“duunnn dunnn… duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn”
In the summer of 1975 Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name changed the summer movie season forever, creating the summer blockbuster season. And yet Jaws is more than just a blockbuster movie – it’s a genuinely scary thriller.
From John William’s excellent and iconic movie score to Spielberg’s excellent direction, the movie is an intense, edge of your seat thriller.
The film starts off with a beach party and a little midnight swimming on the sleepy island of Amity. A young woman is attacked by a shark. The next day the remains of her body has been found and police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches. But Amity is a summer town and the mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) stops Brody from shutting down the beaches. Soon another victim is claimed and shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) is called in to help. Local shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) offers his services for a large price.
The mother of the second victim offers a reward for the shark and soon everyone is trying to kill a shark. A shark is killed but not the shark. Soon the beaches are back open and it’s feeding time again for the great white shark.
I love Jaws. It’s fun and terrifying. I’m kind of amazed that Universal hasn’t tried to remake it yet. Several sequels followed and more shark rip-off horror movies than you can count but the original is still the best. Here’s my original post.
