"You're gonna need a bigger boat."

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2006)

Roy Scheider ad-libbed the 'bigger boat' line, and as sometimes happens, it became a classic. I just viewed the film once again in it's entirety, one of the few times I've done so since it's original release. It holds up amazingly well, and retains all the thrill and horror that it did during the summer you were afraid to go into the water.
Although he appeared on screen earlier, Robert Shaw's fingernails on the chalk board at the town meeting was the perfect way of introducing Amity's potential savior. What he might not have known about rogue shark mentality and territorial behavior is provided by Richard Dreyfuss' character, derided by Captain Quint as a mere college boy, but with enough sea smarts to know that this could be the big one. Boy, was it!
I forgot about the dead sailor in the hull of the boat discovered by Hooper (Dreyfuss). It's still one of those unexpected 'oh s---' moments in movies that works even after the gimmick has been played out countless times since. What's remarkable about the film is it's ability to convey unspeakable horror in a way that doesn't get in your face. The opening scene is a perfect example, but how about when that patrolman's leg gets lopped off in the water and slowly floats down to the sea floor - the stuff nightmares are made of.
Filmed in the vicinity of Martha's Vineyard in the fictional town of Amity, the picture also explores the crass commercialism of summer tourism winning out over safety concerns. Murray Hamilton's Mayor Vaughn is a master of the spin machine that successfully lures the crowds to the beach on the Fourth of July, right before the fireworks break loose. The beach reporter on the scene is none other than Peter Benchley, who wrote the novel and screenplay.
When I saw this movie when it first came out, I recall doing an 'aw c'mon' when Brody shoots the cylinder in the shark's mouth sending it to fish heaven. But you know what, it might have been luck, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. It took Brody six shots before connecting with the big bang; just in time too since he was going down with the ship. Did anyone else besides me forget about Hooper in all the excitement until he surfaced to hook up with Brody after the fish fry?
It's amazing how certain movies have a way of weaving their way into your subconscious. More than thirty years later, "Jaws" still heralds that two beat 'da-dum' every time I go to the shore or take a walk on the beach. I can't even think about telegrams without recalling that goofy 'Saturday Night Live' skit with the candy gram shark knocking from behind the door. Such is the power of film. I think I'll go for a swim.