Jaws (Spoilers!)

 

 Jaws is a movie created in 1975 by Steven Spielberg. It was the very first blockbuster film earning over 400 million dollars worldwide. This film is about police chief Martin Brody, played by Roy Schneider, and the events that occur in his new town Amity Island. He and his family are settling in when a wave of shark attacks occurs at their local beach. He is quick to bring this to the mayor's attention as he wants to close down the beaches because he is scared, but the mayor is against closing them down because it would lose him too much money. When the shark attacks get more frequent, a reward is created for those who can kill and bring back the shark which enables many fishermen and locals to go out and try to catch it. They return with a small tiger shark and Hooper, a young and well-educated shark expert, explains that the tiger shark is not the shark they are after. After investigating the tiger shark more and realizing it is not the correct shark, Brody, Hooper, and Quint, who is an older local, set out to sea in hopes of catching this big fish. Along the way, they realize it is a lot bigger than they thought which is when hear the iconic line, "We're gonna need a bigger boat". After several methods and planning, the shark eventually ends up damaging the boat so bad that it starts sinking. At this time, Hooper is underwater in a scuba suit and we are unaware if he is okay or not. Around this time, Quint slides into the shark's mouth and ends up dying, whereas Brody puts an air canister in the shark's mouth and shoots at it and it explodes. Hooper comes up from the surface and Brody and Hooper swim to shore with the shark taken care of. 

I thought this was an excellent film. I have never seen it before and can't believe I haven't. I definitely see why this movie was the first-ever blockbuster because of how new and exciting it was. This film was the first of its kind and set the bar for all movies after. With the special effects and the use of new technology, it changed the way we make movies forever. I also thought the story was quite enjoyable. I wouldn't say it was scary, but there are definitely some jump scares and creepy aspects to this film. I would put it in the thriller/action category and thought it was great for its category. 

I also thought there were some interesting camera angles used. I thought the camera work was very creative. They caused suspense without even being able to see the shark which is very impressive and fascinating. I thought the high-angle shots that took place on the boat captured how small the boat was and how alone they were and how small the boat was compared to the ocean, and compared to the shark. We also see one of the most famous shots in the movie is the dolly zoom to show Martin’s fear when he realizes he should have pushed harder to close the beaches. This shot was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock who also used the shot, to show the realization on Brody's face almost as if he's having an out-of-body realization and jolts to action.