Jaws, aside from being a film, that keeps you watching, created the summer blockbuster. It set the record at the time, for the most money, made by a film. It surpassed The Godfather, The Sound of Music and Gone With the Wind. This was an incredible feat, for the time, particularly for a movie, whose villain, was a fish. It also had, like the three mentioned films, quality acting, directing and writing.
Jaws has a shark, making life miserable for town officials on Amity Island. Brody, the police chief, of the town of Amity, wants to shut down the beaches, because a body was found, eaten by a shark. The town officials, led by Mayor Vaughn, (Murray Hamilton), won’t hear of it. It is the height of the summer tourist season. Brody does manage to bring in shark expert, Hooper, (Richard Dreyfuss), who confirms the shark attack, by examining the remains of the body. He also confirms its a great white shark. Dreyfuss’ Hooper character manages to bring comic relief to the film. The town officials demand business as usual, which results in the terrifying beach scene. It is particularly effective, with the camera closing in on Chief Brody’s face, showing his shock. Sadly, this doesn’t convince anyone to close the beach. There is the very dramatic scene, with Mrs. Kintner, (Lee Fierro) and Brody. Her son, Alex was killed by the shark. She slaps Brody, because he knew there was a shark in the water. Unfortunately for Brody and town officials, the shark strikes again, killing a few people. Vaughn, until this point, was a jerk, seeing tourist dollars first, and public safety second. He witnesses the second attack, and after overcoming his shock, gives full control to Brody.
Brody has a plan. He hires Quint, a professional shark hunter. Quint is played by Robert Shaw, in a memorable performance. Quint lives in a fishing shack, decorated by shark jaws. He is boiling a set when Brody and Hooper arrive. Brody agrees to Quint’s fee, and the hunt for the shark is set. Brody, Quint and Hooper set out on Quint’s boat. This is where the film kicks it up a level. The audience is treated to suspense, action and more horror, in building up to the climactic showdown with the shark.
One of the things that make an excellent film, are the production values. The team of David Brown and Richard Zanuck, stepped it up. They brought Peter Benchley’s best seller to the big screen. There were many challenges, among them getting casts of a shark, and constructing a working mechanical shark. They also hired shark experts. The best thing they did was hire a young director, named Steven Spielberg. He didn’t disappoint, and was up to the challenge of working on location,in Martha’s Vineyard, and coming up with great camera angles. Spielberg, also got a great performance from Roy Scheider; who was a struggling actor, until Jaws. The movie was set up by it’s beginning. It is a shark attack at night, which shows the victim’s terror, closeup. The victim, Chrissie, was played by Susan Backlinie, who didn’t have screen credits. She also had to endure a cable line, that bobbed her up and down, in the water. It was these challenges that garnered respect for Steven Spielberg, from the production team.
A quality film always has good writing. Jaws proves that. Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb, wrote the script, adapted from Benchley’s novel. The writers even had small parts as reporters in the film. The key element of the novel is retained. The production team made it clear that other smaller plot lines would be scrapped. It worked out for the film, and Hollywood has done this for a very long time. One of the things that stand out, is Quint’s monologue about the U.S.S Indianapolis. This gives insight into Quint’s character, as well as a person recounting a real life horror. There is also the amusing scene of Quint, Brody and Hooper, singing Show Me the Way to Go Home. This segues into the shark hitting the boat. There’s also the great line by Brody, “You’ll need a bigger boat.” There is terrific dialogue throughout, and other great lines. The best thing about a well written script is that it gives humanity to the characters. Jaws succeeds with that.
The acting of Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, is great to see. Hollywood blockbusters are generally not known for it. The actors show three men working toward a common goal. Richard Dreyfuss is good at providing comic relief and showing fear. The fear is shown when he comes across the boat of a missing fisherman, and finds his body. Roy Scheider is good throughout the film. He has the great scene, when he shows anger, when Quint destroys the radio. Robert Shaw dominates the movie, as Quint. He shows a man obsessed with catching the shark at all costs, risking the lives of himself, Brody and Hooper. Robert Shaw demonstrates a man through his experiences, that laughs in the face of danger.
Jaws has the distinction of a great movie score, composed by John Williams. There is no film fan who doesn’t immediately recognize the theme from Jaws. Williams won an academy award for his work on Jaws. This was only the beginning for Williams. He developed a great working relationship with Spielberg, providing the soundtracks for many of his films. It is because of his work on countless movies, that he takes his place next to Max Steiner and Elmer Bernstein.
Jaws isn’t simply a movie. It is an icon. It has influenced a number of directors, among them M. Night Shyamalan. It paved the way. for another movie to make its mark, Star Wars, two years later. This movie broke Jaws’ box office record. Jaws enduring legacy has to do with the producer’s faith in Steven Spielberg. This movie gave Spielberg artistic freedom, allowing him to direct any movie he wanted. It also set him on the path to become one of Hollywood’s most famous directors.