto the boat and Quint is trapped sliding into Jaw's, well, jaws! That's the scene that nightmares are made out of! Jaws is one of my favorite films of all time. It's one of those films that should never be missed, because it is so important. To many, including myself, the shark looks fake, but it's your imagination that gets with you. Spielberg embraced that and you could tell there was just something special about him. Jaws will scare you out of the water just like The Exorcist scared you to the church!

10/10