136) Jaws

Jaws (1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

Amazingly, it's nearing the end of October and I've only watched one Steven Spielberg movie yet this year (Duel). I decided I was in the mood to see Jaws again. I've only seen it once previously, and that was when it was playing as a late night movie on TV (movies that rely on the building of tension are not helped by constant ad breaks). Kate has a thing with drowning, so when I suggested we watch Jaws her first question was "Does anyone drown?" Luckily I could tell her in all honesty, "No, everyone gets eaten by the massive shark". As it turns out, this didn't end up being an acceptable alternative, but I enjoyed it.

When the tourist community of Amity Island is rocked by a shark attack on the eve of the summer holiday season, the Mayor (Hamilton) refuses to close the beaches and tries to hush it up. The damaging economic effect the lack of tourists could have on the community could be crippling. When shark strikes again, this time taking a young boy, the new police chief Brody (Scheider), along with oceanographer Hooper (Dreyfuss) and bounty hunter Quint (Shaw) are commissioned to hunt down and destroy the shark.

As the king of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, once explained, "A bomb is under the table, and it explodes. That is a surprise. A bomb is under the table and it does not explode. That is suspense." The genius of Jaws, and what makes it such an effective thriller, is how little we actually see the shark. Rather than continually having the shark leaping out of the water, charging towards the camera with its teeth bared (as it no doubt would if Jaws were made today as a 3d movie), it is all about building suspense and tension. The most we see of the shark for the first hour of the film is a fin slicing through the water. The making of the film was plagued with delays, particularly related to the giant mechanical shark (nicknamed 'Bruce' after Spielberg's lawyer) which they had never bothered to test underwater. As a result of these delays Spielberg had to devise ways to shoot scenes without the shark being seen. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, and probably what transformed what could have just been a run-of-the-mill, monster b-movie into a genuine classic. Those scenes in which you do actually see the shark are actually quite disappointing. The shark looks awful, it is rubbery, mechanical and lifeless. But those scenes in which we don't see the shark, in which we are waiting for the shark, or in which we know he's there but can't see him or can just see a fin, are terrifying.

Spielberg employs some really clever devices to imply the presence of the shark. One of the scariest moments in the film is when a couple of punters head out in the evening to try and catch the shark. They secure a roast on a big, nasty hook and secure it to the end of a jetty. The shark takes the bait, but pulls the end of the jetty off, dragging it away. The terrifying moment comes when we see the end of the jetty turn around and start heading back into shore towards the man trying to swim to safety. On a number of occasions Spielberg uses floating devices which are caught on the shark as markers for where the shark is.

By far the most effective device for symbolising the presence of the shark though is John Williams' score. Jaws is an amazing case study in the effective use of music to build tension. Williams' score is so simple, the main body of the theme is just two notes repeated over and over, but it has an enormous impact. Whenever the silence is broken by those two notes, the audience automatically brace themselves, they he is coming, they know something is going to happen. Referring back to that Hitchcock quote, without the music Spielberg could have shocked people, surprised them, but with the music, he lets them know something is coming and makes them wait.

There was a bit of controversy about this film come award season after its release. Jaws was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar but Spielberg was overlooked for a Best Director nomination. Very rarely do you see a film nominated for the big prize without equal recognition for it's director. Spielberg was quite hurt but the implication that his contribution to the successful realisation of the film had not been major. I think though that time has judged that decision to be incorrect. It is hard to watch Jaws today and not see a Spielberg film. He has obviously played a major part in making the film what it is.

The cast are all great. The producers originally wanted Charlton Heston to play Brody, but Spielberg objected, arguing, "Moses? You want Moses? Everybody'll know he'll win." Scheider doesn't quite have the same invincible feel to him. You accept him as a man out of his depth, so to speak. You believe him when he says he's afraid of going on boats. Dreyfuss works perfectly as the slightly obnoxious oceanographer and the odd trio is rounded out with Robert Shaw putting in a chilling performance as the salty sea dog Quint. In particular his monologue about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and the hundreds of crew members who were taken by great whites is quite haunting.

Jaws, the film that 35 years ago made people afraid to go in the water, still packs a massive punch. Jaws invented the summer blockbuster, it became the highest grossing film ever and was single handedly responsible in a downturn in numbers to American seaside tourist resorts that summer. It also installed Steven Spielberg as the people's filmmaker, a position he has arguably held ever since.