When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it.
Review (sort of)
It's slightly daunting coming up with a review of a bona fide classic like Jaws.
What can I possibly say that hasn't already been said about one of the greatest films ever made? It's a tough one but I've never been one to turn down a challenge so thought I would share my own personal experience of the film rather than review it in the traditional sense.
I remember watching Jaws for the first time when I was about eleven or twelve years old. You see it was, and still is, one of my dads favourite films. Even today he infuriates my mum with forever repeated viewings. Its even been a struggle to get him to watch the DVD we bought him for Christmas many, many years ago. He still has the original VHS and I feel that he still embraces the nostalgic memories of which it brings.
So back to my first viewing. It was one of those nights as a child that, when bedtime approached, you tried to be as quiet as possible in the vain hope that your parents would forget you even existed just so you could stay up that little bit later. In this case it worked. Dad got up, powered on the top-loading VHS player, slid in a tape and slammed it shut. He changed the channel and pressed play. I was still up, he'd seen me, I was sure of that, but I wasn't motioned upstairs like I normally was. This was it, I was officially staying up late watching a film.
That film turned out to be Jaws and I was hooked right from the now legendary John Williams opening music score. The events that transpired both petrified and excited me, it was my first real movie experience that I can remember vividly and I loved every minute of it.
Brody, Hooper and Quint remain three of my all time favourite movie heroes right up to today and will continue to be. They are like three old friends who I can turn to when I'm feeling a bit down. Watching their exploits against that common enemy makes me smile every time. Everyone has 'pick me ups' in their lives and film is definitely one of mine.
As I said before, I feel its pointless to really review Jaws in the traditional sense. I've yet to meet anyone who hasn't seen Jaws and taken something away from it such as the 'jump' when Ben Gardner appears from the sunken boat or Quints emotional Indianapolis speech. It renowned for being a classic which will continue to garner new fans and is a landmark in film making that others still strive to reach.
As time has passed my fondness for Jaws has grown. I too now watch it multiple times a year and in what was a dream come true actually managed to watch it on the big screen on Whitley Bay beach no less last year (2010). It was an event that heightened the viewing experience and was a million times better than 3D could ever hope to be.
I'm lucky enough to be in a relationship with someone who shares my love of Jaws and I've gotten even more out of the film by hearing her how she see's the story and the characters. I in turn try not to bore her to tears with my thoughts and views, of which there are plenty.
I look forward to sharing Jaws with my daughter and future siblings (hopefully!) when they reach an age when they can appreciate it. Who knows, maybe technology will be ultra advanced by then and DVD and Blu-Ray maybe a thing of the past. Either way, like my dad, I'll keep my copy of Jaws, you know, for nostalgia.
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