"You're gonna need a bigger boat."

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2019)

This is not only one of the best films of the 1970s, but one of the best ever by legendary director Steven Spielberg.
Not sure what I am going to say that likely has not been said countless times by other people on this site, but I will try. Right from the beginning of the film we are introduced to the setting and the shark through the use of John Williams' amazing, yet still simplistic score that has been copied or imitated numerous times when someone dips their toe into the water. We are also introduced to two young kids who are on the beach partying. They decide to go for a little swim. That is when we are really shown what this terrible monster in the water can do. Susan Backlinie really does an amazing job in this opening scene. It is from here that Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider in a fabulous role) is wanting to close the beach due to the death of the girl. Especially after Hooper (amazingly done by Richard Dreyfuss) an oceanographer states that it was a shark that killed her. Unfortunately, there is a great bit of resistance from the slimeball mayor (Murray Hamilton in a role that I will always remember him for). Until the deaths keep racking up. In steps Quint (wonderfully portrayed by Robert Shaw) a local shark hunter who offers his services for $10,000. So, the trio of Scheider, Dreyfuss and Shaw take Quint's boat to find and kill the shark.
Now, the things that really makes this film work first off is the acting is beyond great. To me Scheider doesn't seem to really get enough credit due to the performances of both Dreyfuss and Shaw. All three of them were spectacular and really give the film more than enough fuel to make it to the final frame. My favourite scene in the whole picture is when the three of them are sitting around the table on Quint's boat after downing a few drinks. Both Dreyfuss and Shaw share stories about scars on their bodies until they come to the story about Quint during WWII being involved with a certain onslaught of sharks while he was in the water after his ship the USS Indianapolis was sunk. I find Quint's monologue scarier than anything else in the whole movie. Secondly as I mentioned earlier, the score is top notch and will forever be in your head. Thirdly, Steven Spielberg's ability to unweave the story on screen while not having you stare at a shark for half the movie wowing at it. No, he is setting up the scenes and driving home a fear that many of us would have if faced with the same life-altering challenges some of the characters face.
Written for the screen by Carl Gottlieb (who has a role as Meadows in the film) and novelist Peter Benchley. I have read the novel and while it was okay and passable, in comparison to the film though it was teetering into a forgettable novel. Other than the shark that is. They took everything good from the novel and placed it into the film. They left a lot of the stuff I didn't really care for in the book completely out. Also starring Lorraine Gary who puts in a great performance as Brody's wife Ellen.
If you haven't seen this movie, you have to watch it. A must-see for any fan of film in general. .