Still Not Going In The Water!!

Rating: 9/10 (10 August 2013)

After so many years, Jaws is probably on my list as one of my five favorite films of all time. I never get tired of watching this movie. It's just got one of those feelings that Hollywood will never, ever be able to reproduce. I doubt there is anything I could say about this movie that would do it justice and that others haven't already said better than I, so I'll just mention a few of the things that make me keep on coming back for more.
So many to chose from... well, there is the shark, of coarse. Brilliant move by Spielberg in not showing it until the third act. In fact, the scenes where you don't see him are scarier, like the guy that gets knocked off his boat in the pond, where we get our first glimpse of the shark gliding under the water towards him and pulling him under. Frightening. The cast, Scheider, Dreyfuss and Shaw are incredible. Shaw totally steals every scene he's in. This has to be one of the most quoted films in pop culture with lines like, "We're gonna need a bigger boat", "This was no boating accident! It wasn't any propeller, it wasn't any coral reef and it wasn't Jack the Ripper. It was a shark", "Uh, I think it's clear that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and bites you in the ass!", and just about everything Robert Shaw says. Every bit of praise this movie has received it has earned.
I happened upon the latest release of the film recently. The 25th anniversary edition, complete with a "making of", deleted scenes and outtakes. Definitely money well spent, even if you already own it, run out and buy this on video or DVD. What makes it worth it? Well, the scene with Quint going to the music shop to buy piano wire is worth the price of admission alone, I laughed so hard! The "making of" feature was filled with juicy facts, including Spielberg setting the record straight on who actually wrote the famous (and brilliant) U.S.S. Indianapolis speech delivered by Shaw, a scene that almost every writer working in Hollywood at that time has taken credit for at one time or another. And with good reason, it's a memorable one. I loved every minute of it. This movie is a classic no matter how you cut it.
Don't go in the water!!