Jaws

The Steven Spielberg classic that made people terrified to enter the water for ages, the 1975 film, Jaws, has remained in pop culture for many years past its prime for its impact on cinema both on and off the screen. With a soundtrack so eerily infamous that it has been parodied to no end, and with enough quotable lines that even today everybody is aware of where they came from, a fittingly cheesy title that maybe could’ve floundered without proper handling, actually houses an appropriately great film. Set in the seaside coast of Amity Island, a town that is known for its luxurious beaches which it depends on to provide money, trouble arrives in the form of a massive great white shark that has already taken the lives of some of the townsfolk which is putting a risk on any tourists flocking to their one source of major income. The town sheriff, Martin Brody (played by Roy Schneider) wishes to close the beach until the fish is detained but is turned down by the mayor, Larry Vaughn (played by Murray Hamilton) who forces the beach to stay open for the tourist money, even against rational thought. After the situation becomes impossible to ignore with more people being turned into shark chowder, Brody, with the help of a member of the Oceanographic Institute, Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss) and an experienced war-crazed fisherman named Quint (played by Robert Shaw) set out to sea and band together to track down the monstrous killer of the deep in a final showdown to see which side comes out standing. Originally holding the title of the highest grossing movie of all time before Star Wars beat it two years later, Jaws mixes the brilliant build-up and typical unnerving atmosphere of any horror movie, with the engaging narrative and likeable characters of a re-watchable thriller, which in turn provides a perfect sea of success that many still view as a perfect formula to follow to create a perfect summer blockbuster. What it lacks in complexity, it makes up for with enough chills and teeth-grinding build-up to keep the audience anticipated, despite the somewhat blanket ending. It’s a timeless story that has been ingrained in moviegoers mind from the first kill to the last.

Based on the novel by Peter Benchley released in 1974, the set-up is a truly timeless concept. With something as predatorial and simplistic as a shark being the main threat in a location with a very indistinguishable time-zone, nothing about the story can become dated and can still delivery the same sense of dread no matter when its shown. The story isn’t held back by many outwardly distracting elements, keeping the focus centred on the town’s reaction to the constant shark killings and how they wish to remedy it. The directing is very well done by Steven Spielberg, being able to perfectly capture the quaint homely atmosphere of the town as well as its blindingly obsessive nature with perfection and income, even to the point of endanger people’s lives. It also has some of the best build-up in film history and while holding back on revealing the creature may have had its negatives in the long run, the suspense it leaves the audience in after every killing only fuels the fire until the eventual climax. The film doesn’t suffer from its two-hour length either, easily breezing through its first half with a surprisingly engaging plot surrounding the town’s struggle of lasting without its beaches, and how far some are willing to go to see it stay open. With that said, the film could have maybe warranted with a bit more time dedicated to some of the smaller elements, so the environment had even more definable attributes. Based on a written source, it clearly had to cut moments to fit the running time, but many of the characters and the location itself would have benefited with more complexities to draw the audience in more. The screenplay by Benchley and Carl Gottlieb is effective in how it portrayed the strongest qualities of the source material while still improving upon it to exclude some of the less effective elements (like how weirdly unlikeable almost every person is in the story), but that also comes with the trade of certain pieces feeling a little watered down and not as effective as they could be. Also, the film’s climax drags way too long, which is weird when compared to the more laid-back portion of the film that flowed perfectly. While the actual conclusive struggle with the shark is effective and ends on a perfect note, the last hour of the film feels much slower, duller, and way less interesting than the other moments of the film, with only little developments of intrigue being discovered and too many moments of solace in between.

