Jaws (1975) Universal/Horror-Thriller RT: 124 minutes Rated PG (language, violence, gore, scenes of intense terror, brief nudity, teen partying) Director: Steven Spielberg Screenplay: Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb Music: John Williams Cinematography: Bill Butler Release date: June 20, 1975 (US) Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottleib, Jeffrey C. Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Chris Rebello, Jay Mello, Lee Fierro, Jeffrey Voorhees. Box Office: $260.7M (US)/$471.4M (World)
Rating: ****
NOTE TO READERS: The following is a revised version of a review in wrote in 2012.
Steven Spielberg’s thriller Jaws plays a pivotal role in the history of cinema in that it’s considered the first summer blockbuster movie. It gave rise to huge moneymakers like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. It was the first movie to cross the $100 million mark in its initial theatrical release which is especially impressive when you take into account tickets cost a lot less in 1975.
Back then, there were no multiplexes where Jaws could be shown on multiple screens at different times. It was generally shown on single screens at two-and-a-half hour intervals. The idea of buying advance tickets was unheard of. Also, there was no on-line ticket purchase option as on-line didn’t yet exist. People would stand in long lines for hours to buy tickets. When the theater sold out, as it always did, that was it. You had to either wait for the next show or come back some other time. It kept theaters busy all summer.
Jaws introduced the moviegoing public to Spielberg, a young filmmaker whose only other credits were the TV movie Duel and the forgettable 1974 crime drama The Sugarland Express. It was the start of a brilliant career for the director. He took Peter Benchley’s best seller and turned it into a movie that thrilled audiences while making them afraid to go near the water during their beach vacations. I didn’t even see it (I was 7) and I was terrified of the ocean that year. When a movie does that, you know it has to be something special and it is!
Even by today’s standards (nearly 50 years later!), Jaws is still one of the greatest popcorn movies of all time. In fact, I’d even say it’s a perfect movie. I don’t say that about too many films, but it’s perfectly apropos in this case. It has it all; suspense, horror, action and thrills. It uses the age-old “man vs. nature” conflict to full effect. In addition, it withstands multiple viewings, something that can’t be said of today’s summer blockbusters. Would you honestly want to sit through any of the Transformers movies more than once? Please join me in a nice loud “NO WAY!”
Now that I’ve given you a history of Jaws, let’s talk about the here and now. It’s being rereleased to theaters this weekend. I, for one, am ecstatic. I have NEVER seen it on the big screen. I was 7 when it came out and the parentals refused to take me no matter how much I pleaded. They wouldn’t even let me see it when it was rereleased in ’79. It was years before I saw the whole thing uncut (i.e. not on network TV). I loved it as I knew I would. Now I finally get to see it as it was meant to be seen, but with an added touch. Viewers have the option of seeing it in 3D or IMAX. Although I would have preferred the latter, it’s only showing in 3D at my local multiplex.
While I’m quite sure everybody already knows the plot of Jaws, let me give you a quick refresher. The terror begins when a couple of drunken teenagers go late-night skinny dipping during a beach party where Frankie and Annette are nowhere to be found. The boy passes out and the naked girl is attacked and pulled under the water by something. Her body washes ashore the next morning and it’s soon determined she was killed by a shark. Martin Brody (Scheider, The French Connection), the newly appointed police chief of fictional Amity Island, wants to close the beach for the safety of vacationers. Mayor Vaughn (Hamilton, The Graduate) overrules him stating that summer tourists are the sole reason the town exists. Closing the beach would bring about a financial catastrophe. When the shark attacks again, he still won’t budge. It’s Fourth of July weekend, the most profitable time of the season. He’s not about to lose that money.
Realizing he’ll have to deal with the situation himself, Brody brings in marine biologist Matt Hooper (Dreyfuss, The Goodbye Girl) and salty shark hunter Quint (Shaw, From Russia with Love) to help him hunt down the great white. Although he doesn’t like the water, Brody accompanies Quint and Hooper to the middle of the ocean. This is where the action really kicks in!
One of the best scenes (it’s my personal favorite) is a rare quiet moment when Quint speaks of being a survivor of the USS Indianapolis. It was a harrowing experience that explains why he devoted his life to hunting and killing sharks, the most brutal of oceanic creatures. It gives the film emotional content. His story is so captivating; you almost forget that there’s a dangerous, man-eating shark lurking about.
Some credit Tipper Gore for parental warning labels, but it was actually the folks at Universal who came up with it first. The poster bears such a label: “Some scenes may be too intense for young children”. It should read “Jaws may be too intense for a lot of people”. This is especially true in the first hour when we don’t get a good look at the shark. All we see is a dorsal fin as John Williams’ terrifying score kicks in. The feeling of dread is palpable as we watch kids play in the ocean, legs and feet kicking, just waiting for the worst to happen. Looking at Jaws today, it’s hard to believe it got away with a PG rating. It has a goodly amount of blood and gore including a man’s leg sinking to the ocean floor and blood spurting like a geyser during an attack. Of course, PG then is different from PG today. In any event, the violence isn’t gratuitous; it’s simply nature in action. A shark is a natural born killer and doesn’t care who it eats. As far as the shark is concerned, we’re just food and Spielberg spares no details of the victims’ horrible deaths.
The performances in Jaws are top-notch all the way! Scheider, a thoroughly likable actor, is perfect as Chief Brody, a rational man who overcomes his fear of the water when the safety of his family is jeopardized. He’s a tough guy who loves his family and will do anything to protect them, even if it scares the hell out of him. Shaw is dead-on perfect as Quint, Quint is a tough and hardened sea dog who could (and would) tell many interesting stories about his life on the oceans of the world if given the chance. He’s one of those movie characters that you never forget. He knows his job, he’s good at it and commands a high price for his services, but he’s worth every penny. Besides, how can you dislike a guy who demands a case of apricot brandy as part of his payment? Dreyfuss is great as the young marine biologist looking at the situation from a scientific point of view. He brings all sorts of sophisticated equipment aboard the Orca (Quint’s boat). Quint just doesn’t see the need for all those fancy gadgets; he’s done quite well without them all these years. The rapport between these two characters makes an already great movie even greater.
Some would argue that Bruce the Shark (as he was called on set) is the real star of Jaws. I’m inclined to agree. He is an amazing creation. He was designed by Joe Alves who I had the pleasure of interviewing a few years ago. It was a difficult job building a 25-foot mechanical shark; the model required 14 operators to control all the moving parts. One of many things Spielberg does right is never giving the audience a full, lingering shot of Bruce. We see an eye, a fin, its teeth and the head, but never the whole fish. Even so, Bruce still managed to star in a lot of people’s nightmares that summer.
No two ways about it, Spielberg created a masterpiece of terror with Jaws. He really piles on the suspense. You never know when the shark is going to appear and when he does, it’s a jump-out-of-your-seat shock. It’s a prime example of the heart and craftsmanship that used to go into big event movies; something that today’s empty-vessel blockbusters lack.
I’m happy it’s being rereleased and not just for personal reasons. There’s probably a whole generation of movie watchers who haven’t seen it, likely dismissing it as an “old movie”. Oh, how wrong they are! Jaws is a classic in every way, shape, form and sense of the word. If you’ve never seen it, please turn in your movie geek card until you have.
3D UPDATE: So how does Jaws look in 3D? Pretty good, actually, even though it doesn’t really add too much to the experience. It doesn’t take away from it either. I’ll say this; Jaws in 3D is far better than Jaws 3D. I still think it would have been cooler in IMAX.
