Review: Jaws

Based on the (apparently fairly average) novel by Peter Benchley, Roy Scheider stars as Chief Martin Brody, formerly of New York, but now police chief of the small resort town of Amity. He becomes alarmed when the body of a young swimmer washes up on shore, and the coroner’s report has it down as a shark attack. Unfortunately, Brody can’t get the tourism-motivated mayor (Hamilton) or town council to see reason and close the beaches. After a few more deaths, Brody and arrogant shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) find that the mayor is a little more flexible to the idea that there is indeed a shark problem. Enter grizzled old sea dog Quint (Robert Shaw), who will do the job for a price- $10,000. So, Brody (who seems determined to overcome his queasiness for water-related activities) and Hooper (who wants to study the shark up close) join Quint in heading out to find and capture/kill the shark. Lorraine Gary plays Brody’s concerned but supportive wife.

Regarded by many including myself as being the first true blockbuster of the ‘blockbuster era’ (so films like “Gone With the Wind” and “Ben-Hur” don’t count for me), this enduringly popular 1975 Steven Spielberg film was his first major success and a true cinematic benchmark for suspense entertainment. Here it is, folks, along with John Carpenter’s “Halloween”, this is the blue print for keeping an audience on edge throughout, and arguably one of the most influential films of all-time. Don’t blame Spielberg for all of the bland, underwhelming ‘blockbuster entertainments’ that it inspired (well, you can blame him for “Jurassic Park”, certainly). By and large those films failed in areas that Spielberg so wonderfully succeeds here, with a smaller budget than most of the films to come after it, it must be said. He doesn’t always get credit for it, and has made a few stinkers over the years, but when Spielberg is on his game, there are few better and more professional filmmakers out there. “Jaws” (like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “ET” subsequently), is testament to his expertise and command of the cinematic arts as a vehicle for audience entertainment and engagement. In this regard, he is perhaps second only to The Master himself, Sir Alfred Hitchcock in manipulating and entertaining audiences with popular entertainments (before such a thing somehow became known as a bad thing, presumably thanks in large part to the dumbing down of mainstream cinema from guys like Michael Bay and Stephen Sommers). In fact, with all due respect to Mr. Hitchcock and his bomb on a train (“Sabotage”), when I think of suspense, this is probably the first film to come to mind. Spielberg has made more profound films (“Saving Private Ryan”, “Schindler’s List”), but this might just be his best and most entertaining as he plays us all like a freakin’ piano from start to finish in what is an especially simple (it’s just a shark movie!), but tremendously effective film.

Take the shark for instance. I’m not going to tell you anything new here, but it must be said that Spielberg’s judicious use of the mechanical shark is one of the film’s strongest points. He slowly builds up to it, only giving us a few glimpses here and there. You want to see an example of how to royally mess this kind of thing up? Ironically, you can just watch Spielberg’s very own “Jurassic Park”. One of the fatal flaws of that film was that Spielberg was so enamoured with the wondrous FX, that he felt compelled to give us all dinosaurs all the time. There was no suspense, little sense of awe. And believe me, it’s not just Spielberg who has forgotten the ‘less is more’ approach, I could go on for hours listing films that have failed to properly learn from “Jaws”. Sure, the original reason for this approach was accidental, as the mechanical shark took forever to actually work during shooting and Spielberg was forced to work around it. Happy accident or not, it works, and it’s an approach that ought to be taken more often. Whilst it’s hardly a stellar work of special FX, I gotta say ‘Bruce’ the shark ain’t all that bad lookin’ for a film that was made in the mid-70s. Sure it looks stiff and immobile, but the only time you get a real good look at it is when it attacks the boat, and I’m no expert, but I think a shark interacting with a boat above the surface of the water is unlikely to move terribly fluidly. Under the limitations of the day, I think Spielberg and co do the best they can (mostly by showing as little of the shark as possible), and there’s some really terrific stuff here. Spielberg, in holding off showing the shark, shows the boat starting to take water, and we hear lots of loud noises and the like. It’s brilliantly, economically done. Even better is an earlier shark attack scene involving a kid. Yes, Steven Spielberg that sick freak, kills a kid. It’s wonderfully drawn-out and suspenseful, and although a genuine set piece, it’s done with remarkable subtlety. Admittedly the use of a camera technique from “Vertigo” might be calling attention to itself, but it’s still an iconic moment. In fact, I might even suggest that the technique used is more famous from this film than in “Vertigo” (a great film in its own right, mind you). The film also contains a great ‘false alarm’ scene that is so well-done and amusing that it makes all the subsequent spoofs (there’s been too many to count) look even worse, because not only did “Jaws” poke fun at itself already, it did so better than anyone else. It’s a really funny scene. 

Another big factor in the success of this film as a suspense classic is the iconic music score by John Williams (“Star Wars”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Superman”, “The Poseidon Adventure”). The iconic main theme is certainly unforgettable and very effectively terrifying, but people seem to overlook the rest of the score. I actually like the score as a whole, in fact, at times it’s really quite beautiful. There’s even a cute bit where Williams uses a bit of the sea shanty Robert Shaw sings at one point, for the score. Perhaps the best thing about the score is that Spielberg occasionally doesn’t use it at all. It’s a show of brilliance by him for the first real appearance of the shark to be initially unaccompanied by music. By this point, we’ve gotten used to Williams’ musical cues whenever the shark is about to strike (despite not yet getting a good look at him of course), so that when it appears unaccompanied by music...look out! Clearly Spielberg and Williams understand that understanding when not to use music is very important in any suspense film. Anyone who doesn’t jump when we see the floating head needs to check their pulse, as it’s one of the all-time best ‘jump’ scares.

