Jaws

Jaws (1975)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary

From: Universal

I could have sworn I had reviewed this movie already for this site but I was mistaken after I looked last night; so, late in the night I decided to revisit the film via the Blu disc I have in my collection. I don't think I need to state what the plot is about so let me skip ahead to the Letterboxd review:

Here's another film I am giving a much better review to than the one I originally did back when I first joined this site early last year. I also realized I was a real dope for not giving this the highest possible rating so I rectified that mistake after watching the Blu disc last night; by the way, the disc is pretty tremendous overall and the picture is outstanding.

I am ashamed to say this but it wasn't until an adult that I actually saw this in full; it happened to be on the big screen so that was nice, even if I saw it with only like a few other people. It reminded me what my mom said when she first saw the movie (with her dad) back in '75 and even though she was an adult at the time it still terrified her. Also, at the time you could oversell a theatre so much that people had to sit in the aisles. Anyhow, I have seen it more than once since then.

I don't need to spend much time talking about how it really did have an impact on history in several ways, from it (for better or for worse) creating the Hollywood blockbuster, to its iconic score... from how it did make many people wary to go into the ocean for years afterward to the unfortunate side effect of making people so terrified of any shark that it likely led to various species of shark being on the endangered species list. So, let me talk about the movie itself, although I can't add much that hasn't been said better by other people.

What a fortuitous break it was for the mechanical shark (Bruce) to be largely out of commission, thus morphing the film into a “less is more” proposition where you rarely see the shark but when you do, it has an impact. Less is more can certainly work, and I wish Hollywood would pay more heed to the idea. The way the movie is filmed and how great the story is a big aid in the sparing use of the shark being effective. There is iconic film-making here, from the zoom on Brody's face to ol' Bruce suddenly popping up out of nowhere.

But, what makes this 5 stars are the thread lead characters of Chief Brody, Matt Hooper and Quint; not only are they all interesting multi-layered characters but they are brought to life perfectly by Roy Schieder, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. The way they interact with each other is perfect, which is fortunate as the trio had to spend a lot of time with each other. Apparently Shaw and Dreyfuss did not get along at all during filming, but that was an asset with the characters when they argued with each other in the film. The scene that everyone knows as “the U.S.S Indianapolis scene” … still iconic even after the numerous times I've seen that particular 5 or so minutes.

The shoot wasn't easy, with tempers being lost easily & the crew almost mutinied against Spielberg, but damn if they didn't create an incredible movie still loved and beloved today.

I'll return tomorrow night.