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Play It Again – Jaws

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Jaws2

Jaws is nothing at all like the blockbusters that followed in its path. When Steven Spielberg’s killer shark flick invaded cinemas of ’75 with its intense action sequences and compelling characters, it all but kicked off the non-stop world of large-scale seasonal films that have taken over theatres ever since. Watching it today, it’s hard to picture such a refined movie becoming the highest grossing of all time – a title it held for two years until Star Wars came along – but its zeitgeist-capturing moment in time remains remarkably effective to this very day.

A shark is on the loose, swimming through the summer waters of Amity Island with a seemingly endless bloodlust. The local police chief, Michael Brody (Roy Scheider), teams up with a somewhat eccentric fisherman named Quint (Robert Shaw), and a marine biologist, Matt Hooker (Richard Dreyfuss), to kill the shark despite objections from the town mayor. He’s more concerned with lost revenue of the lucrative Independence Day holiday than the welfare of the townspeople.

Jaws

In both its horror and its drama, Jaws is Spielberg at his popcorn best. That thrill audiences got nearly 40 years ago is very much alive and well throughout the expertly staged scenes of blood-spilling carnage. Modern audiences may giggle at the fake, rubbery shark (affectionately nicknamed “Bruce” on set), but Jaws does a great job of keeping the big fish under wraps for much of the runtime. Not that audiences really notice the shark’s absence thanks to John Williams’ Oscar-winning music, which is wickedly entertaining and an almost voyeuristic substitute throughout its most famous moments. Who can forget the ominous music from below as a helpless skinny-dipper swims in the opening scene, or as a hoard of beachgoers panic over a missing child?

The old adage that “they don’t make them like they used to” is certainly applicable here. With no superheroes or post-apocalyptic wastelands in sight, the skill behind Jaws becomes even more thrilling to watch unfold. While people continuously try to anoint “the next Spielberg”, none of the suggested heirs to his throne have yet crafted something as exceptional as Jaws. Quite literally, Jaws is the original and the best.

5/5

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