JAWS (1975)

What better way to round off a brilliant Sunday. Having spent the day wandering Central London, through the parks and along the busy streets, on a brisk November afternoon and stuffing my face with goodies at a food market on the South Bank, my girlfriend and I plonked ourselves on the sofa with a bottle of red to wind down the remaining hours of the weekend. We got Harry Hill out of the way then had a flick through the film channels and was gifted with the joy of Jaws. Comfortably my favourite film of all time.



Everyone is familiar with the plot of Spielberg's breakthrough masterpiece, a simple story of a killer Great White Shark terrorising an island community, heavily reliant on the tourist trade, off the East coast of the US. It is a simple idea based on a very mediocre novel, but since then many studios, directors and writers and tried to copy the formula in an attempt to cash in the success and make their own iconic masterpiece. However, in all the years that have followed very few have come close and none have surpassed this work of genius that catapulted Steven Spielberg into the big time and gave birth to 'The Blockbuster'.

So why is it loved by generations of film viewers? Why do critics still admire it so much? Surely it's just a monster movie.

One of the reasons is the characters and the cast. I noticed something on this viewing that I hadn't noticed before. In the opening credits the three lead actors' names all appear at the same time, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss. Not one of the three has top billing in this film which I think is very just as they all contribute greatly to what is so charming and likeable about this film

Roy Scheider is Chief Brody, the film's real hero, but also the chief of police on this small island and in the first half of the film is the voice of reason as he tries to warn the community of the troubles ahead. These pleas, mostly to the mayor, fall on deaf ears as they try to plough on with preparations for the summer ahead. Scheider is fantastic in his portrayal of a man up against it, with the world on his shoulders. He is desperate to do something, anything. He has a wonderful speech about being a cop in New York fighting against the tide, but being in Amity, one man can really make a difference. He plays the character with a vulnerability, you never get the sense that he is in control, especially in the second half of the film aboard The Orca, he is clearly out of his depth.

Robert Shaw probably has the most fun out of the cast playing the 'certifiable' Quint, the captain of the Orca. From his opening scene where he scrapes his fingernails down a blackboard to his farewell, he fills the screen and becomes one of the most memorable screen icons of all time. He is a perfect foil for Brody, he takes risks, flies off the handle. A real maverick. One second he's is full of terrifying intensity, the next he gruffly sings sailors songs with a smile across his face. He also steals one of my favourite scenes of the film. As the three men compare injuries and scars he recollects his ordeal aboard the Indianapolis, after they drop off their cargo before it is dropped on Hiroshima. It's a chilling story at the best of times, but told by Quint, showing little emotion, although you know simmering underneath it has effected him in way's the viewer can't imagine.

Richard Dreyfuss puts in arguably his finest performance of his career as Matt Hooper, rich kid and shark expert from the oceanographic institute. If Brody is the film's conscious, Quint is the muscular torso and limbs then Hooper is the sense of humour. He jokes and banters his way through the film, including some brilliant lines on The Orca to Quint and during his opening scene as he surveys the chaos on the harbour as scores of people head out to kill the shark for a bounty. He isn't a Jar Jar Binks character though, solely there for giggles. Even while cracking jokes, you can tell that he is fully aware of the gravity of the situation, and then at his most vulnerable as he climbs into the shark cage it's clear that his playful nature are all a show.

It's the performances of these characters that make the film and stop the second half from becoming a B-Movie monster chase. You're routing for them, not because you know you should in cinema convention, but because you genuinely believe in them and want them to succeed.

Spielberg is praised as the genius behind Jaws, but not because he gets the best out of 3 actors - It's because this film is a masterclass in tension. There are so many shocks in the film. Everyone knows the story behind the mechanical shark and it's failure to work properly throughout the shoot which would have had a lot to do with seeing very little of the beast until well into the second half of the film. Spielberg has said himself that if it had been available he would have used it more and he also confessed that this would have been detrimental to the film. There are a number of scenes that do shock and terrify throughout the first half where you don't see the shark. The famous opening scene is a real statement of intent. The viewer has no time to settle into their seat, you are thrown straight into the terror. The bloodcurdling screams in this scene are horrific and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. If film makers want to learn from Spielberg though, it's not the screams that they should note. It's the calm tranquil sea and virtual silence that follows. Less is more. The beach scene in daylight with the yellow lilo is very unexpected, a child as the victim. The shark is barely seen here, you see a fin and a struggle in the water, and then the trademark blood running through the ocean. Spielberg is a clever director though and utilises a broken jetty in another night scene to show the shark closing in on another potential victim. Throughout these moments it really is a case of the tension being ramped up by not knowing what our heroes are facing.

The second half of the film on The Orca is where the film changes it's directions and becomes a standard B-Movie battle against the beast as Brody, Hooper and Quint set sail to kill the shark. It builds nicely though, with quiet moments where very little happens, just like fishing (I did it once, used cheese as bait - it was in France), inter-spliced with the scenes involving the yellow barrels. These moments are interesting because nothing actually happens but it all adds to the sense that you are involved in a chase. And what a chase it is culminating in a shark cage and one final onslaught by the shark on the boat, destroying the Orca and taking Quint in what is easily the most enduring memory of my childhood spent watching films. So graphic with a scream that hits you and the sight of blood spurting from his mouth as the shark bites into his torso is arresting to say the least.

All of the above suggests that this is only a monster movie with good actors and a broken beast being handled by a skilled director. What really elevates this film above so many others is it's heart. It is full of touching moments involving young Sean, the son of Chief Brody. I love the scene where he sits there copying his father at the dinner table. The theme of fatherhood is obviously important here and it's one that Spielberg continues throughout his career. Sean also is scene on the beach screaming for people to get out of the water like his father as a shark attack is fears. He also pleas with his brother not to go in the water on his boat. Lovely moments that add a real human touch. The scene where Brody is confronted by the grieving mother of the dead child is very important as well. The actions of the characters have recriminations. Many films will kill people off willy nilly with no other mention of how this affects others.

I could carry on forever talking about my favourite moments and why I love it so much, but the reality is, this film is a classic and will always be a classic. It has stood up very well to the test of time and you'll be lucky to find a film that will scare you, make you laugh, make you smile and make you cry in the way that Jaws does. See it again as soon as you can, the Blockbuster in it's purest form.

Genius.