Jaws

Genre: horror/suspense
Director: Steven Spielberg
Release: 1975
Studio: Zanuck-Brown Prodns - Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 8.2/10


No Time to Reach for the Munchies


Thirty years ago, when I first saw JAWS, I was bowled over by its tale of a giant shark terrorizing Amity Island. On seeing it again recently and even with some recollection of its outcome, I can honestly say that it still gave me the willies.

Don’t be fooled like Chrissie, the unsuspecting swimmer in the opening scene: danger is everywhere. In much the same way as Martin Scorsese in CAPE FEAR, Steven Spielberg goes for the jugular, as relentless as the Great White in his fish story. Confronted with such Technicolor terror, victims and viewers are not given much of a chance, except for John Williams’ instantly recognizable score as a lone and urgent warning.

JAWS is a tight and visually breathtaking epic inspired by MOBY DICK, peopled with adventurers, sleazeballs, frightened vacationers and a beast to match them all. The script is buoyed by stellar acting; Roy Scheider shows his stuff as a well-meaning sheriff overwhelmed by events and Richard Dreyfuss is suitably manic. Warning - spoilers ahead! As for Robert Shaw, the crusty Quint, a man reminiscent of Ahab, his turn is riveting but thankless; in town, he was despised by most and his horrible demise didn’t even elicit a belch from his aquatic nemesis.

On the negative side, the script seems a bit heavy-handed. The shark fin scene might be deemed “overkill” – pun intended. Roy Scheider’s presence for the final trek surprised me since he was a landlubber but the script obliged him as the man in charge of the charter, allowing him to redeem himself and to utter one of the more memorable quotes in movie history – one worthy of Clint or Arnold. And the ending, despite its power, is somewhat tainted by a cute remark… but I am quibbling here, nothing more.

Enough said. Feel free to admire this violent and spectacular movie. Don’t miss that shot where the sheriff is suspended just above the ocean’s surface, a dark silhouette contrasting with the shimmering sea around him, a metaphor of life struggling with imminent death. This is a classic, mates.

MBiS

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