In the early 70s, while working various odd jobs to make ends meet, writer Peter Benchley started working on the novel that would be his crowning jewel, Jaws. Inspired by stories Benchley had heard about great whites being reported and caught off the beaches of Long Island and Block Island in the 60s, the novel attracted the attention of producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown, who purchased the film rights in 1973, a year before the book was even published. After trying to find a director and removing one they had locked down because he kept referring to the shark as a whale, they ended up hiring a then relatively unknown Steven Spielberg, who had just finished his first theatrical film, The Sugarland Express, which Zanuck and Brown had produced. What followed was a very tumultuous production: script being rewritten constantly, casting being all over the place, and, most famously, the shark not working. In spite of all these problems, Jaws managed to become one of the most successful and critically-acclaimed movies, not just of the 1970s, but of all time.
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The setup is pretty basic, but it works in its simplicity. At the small coastal town of Amity Island, everything is peaceful as the townsfolk prepare for the 4th of July. That is until a giant man-eating great white shark starts wreaking havoc and devouring skinny dippers and even small children. While Sheriff Martin Brody, played by Roy Scheider, is trying to close the beaches and keep the people safe, the town’s mayor, played by Murray Hamilton, wants to keep the beaches open since the town relies on the tourism revenue they get around the 4th of July. Eventually, it becomes clear that this whole shark situation is too much to handle, so the town puts out a call for people to hunt and kill the shark. A shark expert known as Matt Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, and even though a group of hunters managed to find and kill a shark, Hooper is unsure if it’s the same shark that’s been terrorizing Amity Island. Turns out he was right, since shortly after, the shark comes back and almost kills Brody’s kids, which leads to the town enlisting the help of local fisherman Quint, played by Robert Shaw, to take out the shark. Having said good-bye to his wife Ellen, played by Lorraine Gary, Brody, along with Hooper and Quint, go out into the ocean to hunt down and ultimately kill the shark.
To say that this is a great movie would not be doing this film justice. This film is an absolute masterpiece of filmmaking, which is especially funny considering the numerous they ran into during production. While the movie is quite different from the original novel, I personally think that a lot of the changes that were made were for the better. For instance, in the book Hooper was more of a ladies man and had an affair with Ellen Brody, creating a love triangle between Sheriff Hooper, Matt Hooper, and Ellen Brody. Also, there was a mafia subplot in the novel, which was that the mayor owed money to the mafia, giving a bit more of a reason why the mayor doesn’t want the beaches closed. Honestly, those being dropped for the movie was for the best, as having those subplots added in would have really dragged the movie down. Pretty much everything in this movie works: the performances are great, the effects are great, there is tons of suspense and dread throughout the film as you’re waiting to see the shark, and the score by John Williams is legendary. What’s funny is how the point-of-view shots of the shark are one of the many things in this movie that work considering how the animatronic shark wasn’t working and it was intended to be shown in the movie more prominently. The fact that you don’t see the full shark until the last act movie is really helps ramp up the tension until the finale.
Roy Scheider shines as the reluctant hero Sheriff Brody, a simple family man who wants to keep the townspeople safe and protect his family from the shark despite the mayor getting in his way. As much as people talk about some of his bigger moments, especially when he kills the shark at the end, he also has a lot of great quieter moments in the film. One in particular is when he’s at home frustrated and his son starts miming his actions. It may seem insignificant, but it really shows how he cares about his family and is just a regular guy at the end of the day. Richard Dreyfuss as Hooper makes for a great partner to go along with Scheider’s Sheriff Brody, but it’s Robert Shaw as the salty sea dog Quint that really steals the show. His USS Indianapolis speech is probably one of the scariest monologues ever in a movie, and Shaw delivers it so well that you actually believe that he went through all of that. It’s also interesting seeing how Hooper and Quint clearly disagree and are at odds with one another, showing a dichotomy between the old ways and the new ways. While it’d be easy to complete hate Murray Hamilton as the mayor because of how he’s more concerned about tourism revenue than the lives of innocent people, he does come around and become sympathetic when he finally decides to do something about it. Honestly, there really are no weak spots in the film, though it is somewhat funny to see the animatronic shark clearly propped on top of the boat at the end and Shaw clearly pushing his way into the shark’s mouth.
If I spoiled the movie for you, I take no responsibility for spoiling a 40+ year old movie that you could have and should have seen by now. Even if you’re not a horror movie fan, this is an essential film that everyone should see, especially if you’re looking for something to watch on the 4th of July. With some terrific performances, an iconic score, and tons of suspense that leads to a thrilling climax, Jaws not only is a well-crafted film that helped usher in the age of the summer blockbuster, but it is probably one of the greatest and most important films ever made!
You’re gonna need a bigger boat!
