Finally, 33 years later, I've seen the movie that reminded us to not go in the water...

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2008)

"Jaws" is a movie for the ages. It's an example of what happens when the right people come together for the right reasons, for the right movie.
Firstly, author Peter Benchley co-wrote the screenplay (the screenplay itself is adapted from his own novel of the same name) that became one of the new, classic scary-stories of our time: a huge great white shark is terrorizing the residents of a small New England beach community. Amity Police Chief Brody (the recently departed Roy Scheider), marine expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and grizzled shark hunter Quint (the late Robert Shaw) are the heroic three who volunteer to have a climatic showdown with this man-eating menace appropriate described as mother nature's ultimate killing machine.
I should make it clear that for years I was never one of this movie's biggest fans. So I just kind of avoided it - the theme just didn't appeal to me, since I've never been afraid to go swimming at the beach. But guess what? "Jaws" is the classic adventure-horror of our times, and I am now amongst one of its many, many fans. A lot of things are classic about this movie - it's pointless to even describe them here.
Also, I'm sure there are a number of scientific inaccuracies about the true nature of sharks (the recently departed shark hunter who inspired "Quint" always said he felt sorry for the shark in this movie) and whether or not they are truly something to fear - but, you know what? - it's Hollywood, they always win. And I'm also sure that the liberties with sharks were liberties well-taken for the sake of dramatic potential: This movie did its job in scaring the living daylights out of a lot of people.
Most importantly, other than serving up great scares, suspense and adventure, "Jaws" is responsible for starting the career of Hollywood director Steven Spielberg. "Jaws" was his claim to fame; it's also the movie credited for starting the summer blockbuster phenomenon (this currently ranks pretty high amongst one of the highest-grossing movies of all time), and spawning three sequels and countless imitators. Spielberg would go on to do great things in his career, long after "Jaws," and he still continues to do great things to do this day because of this movie. It's probably one of my favorite movies of his and one of my favorite movies of all time.
"Jaws" is a movie not likely to ever go away any time soon. That is part of its appeal: its ability to remain an important piece of cinema and a pop culture phenomenon that continues to genuinely frighten us even 33 years after its release. And that is also the mark of a truly great film. It's a powerful example of what film-making can really do when the right people are involved in the right movie, for the right reasons.
10/10