Customer Reviews

Jaws (Widescreen)

5 star:		(297)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Jaws (1975)
Thriller, 124 minutes
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw

As I continue working on this 100 movies project, I am realizing that my tastes are all over the map. It ranges from 50's black and white dramas set in one room, to foreign language films, to recent blockbusters. In a way, I'm happy to find that I'm open to all types of film. Today's entry falls into the blockbuster category and was the highest-grossing movie ever made in its day.

I remember a conversation with friends when I was 13 telling me that I had to see Jaws. They talked about the shark more than anything, and people being torn apart. I caved and ended up seeing the movie and then I read the book. There are plenty of people who have never lost that fascination for deadly creatures. Would we have Shark Week without Jaws? Why do we want to watch such a creature?

Actually, that's not why I like Jaws.

Jaws works for me because of the quality of the acting and the suspense created by wondering where the shark will strike next. The first hour of the movie sets everything up. Although there's nothing particularly bad about the first half, it's far from remarkable. We see a few attacks and meet the main characters.

Chief Brody (Scheider) is my favorite character. He's intelligent, sensible, practical and calm under pressure. Hooper (Dreyfuss) is a marine biologist who thinks the problem can be solved through the use of modern equipment. The most colorful character is Quint (Shaw), who is experienced and outspoken. This group ends up tracking the shark on Quint's boat and it's here that the movie really takes off.

The movie was made at a time when special effects had to be created by using models and machines rather than CGI, so the shark doesn't look at all realistic by modern standards. Spielberg did his best to overcome those limitations by showing the creature as little as possible. We are shown the attacks, but the camera focuses on the victim rather than dwelling on the shark itself. The fear exists in our minds and we fill in the gaps.

The best scene in the movie takes place on the boat. All three men are drinking. Hooper and Quint begin showing each other their scars. It's a moment of release and humor while they wait for the shark to appear. Brody looks bemused by the whole exchange, but it's clear that the group is bonding. In a lesser movie, all we would see is action and more frequent and bloodier attacks.

Another thing which should be mentioned is the music. John Williams created such a simple score, and yet we will never forget those two notes every time the shark is poised to attack. How often has it been used over the years, I wonder? The movie picked up two Oscars in the technical categories, and also won for Best Original Score.

Jaws deserves its place in movie history. I hope nobody ever suggests remaking it to update the effects. The plot is simple and predictable, but the execution is superb.

this is a great movie but watch it at your own risk of going back into the water yea yea the shark looks kinda fake but the monster is real.

Love this movie! My parents showed me this when I was WAY too young - but who doesn't like being scared!?! Classic!

this is the movie that ushered in a whole new era for movies.the
original shark movie.the movie quickly became part of pop culture
history, and has inspired(and i use that term loosely,for the most
part)many pale imitations and pretenders.but no one has had anywhere
near the impact "Jaws" had and continues to have.this movie did for
swimming in the ocean what psycho did for showering.the movie has an OK
story,but that is not the focal point of this movie.what drives this
movie is the suspense and,at times almost unbearable tension.and that's
coming from someone who had seen the movie at least once before,so i
knew what to expect.the main reason for this is the the musical score
by the great John Williams.his theme for Jaws may be the best ever
written and performed,and also the most famous.the only other contender
in this category is "Star Wars",much of which Williams is also famous
for.i also like the colourful characters,especially the three main ones
played by Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss,i am not going
to say anything about the plot,because it's pretty obvious.if you
haven't seen this movie,you owe it to yourself,and then you can decide
whether it is worthy of all it's praise and lives up to it's
reputation.keep in mind,"Jaws" was released in 1975.what is undeniable
is that this movie revolutionized film-making for years.for me the
movie "Jaws" is a strong 4.5/5

Simply the best movie i have seen in my life!

Based on Peter Benchley's bestseller Jaws tells the story of Chief of Police Martin Brody's attempts to convince the Mayor to close down Amity Beach after a teenager is attacked and killed by a Great White Shark. A second deadly attack on a little boy compels new Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) to force the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) to sign a contract that will allow Quint, a crusty old sailor (Robert Shaw), along with himself, and shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) to hunt the Great White down and kill it.
.
This film is a masterpiece by Steven Spielberg, who in only his second feature film, (his first was The Sugarland Express) blends moments of humour, suspense, and horror perfectly. The shark attacks are graphically realistic. It's moments of horror are truly shocking, such as the shark attack at the film's beginning. One would be remiss not to mention John Williams's terrific and classic score for Jaws, as it sets the tone perfectly for the scenes with the shark. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and Murray Hamilton turn in excellent performances.

As for the DVD itself, the picture is flawless, the flesh tones are perfect, and the sound is excellent. The film is in Anamorphic Widescreen (designed for Widescreen TV 's) with a 2:35:1 ratio, which only adds to the enjoyment of the film as you are seeing it as the director intended it to be seen.

