Jaws (12A)

One short week before the annual 4th of July celebrations, Martin Brody, the new police chief of the small summer resort town of Amity Island, has reasons to believe that the mangled body of the missing young swimmer found washed up on shore is the work of a predatory shark. Worried about the unsuspecting tourists, Brody insists on closing down the beaches; however, greed, and Mayor Larry Vaughn, get in the way of security, only to spark a series of additional bloody attacks.

Now, all eyes are on the deep blue ocean, while Brody, along with the marine biologist, Matt Hooper, and the expert shark killer, Quint, hunt for the undisputed ruler of the sea: a monstrous, slate-grey great white shark that patrols the waters, hungry for human flesh. But, can they outsmart the ultimate aquatic man-eater, and escape from its massive jaws?

Cast: Chief Brody - Roy Scheider

         Matt Hooper - Richard Dreyfuss

        Quint - Robert Shaw

         Mayor Vaughn - Murray Hamilton

 

Director: Steven Spielberg

 

Worldwide Box Office: $476,512,065 million

 

Awards and nominations: Winner of 3 Oscars including Best Music, Original Dramatic Score for John Williams and nominated for Best Picture

 

Trivia: Several decades after the film's release, Lee Fierro, who played Mrs. Kintner, walked into a seafood restaurant and noticed that the menu had an "Alex Kintner Sandwich." She commented that she had played his mother so many years ago; the owner of the restaurant ran out to meet her, and he was none other than Jeffrey Voorhees, who had played her son. They had not seen each other since the original movie shoot.

When composer John Williams originally played the score for director Steven Spielberg, Spielberg laughed and said, "That's funny, John, really; but what did you really have in mind for the theme of Jaws?" Spielberg later stated that without Williams's score, the movie would only have been half as successful and according to Williams, it jump-started his career.

According to writer Carl Gottlieb, the line "You're gonna need a bigger boat" was not scripted, but was ad-libbed by Roy Scheider.

Over 67 million people in the U.S. went to see this film when it was initially released in 1975, making it the first summer "blockbuster."

 

Lulu's verdict: Get your arm bands and rubber duckie ready because this film will make you question swimming anywhere ever again. Back in 1975, "Jaws" made a huge splash (pardon the pun) in theaters. It set all sorts of box office records and made the covers of magazines all over the country. And, the film was seen as groundbreaking and amazing. When seen today, it's still a great film to watch even with it's very dated technology. In other words, the shark often looks very fake but the story is so good and handled so well, you really don't care. Excellent acting, a very nice script and excellent direction make this a definite must-see.