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Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2014)

It's Chief of Police Brody (Roy Scheider)'s first year on Amity Island. It's the all important summer holiday season and the 50th annual regatta. When a girl gets eaten by a shark, Brody wants to close the beaches. Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) has a different opinion. When a little boy is killed by the shark next, Brody closes down the beaches. There's a private bounty of $3000. Local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) offers to do it for $10k. Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) from the Oceanographic Institute answers Brody's call for help. The bounty brings many yahoos and they catch a tiger shark. Only it's not the right shark according to Hooper. Mayor Vaughn reopens the beaches for the 4th of July despite Hooper and Brody's strenuous objections. When the shark attacks again, mayor Vaughn relents and agrees to hire Quint. Quint isn't impressed with Hooper, but he's forced to take both Hooper and Brody on board.
There are so many great things about this movie. It holds up even compared to more modern movies. The trick or the luck of this movie is to not show the shark for much of the movie. It is director Steven Spielberg's first big hit in a long line of big hits from one of the most prolific directors. The movie zips along with ease. It is the quintessential popcorn movie.