This year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the iconic film Jaws, marked by a return to theatres in order to celebrate. While Jaws is an iconic film that has lasting impacts on the film industry and public perception of sharks to this day, it is not a film that I have ever seen. So for the fiftieth anniversary I finally got to watch the classic directed by Steven Spielberg.
Jaws marked a turning point in movies as a whole as it was the first real step away from director led cinema into easy to understand concepts that made money at the box office. It was the highest grossing movie of all time after its release and laid the groundwork for what we now know as the summer blockbuster. Specifically its summer release paved the way for Star Wars which was released a couple years later. As a result of the popularity of the film, widespread panic about sharks became increasingly common. As a result of Jaws, many people now were afraid of sharks which made conservation efforts harder.
Of course this movie was made possible by now famous director Steven Spielberg, but back in 1975 he was fresh off of his first theatrical movie, The Sugarland Express, and was paired with legendary composer John Williams. Williams, who won an Oscar for this movie, delivers a killer soundtrack that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire duration of the movie. In many other director’s catalogues, Jaws would be their magnum opus, but for Spielberg it’s just another movie in the long list of classics he’s directed. From Indiana Jones, E.T, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, and so many more, this movie is what helped propel Spielberg to be able to become one of the greatest directors of all time.
Jaws, which is based on the 1974 novel of the same name, is a relatively simple film that follows three men, who attempt to hunt down and kill a shark that is terrorising their beach by killing people. Following Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss, as the main trio, we watch as they struggle against this insurmountable force of nature in an attempt to save their own lives and the lives of everyone else in the beachside town.
One of the most iconic themes in movies is the simple theme that plays whenever the shark is getting near. Williams perfectly figured out how to use those two notes to drive fear and anxiety into the heart of anyone watching the movie. As a result of the mechanical sharks they planned on using, not cooperating too well, Spielberg made the decision to use the shark’s theme to indicate its presence instead of showing it all the time. This decision really adds to the atmosphere of the film, and helps you really buy into the threat of the shark.
One of the most impressive parts however, is the characters themselves. In a movie like this, that’s built on tension and is a thriller, it’d be quite easy to make the characters not very realistic as they grapple with what’s happening. But the beauty of this movie is that the characters are believable, and the actors give great performances as they try to fight off and kill this beastly shark. So many different things are executed so well in this movie, it helps you see how Spielberg became what he is today.
Jaws is often dubbed as the first real summer blockbuster, and after seeing the movie, I truly understand why. You’d expect that 50 years later, it might not hold up to the lofty expectations set before it, but it truly does live up to them and more. I was scared that this classic movie wouldn’t be one that connected with me, and I’m glad to say that it doesn’t. If you haven’t seen this movie, do yourself a favor and check out one of the most influential films there has ever been.
