The best film ever made

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2005)

Not only did it effectively start the career of the greatest director of the modern day, (Steven Spielberg) but it became one of the highest grossing films of all time. On a personal note, I remember i saw this when i was 4years old, and it effectively scarred me for life! I hardly ever swim in the sea, and i even tend to give the swimming pool a couple of looks before i swim! On a critical basis though, i like to look at this film as the COMPLETE film. Every component in the movie is done at a phenomenal level. The music is Oscar-worthy, one of the greatest scores of JOhn Williams illustrious career-and created the cult classic "dum-dum-dum-dum" indicator for the sharks imminent arrival. Editor Verna Fields, also won an Oscar for the incredible editing in this movie. The camera work is expert, as well as Spielberg's genius craft in directing.
The storyline of the movie is loosely based on true events of Sharks staking its claim on one area and developing a taste for human blood.
The storyline follows a fictitious community known as Amity Island, in the New England area. Local Chief of police Martin Brody locks horns with the local Mayor, whom refuses to heed the claims there is a Shark. The mayor (Murray Hamilton) wants to keep revenue for the town so to keep people swimming in the local beaches for their event in the 4th of July. IN a memorable moment, the Mayor backs up the reasoning "...we need summer dollars... If the people can't swim here, they'll happily swim in the beaches of Cape Cod, Long Island." Martin retorts, "Yea, but that doesn't mean we have to serve them up a Smorgisbord!" the Mayor memorably then replies-"It's all psychological, U yell Baricuda people say 'huh,' 'what?'; U yell Shark, and we have a panic on our hands on the 4th of July."
The opening to the movie is arguably the most powerful opening to a movie ever made. A beach side party, encourages a guy to go over to a girl Chrissie Watkins, whom immediately decides to go for a midnight swim, the boy follows and passes out at the beach side due to alcohol-the girl soon realises she is alone in the water. At this point with expert milking of tension, the camera does a sharks POV beneath the girls legs, treading water. The camera gets closer, the music gets louder, then as we cut to a close up of the girls face, we see her feel the tug from below as she is dramatically and terrifyingly dragged left and right before she is finally pulled under for the final time. The primal fear of what is unknown in the water, is one of the factors that makes that scene so effective.
Meanwhile as the evidence points to a shark attack, the community mayor has none of it until the next attack, an attack on a young boy on a raft -the gruesome death in front of many members of the community ensues community panic. This scene serves to heighten to the audience that if even a young boy gets killed and a dog (pippet) earlier, that truly no one is safe adding to the unpredictability and fear to the movie. Again, the attack is expertly crafted.
The aspect that makes this movie beyond a simple monster movie is the interaction and characterisation in the domestic environment. We get a real sense of a small town Ameircan island community, the movie looks at all members of the community, the fishermen, council members,and island families. The character interaction is realistic and the main characters were tremendous. Chief Brody, played by the excellent actor Roy Schieder- is the typical everyman hero. His wife, Ellen (LOrraine Gary) was effective in an understated role. Brody feeling community pressure not to close the beaches for longer than 24hrs, brings in a Shark Expert, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss). AN instantly likable character creates a tremendous bond with the Chief and a humorous interaction between the two. When the Shark attacks again, during the 4th of July celebration, Brody brings in Robert Shaw as the colourful shark fishermen to kill the Shark. The 3 main characters are simply scintillating together. Even scenes which don't include the shark are fascinating. Robert Shaw is wonderful at portraying an over-the top colourful Shark fisherman and creates an immediate distrust to Hoopers upper class upbringing: "U have city hands Mister Hooper, U've been countin money all your life!" Hooper replies, "Hey, i don't need this Working class hero crap." This brings an immediate tension when they go on the small boat. Brody terrified of boats and the water and Quint's controlling nature with Hooper being sidelined.
One of the best aspects in the film is the characterisation of the Quint character, in his USS Indianapolis story. One of the most fascinating speeches in any moment in modern cinema. And we see the 3characters all bond. Probably one of the most famous jump off your seat scenes is the scene when the Shark emerges from the water unexpectedly after Brody threw chum in the water. Brody aghast staggers backwards claiming in a classic understatement "We're gonna need a bigger boat!" The scenes on the boat are the most fascinating examples of all elements of classic cinema techniques at its absolute best. The movie mixes adventurous, swashbuckling daring- do, to pure thriller horror.
The final minutes of the movie are terrifying, Hoopers dramatic escape in the cage, to Quints gruesome demise to Brody's heroic last ditch one- on- one with the killer shark. Brody's classic "Smile you son of a B...!" blowing up the shark by shooting the air tank- is a rousing end to not just the greatest horror film ever made; but the greatest film ever made.