Now Playing: Jaws (1975)
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Being a rather avid classic movie fan, it took me a long time to see Jaws - the 1975 classic Steven Spielsberg film. Based on the Peter Benchley novel (who makes a cameo in the film as a news reporter), Jaws was a blockbuster hit back in its day and remains one of Spielsberg's most famous and historically important films. The film is anchored by three terrific actors - Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. Couple them with a young, brilliant director in Spielsberg, and you have the makings of a classic on your hands. Jaws is brimming with thrills and biting suspence (no pun intended!). I felt on edge watching this film hoping that the three protagonists would ultimately vanquish the mighty shark.
From an artistic and historical standpoint, this film is rich in aesthetic and cultural content. All of the famous "wipe" transitions used on the daytime beach sequence with Scheider's character (Chief Brody) looking out at the water - has got to be one of the most famous movie scenes in the latter half of the 20th century. It seemed to be something out of Alfred Hitchcock's playbook, but ultimately Spielsberg makes it his own. There are also tons of famous lines in this film, including: "You're gonna need a bigger boat", and the humourous line "That's some bad hat, Harry." Some of other famous sequences is when the grizzled Quinn (expertly portrayed by Robert Shaw) makes his unique entrance by scratching his nails across a chalkboard.
Jaws was a film that blended terrific thrills, with great acting and dialogue, and the implications of greedy business practices. In addition to that, the great Man Vs. Beast paradigm is at play full force here. What also makes it such a stunningly horrifying film is that the fear feels so real - as apparently this film scared audiences so much back in the day, that people were shying away from the water that summer. Fear can envelop in any way, whether it is Quinn describing his previous flirtations with death, or Brody trying to tackle his own phobia with water, or by seeing the intense fear in the eyes of Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) when his analytical brain gets a more vivid real life hands on exposure with this dangerous shark.
It's a fine film to behold and to watch - if you've never seen it before, you owe it to yourself to see it as you'll be wholeheartedly entertained. It did indeed take me a while to see it, but I was totally swept up in it, and even though so much of Jaws has penetrated our mainstream culture (and deservedly so), the original film with all of its famous scenes and lines, will seem fresh and genuine. Once you hear that famous John Williams score, you'll be in for one wild ride. And then once you see the great shark for the first time, you'll definitely jump out of your seat.
-Kurt L.
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Updated: Monday, 5 July 2010 10:53 AM EDT
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