Jaws

The premise of Jaws- a giant, man-eating shark wreaks havoc on the locals of small town Amity and the numerous tourists visiting for the 4^th of July-could lend one to believe (if knowing nothing else about Jaws) that this is another cheesy, typical “B” film “monster-movie.” This is certainly not the case, seeing as how Jaws essentially launched Steven Spielberg’s career (he was 26 at the time of directing it) and it made him a household name. Jaws is considered by many to be a masterpiece, and one of the most noted aspects of the film is how effective the tension and suspense is, owing greatly to the fact that the shark isn’t revealed until the end of the film.  Was this an ingenious creative decision by Spielberg? No. It was actually due to technical problems they were experiencing with the animatronic shark. It was, in a sense, a happy accident, but does this diminish Spielberg’s credit in directing what some believe is the greatest movie ever made? It shouldn’t, because Jaws and his following hits have given him the title, in many peoples’ eyes, the “King of Hollywood.” Spielberg turned the shark issue around by utilizing underwater shark POV shots in combination with John Williams infamous score to help instill the fear in the audience and build on the theme of “the fear of the unknown.”  The late reveal of the shark was not the only great element in the movie, for story and dialogue, editing, acting, music and sound all come together to make this an exciting, well crafted film.

            One of the things that makes this such a good film goes down to the blueprint itself- the script. The dialogue is just really good and the characters are extremely likeable and interesting, and the actors do a great job bringing them to life and making them believable. The story is essentially in two parts, with the first being the fight not against the shark, but the mayor who is greedy and puts tourism sales over the safety of human lives. He refuses to listen to our hero, sheriff Brody (Roy Schneider) and fails to see sense when he allows the beaches to remain open. Brody is a genuinely nice guy and a good sheriff, for he cares about his town’s people and is determined to protect them. While he is essentially in a battle with the mayor, the shark continues to fest on the innocent people of Amity and tourists alike. Eventually the mayor must admit defeat and the real battle against the shark has begun, where Brody must face his biggest fear (the water) to save his town. The last 45 minutes of the film we are with Brody, Quint (the sailor hired to kill the shark, played by Robert Shaw), and Hooper (marine biologist played by Richard Dreyfuss) aboard Quint’s vessel on their shark hunt. Here we bear witness to how well these actors play off each other. Although this is a horror film, Spielberg is smart to include some dark comedy that has left us with some memorable lines, such as the famous: “You’re going to need a bigger boat.”

            The technical aspects of Jaws were also very important in making this film a huge success. The editing is integral to the tension building, with the juxtaposition of the shark POV shots and famous theme helping to build suspense. There are also a lot of cuts that are in unnatural and do not seem to make sense-but they are that way for a reason: to put the audience on edge. One also can not comment on the editing and cinematography of Jaws without mentioning the famous “vertigo” shot, which is successful in capturing Brody’s reaction to the attack and effective at making the audience uncomfortable.

            This production was not smooth sailing-it faced a lot of issues and Spielberg was feared he would be taken off the project for going over schedule and budget, but Spielberg’s choices were for the better and his determination to shoot it the right way is what helped make the film so great. For example, studios advised Spielberg not to shoot on the actual sea but he ignored this, despite all of the logistical problems the ocean proved to provide. Imagine, though, Jaws shot in a studio tank? The success of the film proved that his choices were the right ones, and thank goodness for that for the world would have missed classics such as E.T., Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones.