Jaws (1975)
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Police Chief Brody has found a dead body on the beach of Amity Island and soon he’ll realize he has something worse than a serial killer on his hands. He’s got a man-eating shark terrorizing his beach, and on the eve of the 4th of July, the island’s biggest money-maker. But the Mayor isn’t about to start closing down the only source of income for something that may not return. But the shark does return and with a vengeance. Soon the Police Chief will hunt down the shark with the help of an experience fisherman and a shark expert...but will that help?
Overall: Based on the Peter Benchley novel “Jaws,” the film does everything the book can’t...puts you in the position to scare the life out of you. Clearly this film led the way for future “monster” or “animal on the loose” films. The film’s score also helps make the movie and set the bar high for future films. Everyone knows the music from the film and that’s what helps make it so great. But the “point-of-view” shots from the sharks’ perspective are also unique and impressive. That’s the key to the film that the book never was able to do…put the viewer in the position of the victim and excite every sense a person has. And this was the first film to ever hit $100 million and after a few re-releases ended it’s run at $260 million. Everyone went to see this film and made it truly the first ever “Blockbuster.” The deleted scenes provided little reason to yell at why they should have been included. What was so good about the novel was the story and the film has a decent story but it is the intangibles that make this film great. And the cast was beyond impressive. Shaw was good but it was the comedic relief by Dreyfus and the seriousness of Scheider which helped cement this film into legend. Bottom line is the film is just an awesome piece of work and definitely should be watched! Comparison: Duel meets Orca (Spoiler) Overall - Book: Well the film generally progresses in the same vein as the film but the book has some additional storylines, and not all of them good. The film is much more concise and cut out Benchley's missteps. Good call by Spielberg. 1. Chief Brody has 3 kids. 2. The newspaper takes a giant step in influencing how the town reacts to the shark attacks. 3. The Mayor, Larry Vaughn, has a serious conflict of interest with his "investors" who turn out to be the mob and encourage him to keep the beaches open. 4. Ellen Brody once dated Matt Hooper's older brother years ago and now ends up basically cheating on Chief Brody with Matt. 5. Hooper dies. |
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