"Jaws" is undoubtedly a part of our popular culture. Who has not heard the driving, suspense-building beats of the famous theme music by John Williams? Who does not think of the movie "Jaws" every time they encounter a documentary about sharks while flipping through television channels?
Even people who have not even seen the movie have a general idea of the storyline of "Jaws." It is based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same title and won three Academy Awards in 1976.
Just because the storyline is not enough reason to skip a chance to view the movie -- though some of the movie is a bit dated, the film is a classic suspense thriller.
A giant man-eating Great White Shark somehow appears on the coast of the peaceful summer resort island of Amity. After several bloody deaths, Amity's police chief, Brody (Roy Scheider), a young ichthyologist, Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzly shark hunter, Quint (Robert Shaw), go on a dangerous hunt for the shark.
People who think the movie is about the shark are only partially right. Far more importantly, the movie focuses on the development of the three main characters. The police chief, Brody is from New York City and moved to Amity seeking only peace and quiet with his family.
Ever since Hooper's first childhood encounter with a shark, he has been passionately drawn to sharks and to studying them, despite the many dangers he has encountered.
Quint at first is portrayed as slightly psychotic, but he is an experienced hunter of sharks. Towards the end of the movie, a deeper aspect of his personality is revealed. He is a survivor of the ship Indianapolis, which was sunk by Japanese submarines in shark-infested waters during World War II. The scene in which he tells about his experience is forceful and memorable, more so because of the quiet, emotionless way in which he delivers his story.
Watching the movie, which won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, I was struck by the smooth transitions from one scene to the next. In the opening scene, a young woman is skinny-dipping. There are shots of her from underwater and above, and the famous "Jaws" theme is playing. Then suddenly the woman is grabbed from underwater and thrashed about. The audience hears her shrieks, and as abruptly as it began, the thrashing and splashing stops and she disappears underwater. The water is calm and quiet again, almost brooding in its silence, as the camera moves on to the next scene. The transition succeeds well in creating tension and suspense, due to the contrast between the violent scene and the tense quietness right afterwards.
Director Steven Spielberg did a great job. There are creative shot angles in the movie, as exemplified by the shots from under the water. Moreover, because Spielberg and his crew had so much trouble with the mechanical shark that it didn't work until halfway through the filming, Spielberg did not reveal the true size and form of the "killing machine" until the last 40 minutes of the movie. Although this is effective, it is frustrating for the audience at times.
Overall, "Jaws" is very well made and put together. It is a great film, with the combination of elements of humor, action sequences and a lot of human drama, such as the touching family interactions and heart-warming bonding scenes between the three men.
Coming in at two hours and four minutes, its length is a little excessive. In today's age when people are more used to movies full of nonstop action and fun, "Jaws" comes off as a little longwinded.
Every scene and every shot angle has a good reason to be there and fits in well with the whole movie. However, after the first violent scene, the movie progresses a little slowly, focusing more on character development. The viewers are given little tantalizing tastes of fear here and there, with several killings, but most of the time too much emphasis is placed on just actors' conversations and interactions, as the audience learns how the characters are affected by the shark.
Moreover, when the three men finally go on the hunt, most of the shots focus on floating yellow devices that the characters have shot into the shark to track him coming toward or away from the boat - a technique that is just too excrutiating.
There is also a question of the credibility of the movie. What are the chances that a really smart, 25-foot long great white shark suddenly appears off of the Atlantic coast and goes on a killing rampage? Do white sharks do that sort of thing? Also, what are the chances of the Coast Guard not getting involved in a media event of that magnitude?
"Jaws" is playing in Spaulding Auditorium on Sunday at 6:45 and 9:15 p.m.
