Rent Jaws (1975)

A classic of 1970s films - Jaws review by RP

I saw this at the cinema waaaaaaaaay back in 1975 and this was the first time I've seen it since then – guess I must have missed all the times it's been shown on TV! Clearly it shows its age in some minor areas, but overall it holds up very well. It's certainly not a horror film (there's not much blood, and no real terror) but there are a few minor scary moments and a couple of scenes to make you jump. It is rated PG after all. If it were made today there would probably be more blood and guts, and the shark effects would be better. But would it be a better film? Probably not.

'Jaws' turned Steven Spielberg into a household name – and the film is well directed, turning a fairly slight story into an entertainment that stands the test of time pretty well. There is an abiding sense of menace, enhanced by the musical score. It has humour and character development, goodies and baddies, and it has the shark – or does it? In fact the shark is unseen until the very end of the film – and I guess that is one of the strengths of the film – to create that sense of unseen menace.

This is a classic of 1970s films. 4/5 stars. Highly recommended.

Magnificent Piece Of Cinema - Jaws review by GI

Jaws is as close to the perfect film that you'll ever find. It's a perfect balance of suspense, drama and humour with family crisis, political shenanigans, psychological trauma and an age old narrative of man against nature. Essentially a horror film in the monster sub genre mode it has a fantastic episodic start with the various attacks superbly linking into one another and culminating in the final beach attack before the film shifts to the hunt section. On the surface this is a narrative similar to many where the status quo is thrown into chaos by the arrival of an outside force and then reacquired by its destruction. But the clever script sets up subtle subplots which are only hinted at here but are full on in the source novel; for example the tension in the Brody marriage which in the film is about the move to Amity Island from New York, also the honest yet naïve attitude of Brody in a town of self serving businessmen (in the source novel there are mafia connections!). But when you critically analyse Jaws taking into account the impeccable casting and performances of Roy Scheider, the incomparable Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary (immensely good in this film) and Murray Hamilton and not least too the local cast who are fantastic. Editing, music, writing and direction are all spot on with tension, shocks (the death of the little boy is really quite horrendous) and a damn good story. The much reported delays caused by a faulty mechanical shark led to the three main actors perfecting dialogue and character relationships that bring a special warmth and a real feeling for them in their plight. It's a relatively simple one too. The small island community of Amity relies on its summer tourist trade to survive. Newly appointed police chief Martin (Scheider), who has moved there from New York with his family, is unprepared when a series of shark attacks cause fatalities. The island mayor tries a cover up but events lead to Martin, assisted by a shark expert (Dreyfuss), and a grizzled and cynical shark fisherman (Shaw) to try and hunt and kill the shark which proves more of a dangerous adversary than anyone expected. This is fantastic cinema, a film to be enjoyed time and time again and one to reconsider if you've not seen it it in awhile. (Forget all the sequels they are poor)