"Here's to swimmin' with bow legged women."

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2001)

What can I say. This is one of the finest horror movies ever made. You will never look at your goldfish the same way again. And out of 187 reviews (188 after this one is put on) only four are bad (Shame on you four)I first saw it on TBS and even the edited version scared the crap out of me. Schieder is terrific as the water fearing Chief of Police. Dreyfuss is at his best as the the young shark expert. Hamilton and Gary are excellent in their supporting roles. However, I think Shaw (an often underrated actor)was the best. He actually becomes Quint. The chilling Indianapolis speech (Which he had a hand in writing) is one of the best scenes in cinematic history. Not only does it transport you to the chilly waters of 1945, it seems he isn't reading lines from a script. He narrates it like he was there. That is the gift of a true actor. What's particularly hard to believe is that he was the THIRD choice for the role of Quint. Lee Marvin was the first, and Sterling Hayden was the second. It's hard to imagine them giving the type of performance that Shaw did.
This is the film that put Spielberg on the map. And gave him the most headaches. One of the main reasons the shark is only seen towards the end of the film was the fact that the shark rarely worked. However, the lack of the shark is what really gives it suspense. It gives you the chance to build up the horror for yourself before you actually see it. Another great touch is the fact that there is a humourous line just before the shark appears. And who cares if the shark is rubber? what's scarier, a rubber shark or a computer generated shark? Neither, if that's all you're worried about. Personally, I didn't think the shark looked phony. One of the more interesting things is that when it came to casting JAWS, the shark was considered the star of the show. They didn't concentrate on getting huge stars. They got ACTORS. That's what pays off. Due to the sucess, Spielberg, Scheider, Shaw, and Dreyfuss became major stars(though sadly, Shaw died not long after in 1978).

All in all, this is definitely a must see. However, it's better to get the unedited version that to watch it on TBS or TNT. Check it out, you will not be dissapointed.
10/10
*****/*****