Then we come to the characters and actors. You might not immediately think that characters and acting contribute directly to tension or suspense, but think about it; How can you care enough about a film to be tense if the characters aren’t interesting enough to become involved in their plight? This is an area where “Jaws” succeeds mostly brilliantly. True, the (young) victims are dull, and in fact that is the one flaw with the entire film (as is the case with all the “Friday the 13^th” films and their faceless, nondescript ‘walking corpses’). However, there can be little doubt that the film’s three central characters (and to a lesser extent those played by Gary and Murray Hamilton) are wonderfully well-written and performed expertly. We come to know, identify with, and care about these people. They resonate with us long after the film is over. Perhaps most of all, this is an area where the descendants of “Jaws” (including its very sequels) fail to learn from. I really don’t understand why the late Roy Scheider never became an A-level star. Sure, he had a certain limit to his range, and perhaps he tried to expand it beyond those limits at times, but he wasn’t that kind of an actor. He was a damn good ‘everyman’ and stoic hero. He had a pretty good supporting role in “The French Connection”, but this film was definitely his career highlight. He has a bit of Spencer Tracy’s stoic decency and dependability about him in this film. Scheider, in conjunction with what the screenplay gives him to work with, really sells this character’s great responsibility and enormous pressure both professionally but also in his personal, family life. That Brody can try and keep the beaches of Amity safe whilst also taking the time to be a good husband and goof off with his young son, immediately endears him to the audience. He’s no Rambo or Superman, he’s an Average Joe. He’s one of us, only he’s got one helluva shark problem on his hands and no one in town willing to listen to a goddamn thing he has to say about it. And whilst Dreyfuss and Shaw are playing their own game of acting one-upmanship around him, Scheider, the film’s anchor and heart, helps keep the film grounded.

Dreyfuss, for his part, does something truly remarkable. His performance and characterisation of the slightly arrogant shark expert is both likeable and highly irritating at the same time. Mostly, however, he’s just annoying to Shaw, which for the audience is highly amusing. It might be Dreyfuss’ best role to date, with the possible exception of “Whose Life is it, Anyway?”. He gets two points off for the incorrect pronunciation of Brisbane, committing the usual American sin of pronouncing it as ‘Bris-bane’. Only Richard Dreyfuss could sell a scene where his character is thoughtful enough to bring wine over to Scheider’s house (red and white), and then go ahead and help himself to Scheider’s dinner! Oh, he asks permission first, but c’mon...that’s just terrible, and highly entertaining. And that’s largely Dreyfuss’ function in the film, to be the sarcastic young upstart to Robert Shaw’s prickly veteran straight man (though it’s clear that Shaw’s having fun too). For my money, the greatest entertainment in the whole film is Dreyfuss’ continual mocking of Shaw. However, it doesn’t get much better than Shaw’s entrance, one of the all-time most memorable. Another favourite moment of mine is his rather unique toast: ‘Here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women!’. And for all the mocking Dreyfuss does, it wouldn’t work if Shaw wasn’t also trying to match him. Admittedly, this is not just two characters playing a game of one-upmanship, it’s the actors themselves (who reportedly hated each other) constantly trying to upstage one another. Personally, I think Dreyfuss wins it. It’s hilarious to watch, whether it’s Dreyfuss trying to match Shaw’s crushing of a beer can by crushing a plastic cup, or Dreyfuss immaturely pulling faces at Shaw from behind and shouting ‘Arrrr, cap’n!’ and such. The best example, however, both in terms of character and actor, is the infamous alcohol bonding scene where the Dreyfuss and Shaw characters keep trying to one-up each other with their scars. Dreyfuss gets the film’s funniest line, pointing to a scar on his chest; ‘Mary Ellen Moffatt- she broke my heart’. There’s also an amusing sing-a-long, by all three, and an over-the-top but scary story told by an especially eerie Shaw, that might rank as one of his best moments ever in a film. That said, is there any doubt that Shaw was drunk both on and off set here? I feel for poor Scheider, it must’ve been absolute hell having to put up with these two combatants on set. But for us, it’s true movie magic. Hamilton for his part is spot-on, and as far as I’m concerned, the character isn’t all that far-fetched, he’s just a tool. We live in an age where commerce is king, is it really that hard to believe that someone would be as stubborn, dollar-driven, and myopic as Hamilton? I mean it’s the 4^th of July, are you gonna tell me that a little itty bitty shark problem is going to get in the way of America celebrating its love for itself? I don’t think so. The character, like the film as a whole, is only a degree or two north of reality. And that’s another key to the film. It flirts with fantasy, but ultimately it is grounded in reality. These things happen, albeit with smaller sharks. And even when it is a tad unrealistic, I didn’t mind. I actually like that the shark appears to be playing subtle mind games with our heroes, with the barrels etc. It’s not overdone like say, “Jaws: The Revenge”, wherein the shark appeared to have a vendetta against the Brody family. Meanwhile, I don’t care what anyone says, this film has a terrific ending. I mean, that’s one helluva way to end a movie.

Thrill-rides these days seem to be mostly empty-headed hack-jobs. “Jaws” did it first and did it right. I said before that this is just a ‘shark movie’, but in reality this is the shark movie. Accept no substitutes. Scripted by Carl Gottlieb (“Jaws 2”, “The Jerk”), an uncredited Howard Sackler (“Jaws 2”, “The Great White Hope”), and Benchley himself, from his own novel.

Rating: A+