When an insatiable great white shark terrorizes the townspeople of Amity Island, the police chief, an oceanographer and a grizzled shark hunter seek to destroy the blood-thirsty beast.
- Released: 1975-06-18
- Runtime: 124 minutes
- Genre: Adventure, Horror, Thrillers
- Stars: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Murray Hamilton, Lorraine Gary, Chris Rebello, Jay Mello, Jeffrey Kramer, Carl Gottlieb, Susan Backlinie, Jonathan Filley, Lee Fierro, Jeffrey Voorhees, Craig Kingsbury, Phil Murray, Fritzi Jane Courtney, Belle McDonald, Ted Grossman, Robert Nevin, Peter Benchley, Dorothy Fielding, David Engelbach, Joseph Oliveira, Beverly Powers, Ayn Ruymen, Christopher Sands, Rex Trailer, Joe La Creta, Denise Cheshire, Steven Spielberg
- Director: Steven Spielberg
Comments
- SynRQ - 30 June 2024
(J)Awesome
A new sheriff of a popular beach-side tourist spot must fight the chains of local politics and a bloodthirsty shark. When I saw this movie when I was younger I thought it was alright but now older I found much more value/care this time around. I felt the intro was really strong and it greatly benefited from great framing/composition. In fact the camera work throughout the film was top notch and brought life to many scenes. The film does well in mixing horror and adventure tones together and the use of well executed humor makes the characters more human. The actors do a good job at fulfilling their roles and the dialog makes the characters more investing and understandable. The music needs no further examination on its brilliance, obviously.
I will say at some points the animatronic felt stiff and at points seemed like the design was slightly off from an authentic great white shark. Some actions/motivations felt narratively forced, like in such scenes as the boat radio (and a few more in that last shark hunt session). Overall a great movie that deserves its place among great films. - mtogliatti - 9 May 2024
A Mesterful Piece of Horror
I recall waiting in line to watch this movie in 1975. It was in such demand we went with friends to a movie theater on an Air Force Base as the lines were considerably shorter.
I have always loved great horror movies, more specifically monster movies (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, King Kong, etc) but none are as terrifying as Jaws. Other movies are still phenomenal but you often have to make excuses for how they age. The special effects or make up may be dated. Maybe great for the time the movie was made but still dated.
Jaws is NOT one of those movies. Probably due to the Hell Bruce put the director through the movie had aged wonderfully. Since we seldom see the shark or when we do it is often in passing, the suspense and terror builds in our imagination and becomes more and more intensifying.
I recall women from another generation avoiding showers due to Psycho. Well our generation and anyone who saw Jaws can't help but hesitate just a bit before entering the ocean. I still don't feel comfortable all the time and I snorkel and scuba dive. Damn you Spielberg!!!
As a footnote: My kids lived and were terrified by the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Orlando! They were bummed when it was removed. We all were.
