Imitate but never remake

Rating: 10/10 (30 September 2012)

Deserves all the plaudits it receives, the rousing and climactic attacks and the epic finale are worthy of the mega status it garners. It only loses credibility through the incessant comparisons with inferior products, and being considered the mothership of shark movies, will always suffer for its subsequent associations. The presentation of the shark isn't always realistic, but then in 1975, we didn't have shark week to saturate us with the real thing.
The principal trio, despite their apparent off-camera 'issues', have a likable rapport (albeit sometimes strained, consistent with the narrative), and though I'd favour Shaw's performance for its hero and villain dichotomy, Scheider and Dreyfuss still perform well above their weight in experience at the time.
Music, dialogue, suspense, timing and photography - it's the complete package in my opinion that totally immerses you in fear. I'm not sure how it translates to the younger audiences of today, used to a more explicit depiction, but it's a lesson in the "less is more" tactic when showing the protagonist, for itself the eponymous squalis is not absurdly proportioned like the more recent "Megalodon" movies, and still convincing enough to keep me on terra firma indefinitely.