Welcome back Classic hunters to the second edition of our new feature Classic or Bust! where I take a look back at the films of yesteryear and ask the question: Is this a Classic or a total Bust. In this edition it is finally time to watch the film that everyone is shocked I have not seen, Steven Spielberg's Jaws. Yes that is correct, a man in his 30's has NOT seen this so called classic horror film. I have been shunned, kicked and spat on in the streets, okay nothing that extreme but a fair few of my fellow horror lovers have given me a few harsh words over the year. So with my wife yet again in the viewers seat with me is this film truly a classic?
For those of your reading that have also not seen Jaws, it is a tale of a small town plagued by a series of shark attacks leading up the the town's 4th of July celebrations. With the Mayor ( Murray Hamilton - The Hustler) wanting to cover the attacks up a group of fishermen and townsfolk head out on the ocean to catch the beast. The men catch a tiger shark, leading to the mayor deeming the beach safe, but this is against the advisement of shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss - Close Encounters of the Third Kind) who is adamant that this was not a tiger shark attack but a great white. Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider - Seaquest 2032, The French Connection) is also unsure but has no choice but to open the beach on the request of the mayor. As the holiday makers make their way to the Amity beach all seems fine, families are frolicking in the water, everyone is having a great time....until the shark attacks again, taking out a child and almost killing Brody's son. Brody forces the mayor to hire Quit (Robert Shaw - The Sting, From Russia With Love), a ragged fisherman who promised to kill the beast, and together with Brody and Matt the three men head out to the waters for the final showdown.
On rapping the film up me and my wife were a little torn on which part of the film was better, the first half or the last half. I personally really enjoyed the initial first half of the film, I loved the dread you feel as John Williams' epic score kicks in as the shark gets read to attack, while my wife really enjoy the final half, which sees the three men battle the shark and begin to bond. My overall feeling to this is I wasn't a fan of Quint as a whole. I'm not sure if it is just the audio being crappy on my Blu-Ray but the only character I couldn't understand was Quint. There was a hell of a lot of mumbling, especially during the scene where he is telling the men his story. I found myself getting a little bored, well that is until the final shark battle and then the film began to pick up steam again. Other than that I really enjoyed Jaws, I love the classic score from the master of music John Williams, who can't love that score. The acting is very good for the time, there is some shoddy work from some people but that is forgiven due to the amazing work done by Scheider and Shaw. I love how the shark itself still hold up today, it looks terrifying and it goes to show you don't need to SEE the beast to get that overall feeling of dread, and when you finally get the see the shark the animatronics are unrecognizable.
So is Jaws a classic? Of course it bloody well is! this shows just how great Spielberg was even in his early film career, a career we all know is near perfection. High drama, gripping suspense and a film that still holds up today. I give this film the CLASSIC stamp of approval!
For those of your reading that have also not seen Jaws, it is a tale of a small town plagued by a series of shark attacks leading up the the town's 4th of July celebrations. With the Mayor ( Murray Hamilton - The Hustler) wanting to cover the attacks up a group of fishermen and townsfolk head out on the ocean to catch the beast. The men catch a tiger shark, leading to the mayor deeming the beach safe, but this is against the advisement of shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss - Close Encounters of the Third Kind) who is adamant that this was not a tiger shark attack but a great white. Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider - Seaquest 2032, The French Connection) is also unsure but has no choice but to open the beach on the request of the mayor. As the holiday makers make their way to the Amity beach all seems fine, families are frolicking in the water, everyone is having a great time....until the shark attacks again, taking out a child and almost killing Brody's son. Brody forces the mayor to hire Quit (Robert Shaw - The Sting, From Russia With Love), a ragged fisherman who promised to kill the beast, and together with Brody and Matt the three men head out to the waters for the final showdown.
On rapping the film up me and my wife were a little torn on which part of the film was better, the first half or the last half. I personally really enjoyed the initial first half of the film, I loved the dread you feel as John Williams' epic score kicks in as the shark gets read to attack, while my wife really enjoy the final half, which sees the three men battle the shark and begin to bond. My overall feeling to this is I wasn't a fan of Quint as a whole. I'm not sure if it is just the audio being crappy on my Blu-Ray but the only character I couldn't understand was Quint. There was a hell of a lot of mumbling, especially during the scene where he is telling the men his story. I found myself getting a little bored, well that is until the final shark battle and then the film began to pick up steam again. Other than that I really enjoyed Jaws, I love the classic score from the master of music John Williams, who can't love that score. The acting is very good for the time, there is some shoddy work from some people but that is forgiven due to the amazing work done by Scheider and Shaw. I love how the shark itself still hold up today, it looks terrifying and it goes to show you don't need to SEE the beast to get that overall feeling of dread, and when you finally get the see the shark the animatronics are unrecognizable.
So is Jaws a classic? Of course it bloody well is! this shows just how great Spielberg was even in his early film career, a career we all know is near perfection. High drama, gripping suspense and a film that still holds up today. I give this film the CLASSIC stamp of approval!