The characters, while simple, are strong enough to carry the movie for its full length. They do give time to let them breathe and feel like genuine people, so when the drama occurs, the audience is with them all the more. Martin Brody is a surprisingly cool character with Roy Schneider doing great in the role and providing a gruff yet still kind individual, the mayor is likeable hateable and played very effectively by Murray Hamilton, Quint is beautifully over-acted by Robert Shaw, and Matt Hooper is a little by-the-numbers and not very well defined but is still acted well while also being a nice foil to Brody. The previously mentioned problem with the story lacking in certain elements is more prominent here, with many of the characters feeling slightly rushed or side-lined to fit in the most important points. Brody’s wife, Ellen (played by Lorraine Gary) is well acted, offers a good supportive role, and proves to have good chemistry with Schneider, but is not allowed to offer much else besides that. The book delves into a far more unlikeable road with her involving an affair which would have removed the likability but would have offered more layers, so its a toss of the coin either way and the character could’ve at least used something else to do outside of just existing as a wife. Characters like her, the mayor, and especially Quint could have had extra scenes like that which could have elevated their presence to a more impactful level. Even the more focused characters could have been developed more even just through small lines like Hooper’s rich upbringing and Brody’s fear of water as those elements do go a long way and maybe that element was lost in translation between adapting the sources (as that does happen a lot), but it still works well enough in the movie to create a defined atmosphere and personality for the town. The people of the town are characterized enough so the panic and extreme reactions from them feel more personality-driven than most other horror movies. The acting from the extras can at times be a bit hoaky, but never to a point that it takes the audience out of the moment, adding an almost B-movie feel which instead expands the film’s tone rather than hinders it.

What people go gaga over the most in this film is the technical precision and how masterfully it worked in this movie based on a more realistic threat. The music done by the infamous John Williams is so simple, and yet so brilliantly composed and executed at the perfect moments that it always leaves an uncomfortable mood. The build up with the heavy and soft instruments blending together to create a slowly growing pace like a beating heart is just exceptional and truly unforgettable. The editing in this movie by Verna Fields is also so precise and intricately done that is is nothing short of perfect for this kind of film (enough to get her an Oscar), with each scene shot by cinematographer Bill Butler in a way that perfectly matches the mood, going between wildly chaotic and fast-paced when in times of extreme panic or hysteria, to slow and steady but perfectly tense quiet calmer moments. This is also cleverly turned around when it comes to the build-up, mainly when shot underwater with the infamous below-sea level shots. At times some of his Spielberg-ism can shine through like his obsession with the lens flair, but not to the level of his other movies. The writing can be a bit too simplistic and frantically acted in moments when it doesn’t fit mood, so the audience will feel more confusion and annoyance than intensity, and aside from a few obvious lines, nothing else feels that interesting. Some scenes, especially during the final hour on the boat, feel way too long and drawn out without much purpose, especially a scene involving a tale of Quint’s past, but while not the most coherent or interesting, it manages to portray the more down-to-earth connectable dialogue fine enough and the acting is strong enough to keep you engaged and make the characters likeable and more human. The technicals on the shark aren’t the best to look at either, even for the time it was made, with the very obvious plastic textures and clear difference between live footage and stock footage, but the build-up is strong enough to make the pay-off work. The film does technically have scares, but not in the traditional sense as while it may have the occasional ‘jump’, it is done with so much more thought and planning out that it never feels cheap, and the more obviously intense moments can leave a sick pit in your stomach that could last the whole movie.

Still seen as a classic to this day and plainly clear as to why, Jaws still manages to hold a place in the memory of many with how it shook the world with its memorable tagline and striking poster, only adding onto it with the movie itself also meeting equally impressive expectations that still hold quite strong to this day. The film has a good strong narrative despite the minimal action, the atmosphere is engrossing as well as effectively frantic, the acting is very good which results in a few decent characters, the scares are well implemented without going proper horror, the score is iconic, the build-up is equally famous, and the cinematography and editing really captures the perfect tone and feel for whatever scene it’s in, especially when underwater. While it could have used more complex elements and added some more stuff from the books in order to flesh out the side characters and environment more, what remains is still a highly memorable and impressive movie that will forever be a timeless tale that coaxes people to ‘’stay away from the water’’. What has been said is only as impressive as what will be seen, check it out and see how that sinking feel of anxiety felt anytime it is shown, will only keep getting deeper.