“Duunnn-dunnn … duuuunnnn-duun … duuunnnnnnnnnn-dun… Dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun DUN-DUN DUN-DUN DUN-DUN DUN-DUN DUN-DUN DUN-DUN DUN-DUN DUN-DUN!!!!!
On June 20, 1975, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel Jaws changed the summer movie season forever. And yet Jaws is more than just the first summer blockbuster movie — it’s a genuinely scary thriller.
From John William’s iconic movie score to Spielberg’s excellent direction, Jaws is an intense, edge-of-your seat thriller.
The film starts off with a beach party on the sleepy island of Amity. A young woman goes out for a little midnight swim. The next day, the remains of her body are found and police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches. But Amity is a summer town and mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) stops Brody from shutting down the beaches. Soon, another victim is claimed and shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) is called in to help. Then shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) offers his services for a large price.
The mother of the second victim offers a reward for the shark and soon, everyone is trying to kill it. A shark is killed, but it’s not the shark. Soon the beaches are back open and it’s feeding time again for the great white shark.
I love Jaws. It’s fun and terrifying. I’m kind of amazed (and delighted!) that Universal hasn’t tried to remake it yet. Several sequels followed and more shark rip-off horror movies than you can count, but the original still rules the waves.
Here’s my post on Jaws from Halloween 2011’s “31 Days Of Monstrous Horror” series.
