Great movie!

Rating: Null/10 (1 August 2001)

Sometimes it's not simply that a movie is great, it's also the memories that surround the first time you watched it. For me one of those great reminisces is when my older brother Rick took me to see `Jaws' in the summer of 1975. This was a big deal to an eleven-year-old kid. I doubt if he remembers, but I always will. Just like I'll remember how I wouldn't swim in the neighborhood pool for the rest of that summer after watching this Spielberg classic.

I also recall the precedence that this film set in the horror genre by opening the movie with a scene in which the monster claims a victim. This was such a revelation that I remember telling a friend about the movie and he was totally aghast at such an iconoclastic beginning. `You can't do that' he exclaimed, `you have to have clues leading up to creature, then something happens!' Even at that age I realized that this was shaking things up. Soon a slew of nature vs. man flicks inundated the market and each had a creature (be it grizzly bear, piranha, etc) start the movie off with a violent episode.

Of course this is a fantastic scare-flick, but the reason it has stood the test of time (and the shame of ersatz sequels) is that is more than a frightening movie. The dialogue is smart and the characters are interesting and very well developed. From the central troika of Brody, Hooper and Quint to lesser characters such as the chief's wife and the mayor the players satisfy and represent what we want them to. Not to mention the clever nuances (during the scar-comparing badinage Brody slightly lifts his shirt and glances at a scar that you can tell he wants to mention, but obviously decides not to-and this leaves the moment more fulfilling by what is not said) and the side bars (the implied conflict between Brody and his wife and their current residence, the disparity between Hooper and Quint, etc) that add verisimilitude to the work. Also adroitly included are adumbrations such as the `Welcome to Amity' sign, and Quint sailing by with a large grin as the fisherman hang the tiger shark up thinking they have caught the beast in question (we share this irony with Quint and it's very enjoyable) as well as quick scenes (the overweight lady heading into the water) that we like as we watch the movie but don't remember when later on we try to explain why we like this film so much.