“Jaws” changed the American movie industry forever.
Its great success led studios to focus on creating blockbusters for release in the summer, a strategy familiar to almost every moviegoer today. But “Jaws” isn’t noteworthy only for its historical significance.
After 41 years, it’s still entertaining and thrilling.
This movie takes place on Amity Island, a resort community in New England. Police Chief Martin Brody discovers a shark is killing swimmers. After a media circus and some standoffs with the mayor, Brody sets out to kill the shark. He is joined by prickly oceanographer Matt Hooper and a fisherman named Quint.
“Jaws” is an excellent example of the “don’t show the monster” principle. This rule states the longer you don’t show the monster in a film, the scarier it becomes. The audience’s imagination and some music can amplify it more than any costume or special effect.
This approach was partly done out of necessity. The various prop sharks that were supposed to play the antagonist kept malfunctioning. This led director Steven Spielberg to work around them and make his film’s shark scarier than any he could have designed.
“Jaws” wouldn’t be half as scary if it didn’t have John Williams’ score. The famous main theme makes great use of a tuba to create a low, menacing sound. His multifaceted score also creates some spooky wonder, as when Brody and Hooper discover an abandoned boat at night.
The filmmaking of “Jaws” is a lot like the movie itself. It’s unshowy and advances the story in a clear way. There are great tracking shots in this film, but they are not as long as the virtuoso ones in “Birdman.” Instead, they’re short and help the audience better follow the characters’ movements.
The performances in this film are great. Roy Scheider is a good protagonist as the decent Brody. Richard Dreyfuss lends a lot of humor as Hooper. Robert Shaw plays Quint, and he brilliantly delivers one of the film’s best monologues about his character’s experiences on the USS Indianapolis.
There aren’t a lot of well developed female characters in “Jaws.” Lorraine Gary gets a few good moments as Brody’s wife, but she doesn’t have a lot to do. Lee Fierro has one short yet powerful scene as the mother of a child killed by the shark.
Some viewers might think this movie’s pace is a little slow. It still has some thrilling sequences, but there are more relaxed conversation-based scenes in “Jaws” than in a lot of modern thrillers. These scenes flesh out the characters and have moments of subtle humor.
“Jaws” will go down in history as one of the first summer blockbusters.
It would benefit from better female characters and might be a bit slow. But at its best it still has the power to make you afraid to go into the water.
jpastern@indiana.edu | @jessepasternack
