Come on down here and chum some of this (Jaws (DVD))

Member Name: Wolfzilla

Product:	Jaws (DVD)
Date:	26/01/09 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Score, Acting, A lot of the effects

Disadvantages: At times certain effects look very dated

Its quite amusing that Steven Speilberg, a man known more for his family and adventure movies, is actually the man behind one of the most famous, and easily one of the best, horror or monster movies of all time. Indeed, his little movie about a big shark, titled Jaws, is not only one of the first 'Summer Blockbusters', but introduced so many things that have become conventions of the horror movie, that its become hard to make a movie about any sort of monster that isn't derivative of Jaws somehow.

Its also tough to try and name many movies that have made such an impact on popular culture than Jaws. The theme tune is synonymous with not only sharks, but impending danger, the sight of some form of fin-styled shape piercing through a mass of water, or in some cases land, likewise indicates something dangerous on the approach, and lest we forget that the movie established the view that the Great White Shark is a ruthless and evil monster in the eyes of the general populace.

As I'm sure you know, Jaws began life as a novel by a man named Peter Benchley, although the differences between his book and the finished movie are reportedly numerous, I've never read it myself, so can't say first-hand. I've heard the book is more of a trashy soap-opera than an 'Animal-on-the-loose' tale, which I find quite amusing, given that after Jaws, everything Benchley seemed to write was about some form of marine-based monster on the rampage, these were, on two occasions, turned into 2-part TV movies. Benchley himself was originally brought in to write the movie's script, which apparently followed his novel rather faithfully, but it ultimately proved to be for nothing as his script was eschewed in favour of one from Carl Gottlieb which cut down on the characters' backstories, made them more likable, and placed more emphasis on the shark.

While I find it hard to believe that anyone hasn't seen, or at least doesn't know the plot of Jaws, a brief rundown of the plot looks like this;

The small Island of Amity thrives on it's summer tourist invasion, something that the local Mayor, Larry Vaughn(Murray Hamilton) knows all too well. So when a girl washes up half-eaten on his beach and the new Sheriff, Martin Brody(Roy Schneider) wants to close the beach on the 4th of July, he has none of it.

Naturally his failure to take heed proves costly, as a young boy is devoured, and an oceanographer named Hooper(Richard Dreyfuss) is called in to sort things out. He is stunned by the bite radius on the remains of the first girl, and theorises that it must be a huge Great White Shark that is behind it. The parents of the boy killed on the beach offer a bounty for the shark's head, causing a frenzy of wannabe hunters to appear, a boat of such lads manage to catch a tiger shark, which Amity, despite Hooper's protestations, decides to accept as the killer so it can go back to it's business. Naturally it isn't long before it becomes clear that this is most certainly not the problem solved, Hooper and Brody must team up with a gritty old sea-dog named Quint (Robert Shaw) to hunt the creature before it kills off the town's economy, but things also soon become clear that this is no ordinary shark they are dealing with...

Indeed, the plot of Jaws isn't exactly full of intricate twists or incredibly thought-provoking points, yet it does what it does very well, sets up a group of likable and diverse characters, and pits them against a seemingly unstoppable force that they must find some way to rid the waters of. Its one of those true examples of simplicity working, with the film devoting far more time to building up suspense for the shark and it's attacks than trying to be too smart a movie. Even if it never even attempts to explain how the shark got to that size, its also one of the few cases where it doesn't really require to, it has the audience gripped to the point where it doesn't really cross your mind how it got to that size, you just kind of accept it. Given some of the ridiculous explanations given for killer animals in the movies that tried to latch a ride on Jaws's coat-tails, maybe its actually a good thing they didn't elaborate.

One of the things that certainly works in Jaws favour are it's characters. I've heard that likable characters in the novel were few and far between, yet I feel that the trinity of men who go out to kill the shark are all likable in their own ways. Brody, the borderline hydrophobiac, something else which the movie never explains, and all around everyman who wants the beach safe for his kids, Hooper, the nerdy yet quite funny man of science and the grizzly Quint, whose monologue which explains his passion for hunting sharks is one of the movie's most powerful scenes. Even the support characters are well written, and despite the trimming down of their stories, their still written in a manner that makes them likable, making you care if they get eaten by a giant shark or not.

And that's really where the movie's money shots lie, the shark attacks. From the iconic opening sequence to Brody's final showdown with the monster, all of them are edgy, wonderfully shot excercises in action set-pieces. Possibly due to the nature of it, wherein the crew are in the middle of the Ocean, which is the shark's elment, but I always found Jaws more terrifying than any almost any other movie, despite the fact I'm rarely in water. Could it be that sharks are just naturally nasty looking creatures, and the thought of them carving their way through the murky depths is scarier than any fictional monster? who knows, but in this light, Jaws worked on me in ways hundreds of other movies of it's sort have tried and failed to do.

Acting in the movie is, at worst, good. Schneider is good as the all-around-everyman Brody, making him likable, but it's Dreyfuss nerdy Hooper and Shaw's unforgettable Quint that really steal the show here, most notably the latter, between his aformentioned speach, his sailors songs and general capture of the spirit of a ship's captain. All the supporting players, led by Hamilton as well as Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, are also worthy of praise for solid performances, with everyone putting in a show deserving of their casting.

Special Effects are an aspect of the movie that has both in some cases withstood the test of time and in others aged quite badly. While the animatronic shark is a marvel for 1974, and in many scenes is chillingly convincing, in some it does look painfully rubbery, although thankfully these are in a minority. As I mentioned, sharks are, naturally, quite unnerving in appearance, so they didn't have to put work into making it extra-scary, they simply had to get their model, famously dubbed 'Bruce', to look like a real shark, which, in many places, it does, so mission accomplished.

Possibly the greatest accomplishment of the film is John Williams absolutely instense score. Easily one of the most recognisable and iconic themes in movie history, Williams' work here is so well remembered for a reason...its brilliant. Absolutely imperative to the process of building up the tension required, Williams score is masterful at getting the audience to the edge of their seats, and is quite probably the movie's best feature, which is no mean feat.

While I do acknowledge that it isn't perfect, with some of Bruce's appearances being a little cringeworthy(but hell, it was 1974) Jaws is one of the few movies which I feel thouroughly deserves it's accepted status as a classic. Giving the movie anything less than full-marks would be short-changing it, as it is not only one of the most gripping and exciting movies I've ever had the pleasure of watching, as well as proving itself more than capable of standing the test of time and repeated viewing, it has also inspired countless other movies, and while many of them have been schlocky and disgraceful rip-offs, it has also had a positive influence on plenty of great movies, and is, by it's own right, one of the all time greats itself.

Summary: Jaws is the quintessential monster on the loose movie.