A Great Horror Film and a Cultural Force

Rating: 10/10 (29 September 2001)

There is no more instantly recognizable phrase of movie music. None. The low repetitive, tension building bass violin. No other movie has also so massively created paranioa. This movie ranks with The Godfather for shaping forever the public's perception of its central theme.
The shark is not shown in this movie until about 2/3 of the way in and that is central to its horror. The ultimate enemy is the one you cannot see and cannot predict. This movie also lets you inside the sharks pysche, for lack of a better term, when oceanographer Dreyfuss gives his speech on the shark being "the perfect engine". A nonhuman villian is described in terms that we can understand and completely fear.
There is a lot of small town hokeyness to this film. Robert Shaw is a little over the top (but great) and there is the perfunctory subplot of the mayor who doesn't want the beach closed in peak season. But is all works in the context of this groundbreaking, edgy film, which at the time, was the #1 grossing film of all time.
I give the strongest recommendation to this film as a great piece of horror, but also as a view of the work of a young Speilberg. Required viewing for all movie fans - one of the best films ever made. **** out of ****.