The extras on Disc One of this 30th Anniversary Edition include Deleted Scenes and Outtakes, and From The Set: A Never-Before-Available Interview with director Steven Spielberg. Disc Two has a 2 hour documentary called The Making Of Jaws, featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider, and a Jaws archive, which includes Production Photos, Storyboards, Marketing Jaws and the Jaws Phenomenon. To top it all off, there's a 60 page Commemorative Photo Journal included as well.

In conclusion, this is a great 30th Anniversary edition and Jaws itself is one of those films that, once it gets on hold on you, never lets go!

Highly Recommended!

When Steven Spielberg finished making the smash hit action film DUEL, he began venturing to make another film, scarier, more exciting, and, as well, a money maker. Recently, there was a book written by Peter Benchley called JAWS. Somebody handed it to him, Spielberg read it, and he was interested in making a movie out of it. And that's what he did.
JAWS: The Movie is simply amazing. Scary, exciting, and overall, enjoyable. If those of you like seeing the monster every five seconds, go look at Godzilla, but this rocks. So what if you see the shark for only about half an hour of the movie? (The movie's two hours long.) This movie absolutely R-O-C-K-S. If you have a movie collection BUY THIS SHOW. IF YOU MISS OUT ON IT, SOMEBODY WILL GET YOU.

This film is the heart of all new ideas for movies, the movie is basically a large shark which has inhabited an area where sharks are not usually found. The shark begins to attack people off the coast of amity island, the victims include a dog, a late teenager and a young child. This violent is much more violent that you would expect for a PG and contains scenes of gore, language, and will be scary for younger children.

I loved this film beginning to end, after the first shark attack i knew this was going to be a classic!!!
*****

When director Steven Spielberg set out to create the motion picture "Jaws", he had no idea how much trouble the film would cause him nor just how incredible, exciting, and important it would eventually become.

The film ventures into the world of Amity Island, which is feverishly awaiting its July 4th holiday weekend to create quite a business for the town. But when a flesh-eating Great White shark enters the town's beaches, it is up to the town sherriff (Roy Scheider in perhaps his best performance outside of "The French Connection"), a geeky graduate scientist (the always admirable Richard Dreyfuss), and the town fish gamer (played by Robert Shaw, the film's best performance by far) to save the day.

Spielberg plays the tension like a sneaky household cat ready to pounce on a silly toy. He knows exactly when his temptations will take over and when he will strike, but the audience is left to guess in fear as the shark terrorizes the small island. What makes "Jaws" so great is not just the fine soundtrack by John Williams, the special effects and the lovable shark machine "Bruce", but the fact that it allows the childish fears in all of us to creep up on us and still make the hair on our necks tingle.

Spielberg would later create even more popular and elaborate masterpieces such as "E.T" and "Saving Private Ryan", but for those who truly enjoy film and its impact on an audience, "Jaws" can certainly bite with the best of them.

Steven Spielberg's second feature film (and one of his most challenging projects), Jaws was THE blockbuster event of 1975. Based on Peter Benchley's novel, this very effective thriller set box office records higher than any previous film....and made beachgoers ask themselves if that dip in the ocean was really necessary.

Screenwriters Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb (who also have roles in the movie) wisely jettison the melodramatic aspects of the source novel and focus on the core of the story.

It's summer in Amity, a sleepy Long Island town that depends on "summer dollars" from thousands of tourists who come to stay in seaside cottages (the summer dinks, they are called). When a young girl goes skinny dipping in the nearby sea and is fatally attacked by a shark, Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) is coerced by the mayor and town council to keep the incident under wraps. He reluctantly does so, though he will regret it, for a few days later, the shark claims another victim, a young boy named Alex Kintner.

Finally convinced that there is a shark out there, Amity's politicians and citizens take action...but not wisely. When shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) bids for a contract to catch and kill the shark, the town elders "take it under advisement" and the shark hunt becomes a wild free-for-all seagoing circus.

When shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), called in by Chief Brody to help in the investigation and shark hunt, arrives and sees the shark (which he identifies as a tiger shark) caught by local fishermen, he examines the remains of the first victim. What he deduces is chilling: the deadly creature prowling out to sea is a great white shark.

Jaws is one of those rare movie adaptations that is better than its source novel. The screenplay is crisp and taut, yet with enough light moments and scenes of sometimes wry humor that ease the ever increasing tension, particular when Brody, Hooper and Quint set out to hunt the great white shark....becoming the hunted in the process. Spielberg, only 27 at the time, overcame the difficulties of shooting a movie on the water and dealing with a balky mechanical shark (nicknamed "Bruce"). Jaws also put composer John Williams on the map with movie audiences with his now-famous "shark motif" and would earn him his second Oscar for Best Score.

The 25th Anniversary Edition DVD is excellent. The movie is presented in letterbox format, and the sound and image are above average. The documentary on the making of the film is also first-rate. All in all, a must-get for Spielberg (and action film) fans. --.