A classic thriller

Rating: Null/10 (18 March 1999)

I remember vividly when I saw this movie first - I was 13 years old. The scene where Richard Dreyfuss discovers the head in the boat is still the single biggest scare I have ever had in a movie theater. The tension of the entire second half is still unmatched by any movie since. JAWS was also the first movie I ever recorded on a VCR and myself and my brother watched it over and over endlessly even getting to the stage where we knew the dialogue. I agree that the shark looks really phony - yet somehow it doesn't matter - such is the brilliance of the direction, the career best work from the 3 actors and John Williams now legendry score. This is one film that should be re-shown in a theater - as it does lose some of its vice-like grip on the smaller screen. Although Spielberg went to to make "better" movies, in terms of sweat inducing nervous excitement this movie is still in a class of its own.