The movie that made everyone afraid of going into the water. The movie that made people fear the monster that lurks below the water line. The movie that forever changed cinema. That film is Jaws. Released in the summer of 1975, Jaws was the first film to gross over $100 Million in Box Office sales and made director Steven Spielberg a household name. Based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, Jaws tells the story of a seaside town being terrorized by a Great White Shark. After all these years, Jaws has proved to have a commanding legacy, an iconic musical theme, and features the one creature everyone fears when vacationing at the beach. Now that the film has been re-released in theaters making its debut in IMAX and 3D, audiences everywhere can experience the film that started the summer movie trend. It was the film that had people lining up around the corner just to grab their tickets, hence the phrase “Summer Blockbuster.” So, how does Jaws look when viewing the film on the IMAX screen?
The movie takes place in a small New England seaside town called Amity. A popular place for summer tourists looking to kick back and enjoy life. The movie opens with a group of kids enjoying music, beer, and a nice campfire on the beach, along with the ocean waves quietly hitting the sand. A young woman named Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie) decides to go skinny dipping with a young man she met. The man is drunk and attempts to swim with her but cannot disrobe and eventually falls asleep on the beach. Chrissie swims out near a buoy, and everything is fine until something starts tugging at her feet. Her screams, pleads, and sheer terror in her voice are unheard, and after a couple of agonizing seconds, she’s pulled under and disappears.
The next day, Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) receives a phone call alerting him to the missing girl, and a deputy locates her remains that have washed ashore. Most of the body is missing, and the medical examiner concludes that the probable cause of death was most likely attributed to a shark attack. Chief Brody leaps into action and alerts his deputy to close the beaches even though the Fourth of July holiday is right around the corner. Much to the dismay of Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), who disputes a shark attack has occurred, he pleads with Chief Brody to keep the beaches open. He is more concerned for the town’s economy and refuses to accept the possibility of a large predator that is just offshore.
As people continue to venture into the water, Chief Brody takes his family to the beach after being persuaded to keep the beaches open. His children, Michael and Sean, enjoy their day while his wife Ellen (Lorraine Gary) works to relieve her husband’s stress. It isn’t long before a young boy is attacked in full view of the beachgoers and gets killed by a shark. His body is never found; the only thing remaining is the chewed-up and bloody inflatable the boy was on. After witnessing this tragedy, pressure mounts to close the beaches, and an expert from the Oceanographic Institute is called in. His name is Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and upon examination of Chrissie Watkins’ remains, he concludes that a giant shark has made Amity Island his feeding ground.
Mayor Vaughn continues to refute the claims that a large predator is responsible for these deaths and demands that the beaches remain open. Word gets out that a shark is in the area, bringing in many fishermen eager to kill the shark and earn a nice paycheck. Chief Brody researches sharks and investigates with Hooper to determine what type of predator they are dealing with. The movie spends a significant amount of time educating the audience about the behavior of sharks, the names of different species of sharks, and the methods of locating them and encountering them.
A local fisherman kills a Tiger Shark, and everyone prematurely agrees that this beast is responsible for the two previous deaths. According to Hooper, the bite radius on this animal isn’t the same as the one that killed Ms. Watkins. The Fourth of July arrives, and the beaches are packed. The summer dollars are rolling in while Chief Brody has to coordinate a group effort to keep the beaches safe and be on the lookout for a shark. After some kids pull a prank that forces everyone out of the water, a man is the next unfortunate victim when the shark attacks again! Chief Brody is furious at yet another attack that could’ve been prevented and forces Mayor Vaughn to sign a contract that will pay a local fisherman named Quint (Robert Shaw) to hunt down and kill the shark.
At this point, tensions are high, and Amity is Shark Town. As Hooper said to Mayor Vaughn before the Fourth of July attack, “you either kill this animal or you cut off its food supply,” and now the hunt begins. Chief Brody, Hooper, and Quint ride towards the open sea onboard the Orca to engage in the ultimate battle between Man vs. Nature. What follows is a thrilling third act filled with an infamous monologue by Quint regarding his history with the USS Indianapolis, stunning shark footage, and an ending that ends with a bang.
I first saw Jaws in theaters when the film returned to theaters in 2015 to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and it was nothing short of spectacular. Seeing it on the IMAX screen is the best way to witness this masterpiece. The sound grabs your attention; the screams will ring in your ears, and seeing the shark still that haunts us in our nightmares. I was surprised to see moments in the film I had missed earlier. Such as Quint stabbing the shark with his machete before being killed and hearing multiple conversations as clear as day while Chief Brody walks in and around town.
You may own Jaws on DVD or even VHS, but seeing it on the big screen is where you’ll get the true impact. The iconic theme from the legendary John William sounds so crisp and yet so spine-tingling. Spielberg’s direction remains one of his very best, and the entire cast feels like regular townsfolks we would meet when vacationing at a seaside town. Every actor and actress are in top form, but not enough can be said for the performance by Robert Shaw as Quint, who is undoubtedly the most interesting character in this film.
The sheer sound quality impressed me most when seeing Jaws in IMAX. While I wasn’t alive in 1975 when this film debuted, I can only imagine the audience’s reaction. I still jump when seeing Ben Gardner’s head pop out of that boat. And the most quotable scene of all time still gives me chills when we see the shark in its entirety. To call Jaws, a classic is an understatement. It’s a certified masterpiece.
Score 5 out of 5
Jaws will forever be the perfect summer movie to watch annually and remains the quintessential monster movie that makes us fear going into the water. Armed with a simple, straightforward premise, incredible character development and acting, excellent direction from Steven Spielberg, the most memorable musical theme of all time, and an opening sequence forever burned into our memory, Jaws is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Whether you’ve seen it multiple times or are new to discovering it, Jaws will forever be remembered as changing the world of cinema.
Watching it at home is one thing, but witnessing it on a big screen is a truly awe-inspiring experience that no one will forget. Of all the summer movies, Jaws is the king. While many movies have imitated Jaws and future movies will make more money, Jaws is the summer movie that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. It made Spielberg a household name. It made us fear the water and even the bathtub when we were children, but Jaws is a movie that features everything that summer movies have become. Simple, effective, and a joy to watch over and over again.
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