Smile you sonnofa *****!

Rating: 10/10 (28 July 2017)

'JAWS' was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. When a young woman is killed by a shark while skinny-dipping near the New England tourist town of Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches, but mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) overrules him, fearing that the loss of tourist revenue will cripple the town. Ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and grizzled ship captain Quint (Robert Shaw) offer to help Brody capture the killer beast, and the trio engage in an epic battle of man vs. nature.
Where does one begin with this movie. It is an undisputed classic and changed cinema forever. If this film makes you fear the water, then I will say it did its job remarkably well. This may be a short review because pretty much everything can be summed up with the word 'great' but I'll at least try to praise specifics.
And to begin praising, the story is as good a place as any. It's a simple plot: shark attacks people, people hunt shark. Nothing overly complex or compelling about that, right? Well that should be my opinion on it but the masterful way Gottlieb and Benchley wrote the screenplay, as well as Spielberg's flawless story telling makes it rise to so much more than a run of the mill thriller. It has the perfect setting: a claustrophobic boat set on the wide and gaping ocean, riding upon the antagonist's natural habitat. Everything falls into place with such precision and perfection that the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end and doesn't wait for no one. Flaw I can't, this masterful screenplay.
Now the absolute perfect performances. Roy Scheider(not to be confused with Rob Schnieder; very different people) gives a absolutely perfect performance as Martin Brody. He nails every aspect and emotion of Brody and does so with such sincerity that it makes it go from great to amazing. Richard Dreyfuss does an excellent job as the more zany Matt Hooper and juxtaposes excellently against Scheider's more grounded performance. The clash of performances is excellent. Then we have Robert Shaw's staggering performance as Quint who also has a distinct style of performance which distinguishes himself from Scheider and Dreyfuss. A trio of excellent performances is what sets this movie apart from the rest.
Supporting performances from Murray Hamilton(Mayor Vaughn) and Lorraine Garry(Ellen Brody) also help the movie and help support the characters.
Speaking of the awesome characters, they are why this movie is great. You watch the movie because of the shark at first but you only love the movie(and possibly rewatch) because of those excellent characters. Brody is, at first, the no nonsense chief of police but soon evolves and mellows out. As stated prior, Hooper is the zany 'sidekick' to Brody. Hooper is our resident shark expert but is also undeniably enjoyable to watch. He has a level of energy and intelligence that makes him such a great character. And then we have Quint. A roughened shark hunter who we slowly see grow and learn to respect his colleges. This trio is undoubtedly on of the greatest series of characters put to film purely because they are so distinctly memorable and likable and all their arcs have meaning.
The cinematography and editing for this movie are both awesome. It deserved it's Oscar for best editing. People laugh at the visual effects of the shark but considering it was 1975, I'd say they were god damn fantastic. Realistic? Not by today's standards but the effort put into it and the ingenious methods of how the shark was handled give it a sense of wonder. It doesn't hold a candle to what we have today but just remember it was made 42 years ago, as of the time of writing.
What can I say about John Williams' iconic score that hasn't already been said. It's intense, scary, frightening, it perfectly encapsulates the movie and its tone; it is probably the best score in cinema history and I don't say that lightly. If it didn't win the Oscar, I'd have been rioting in the streets. It is so simple yet so chillingly effective; it is flawless.
I highly recommend you see Jaws, it is an undisputed classic. It features excellent acting, storytelling, effects, a masterpiece of a score, great cinematography and phenomenal characters. What more could you possibly ask for in a movie? Seriously? If you haven't seen this movie, you simply must; it is awesome. I'll rate this movie a flawless 10 Bigger Boats out of 10.