What makes Jaws a classic

Rating: Null/10 (6 April 2016)

Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" is such a great classic for many reasons. It is more than just a an over dramatized shark film, it has substance and cinematic elements that make it a truly great and lasting classic. What makes "Jaws" so engaging is the fact that it is packed full of suspense.The film starts off strong with it's opening scene and first attack. The audience already knows something bad is going to happen to the skinny dipping woman due to the film's initial focus, however, the most wonderful part of it all is that the shark is not shown at all in this scene. The feeling of suspense was solely gained from the terrifying silence, the vast openness of the dark ocean, and the incredibly vulnerable shots of the girls legs dangling from underneath the water. The fact that the monster is not shown right away builds suspense in the film to such a high level, providing a fear of the unknown that affects the viewers for much of the film. Another huge factor of Jaws that provides suspense is the theme song. Each scene that shark was in the theme song was also present, which forces the viewers to correlate the song with danger. The song itself builds up by starting slower and increasing in speed, which creates a sense of suspense along with the other elements within a given scene. Overall, Jaws is such a classic film due to its innovation in the creation of suspense in film. Spielberg did an amazing job creating suspense for the viewers through several elements including sound and visuals.