Chad

Spiderbite

What can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said?

I enjoyed sharing this movie with my 12 year old. He jumped at this more than Alien. Great acting. Great score. Great script. Effects still hold up well today.

If I had a complaint, I felt it dragged just a tiny bit at one point. But that could be because I have seen it so many times and it no longer feels fresh for me.

I watched this early because my son and I plan to watch all the Jaws movies this month.

Cardsfan111

I recently watched the first 3 with my daughter. She enjoyed them and has begged to see the 4th one. I've told her that's where I draw the line.

Spiderbite

Haha. I actually got it since it came with movie cash and didn't really cost me anything but I haven't seen part 4 since I saw it in the movie theater when it was first released. I honestly remember nothing about it except that a shark is stalking the mother from the first two films.

I look forward to seeing if it is as bad as everyone says it is since I cannot remember exactly how I felt about it back in 1987. I know I was indifferent but I don't remember hating it. But then again, I was also 14 at the time.

Undeadcow

Jaws has one of the most awesome opening segments ever.

The plot is surprisingly complicated with the hero having to not just beat the tar out of a shark but also maneuver politics, haggle with black mailing shark hunters, contain the mobs, and deal with punk kids. It really gives a sense of Chief Brody against the world, with the shark just kind of being there for much of the early movie. I love the incensed mother in the yellow sun hat that slaps him for not shutting down the beach, she's so intense it really sells the early movie.

Quint might be one of the most effective eccentric characters in horror; so often oddball characters are over sold or too far out but Robert Shaw really nails it as the shark hunter. He's got 65 acting credits to his name but I'm surprised to now be very familiar with him.

Jaws makes me curious about sound design because some of the ocean wave background sounds are immersive and it seems funny to me imagining a sound crew trying to synch just the right noises; some of the wave sounds are even a little comically overexaggerated on the mix.

Too bad some of the animatronics hasn't stood the test of time; still an effective classic movie.

orlmac

I envy Spiderbite and Cardsfal111 for getting to watch this through the fresh eyes of their children. I am not usually one to suggest rewatching a film but this one is a true classic. One of the few movies where I can remember the feelings I had in the theater (I was 13 or 14) when I first saw it. It really does stand up well to the test of time thanks to the very good acting in it. Quint is definitely an iconic character, I have a nephew that constantly quotes his lines and the songs he sung. This is truly Steven Spielberg's first blockbuster in an incredible career. The animatronics have definitely suffered from 40 years of time passing but they sure were awesome at the time!

Trevor

Jaws has always been my favorite film, perhaps tied with Ben Hur and Holy Grail depending on my mood. It's the perfect blend of action, adventure, horror, comedy, and drama.

I watched it twice this month, the second time with rifftrax. My least favorite riff ever. The jokes may have been fantastic, but I just couldn't get in the mindset to mock this film, even if done with reverence.

ross_r

I saw this so many times throughout the years. Unfortunately I always watched the TV versions the first few times as a kid interrupted by commercials and cut bloody scenes. It wasn't until many years later that I finally saw the original movie on VHS. This year I watched it on Netflix, with original aspect ratio that I did not get on a VHS tape....sigh, wish I could have streamed Jaws in the 80's. For me the enjoyment came from watching improved picture and sound compared to previous views.

rbrown498

Gotta ditto you on that. Last night's viewing marked the first time that I'd watched my Blu-ray, and the added clarity caused me to jump at every scare in the film (even though I know them all by heart).

DaveyJoe

Jaws (1975)

Jaws is one of the most effective suspense movies that succeeds because of its most famous failure. I wonder if the movie would have had the same staying power if the shark effects worked as intended, because they couldn't get the damn thing to work, they had to keep it hidden and let the audience use their imagination. This was a hidden blessing, as it what makes the film so scary, especially when you consider how shitty the shark looks today in high definition. Of course the film has an unforgettable soundtrack, awesome photography, and well developed characters that keep the audience invested, but it's the mystery around the shark that terrorizes viewers and elevates the film beyond a creature-feature.

Some things that occurred to me while watching this for the umpteenth time: during the hippy beach party at the beginning, the young woman invites a strange dude to go skinny dipping with each her, and they don't even know each other's names, is this what the 70s was like? Little Alex Kitchner, 2nd shark victim, was 12 years old, but his parents look like they're in their 60s. Mrs. Kitchner slaps Chief Brody in the face without getting shot or at least tazed, perhaps the most dated aspect of the film. The anti-semitic shark hunter Quint is oddly likable, even though he's introduced by scratching his finger nails down a chalkboard. The homo-erotic scene where the guys compare scars could never work today with a millennial cast. Instead they'd compare who has the most student loan debt.

wishbone

Yep -- Spielberg and the birth of the summer blockbuster; Quint's speech; great movie lines; the struggle of man vs. nature, in this case a great white and the open sea; and the final explosive kill shot.

WillieMLF

This is a really timeless movie for me. I saw it in the theaters upon premiere, and my parents regretted it for years. Growing up, we lived ~30 minutes from the beach, but for years after watching this movie, I refused to go into the water. This is the reason my father refused to take me to see the original King Kong, when it was playing at the local drive-in.

clckworang

Because I've seen this movie so many times, I decided to watch it with a Rifftrax track I bought. It was a lot of fun, as you would expect.

I don't know if anything new to contribute to a Jaws discussion. It's a movie I can remember being a big deal for my entire life. I remember a bunch of family all getting together one night at my grandmother's place to watch it because it was being shown on TV. Yes, back in the days when you had to catch movies on TV at certain designated times because you couldn't get it on VHS!

I just recorded Jaws 2 off Turner Classics. I plan to try to watch it before the end of the month. I've seen part 3 numerous times because it used to show it all the time on HBO. The same is true to a lesser extent with part 4. I don't recall part 2 airing as much, so I'm looking forward to revisiting it.

pacaway

didn't or did? sounds like "did"

My memory of this movie is from when I was 10 years old and my parents took me with them to see it at the drive-in in 1975. I think they expected me to fall asleep. I didn't, of course. When we got home, I was so freaked out that I left my bedroom light on and pulled my blanket over my face. Because my blanket was red underneath, when the light shone through it, it looked like blood and freaked me out even more! LOL. I became obsessed with sharks after that and did all kinds of research (in a library at that time... no internet of course) and learned all about them.

Jaws 4 has grown on me as one of my favorite bad movies... and I mean BAD! Viewer beware. I bought the new blu-rays for 2, 3 and 4 when they came out this year. I was going to watch 2 yesterday for killer animal day but didn't get to it.

Trevor

I was 8 when it was released and remember having to beg my parents to let me see it. It was quite the phenomenon that summer; between magazines, books, talk shows, evening news, and conversations at school it felt like months of nothing except Jaws. It was a glorious time.

clckworang

D'oh! That's what I get for posting right before bedtime.

As for Jaws 4, I was pretty young when it came out, around 9 or 10. I begged my dad to take me to see it. He finally relented. The theater was absolutely packed. We waited in a huge line. The line ended up being for Jaws and Robocop. There were huge numbers of people for both films. Needless to say, as a young boy, I loved the movie and had lots of fun seeing it with my dad. Of course, the film hasn't retained that same quality in my eyes over the years.