This weekend SAB is showcasing another classic film, Jaws. Released in 1975, Jaws took the world by storm and is often considered the first blockbuster horror film.
I vividly remember both of my parents telling me about seeing Jaws in the theatre and how much it impacted them growing up. Despite this, I have never actually gotten around to seeing Jaws for myself. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the film held up today.
Jaws follows a week-long chase for a great white shark that has found its way into the beaches of a local tourist town. The town sheriff, Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) is weary of the danger that this shark possesses and pleads with the town mayor (Murray Hamilton) to close the beaches on Fourth of July Weekend. Mayor Vaughn is reluctant to close the beaches because of the revenue that the town receives this holiday weekend, however he changes his mind once he witnesses a shark attack live.
After the shark takes even more victims, Brody sets out to kill the beast with local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) and a shark expert named Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss). The three men spend the next 24 hours at sea in a back-and-forth game of wits with the giant fish.
As I mentioned above, I was rather surprised with how well this film held up. Despite the special effects being rather lackluster in comparison to today’s standards, every other aspect of the film still was very good. The best part of this movie was definitely the level of suspense that you were held in from the beginning.
Jaws wastes no time getting you involved in the action and does not let you go until the final moments. I also have to mention that, while none of the acting performances were amazing, all of the stars did a good job making you feel the tension that was on the screen.
Also, the score of this movie was fantastic. This should not be a surprise for anyone who knows their movie history, as John Williams (the man behind the music of Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones) was the composer. Every time you heard the eerie theme song play, you automatically moved up in your seat bit by bit.
Overall, I really enjoyed watching this film. It serves its purpose as a fun “horror” film that makes two hours breeze by. If you have time, stop by Parmer Cinema to watch Jaws this Halloween weekend.