And a leisurely ocean dip would never be the same

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2006)

I first saw this during it's initial theatrical release and was impressed. I had not read the novel but in 1974 Peter Benchley's book Jaws spent most of the year on the best seller list and the film's producers approached the young Steven Spielberg to direct. He was known for the big made for movie hit Duel and had recent success with his first theatrical released film Sugarland Express so he was given the monumental challenge to adapt for the screen a runaway best selling thriller for a summer release. Summer releases were usually relegated to Drive-In movies back in 1975 but because of the film's subject they took a chance on coinciding with the swimming and summer tourist season for maximum effect. The chance of a summer release of a major theatrical release and the use of a relatively unknown director was a big hit. Major summer releases became the norm and Spielberg became a legend. Spielberg would of course go on to direct such major films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark and it's two big Indiana Jones sequels, ET, The Color Purple, the Empire of the Sun, Jurasick Park, Shindlers List and Saving Private Ryan among his big hits. He stumbled with a few misses too but the Spielberg name on any film draws interest and anticipation. Peter Benchley wrote the screenplay of his own novel along with Carl Gotlieb and some contribution from Spielberg. The monologue of the story of the Indianpolis tragedy was drafted by playwright Howard Sackler and screenwriter/director John Milius. One of filmdom's most memorable and effective music scores by John Williams received an Academy Award, one of three the film won including Best Sound and Best Film Editing. It was also nominated for Best Picture but lost to One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It also was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, winning one and got seven BAFTA nominations, winning one. Cinematographer Bill Butler had been a second unit photographer on The godfather, Deliverance and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and had been the cinematographer of The Conversation. He only filmed a handful of successful films after Jaws including Biloxi Blues, Stripes and Grease and it's odd that his career nosedived and he was involved with a ton of real bad movies. It's also odd that with the success of Jaw Spielberg never used him again in any of his films. Rexford Metz was the underwater cinematographer. It's basically a simple story of a giant Great White shark who has developed a taste for humans and had began prowling the sea shore of a resort town. It's possesses almost supernatural strength and cunning and the town's police chief wants to stop it but the town's mayor doesn't want tourists to know they have a shark problem. The cop enlists the aid of a young oceanographer, fresh out of college and a WWII Navy veteran who has become a seafaring bounty hunter. Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfus and Murray Hamilton star. It's a well done suspenseful drama, well written with shock, horror and a little comedy too. I would give it a 10.