Halloween Countdown Top 5: #2, Jaws

It's been more than four decades since Steven Speilberg's Jaws splashed its way into cinemas, and that's worthy of note. It's of those films that's thoroughly a product of its particular time and context of its production. There's aspects of it that are technically, to use the overused and overly broad term, 'dated' - the special effects being the most prominent among them.

Let's get it out of the way - Bruce the shark is not really a marvel in technical terms, having been constructed on a fairly limited budget, and having various malfunctions beset it over the course of filming. Speilberg would go on to have much more convincing SFX flourishes over the course of his career, from the spaceships of Close Encounters of the Third Kind to E.T., the Indiana Jones films, Jurassic Park of course, and really pretty much every one of his recent films. But there's a reason why he had a bigger budget for his successive films, why he had an increasing amount of control, influence that propelled him into King of Hollywood, a status which I do believe he still holds today. Reason being that for all of Bruce the shark's technical inadequacies, Speilberg not only found a way to nullify them, but actually turn them to the film's advantage; it's one of the most suspenseful films ever precisely because the actual appearances of the shark are so sporadic and limited. Beyond that, it's a cracking horror film that sets you on the edge of your seats through each re-watch, a fantastic adventure film, and pretty much perfect in all regards from script to acting to of course, direction.


The premise is straightforward: shark terrorizes small seaside town of Amity Island, and three men of conflicting ideologies and personalities - Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw).

Talking about the writing behind these three characters is actually a good point to start off with, especially since the second half of the film centres almost entirely on them, but before that I'll get onto the script as a whole. The adaptational work on Peter Benchley's novel is exquisite as it pares down a needlessly convoluted storyline into as I've mentioned, a very direct and simple central lot. Gone are the mafia subplots, the love triangle, the to-and-fro rendezvous from coast to shore in the second half, instead replaced by a tighter, concise storyline that's absolutely watertight in its execution. Not a scene feels out of place, they all help move the plot along even if it's characters just shooting the breeze or having dinner.

The threat of the shark is swiftly established in the opening scene, the conflict between Brody and the greedy mayor of Amity is swiftly established through their initial rapport descending into animosity, Quint and Hooper's character introductions are economically handled, the transition from land to sea is seamlessly handled, and not once does a jump scare feel inserted just for the sake of being a jump scare. Hooper discovering Ben Gardener's body is a terrifying scene, but it also helps to add to the stakes, establish more conflict, and sets up another the iconic beach sequence.

Paring the story down to its most basic elements also allows the characters to become more fully fleshed and prominent, and not just potential dead meat, or infallible heroes for the shark to play around with. Scheider's Brody is an excellent lead for the story. Scheider was an actor who was always at the very least solid, and here he acts as an anchor to the story by being the very subdued, reactionary figure to the shark and its monstrous acts. Having Brody as a literal fish out of water in Amity, having only just recently moved to the area, is effective in making him an outsider of sorts, which helps him to stand out even when technically he's just doing his job. The film establishes him as an unwilling hero but very willing, brave police officer and the transition of the character is a great and underrated part of the film.

Then there's Richard Dreyfuss really Dreyfuss-ing it up as the nebbish, neurotic, brainy sort. The character of Hooper was changed from the original All-American incarnation of cocky unpleasantness in the novel, where he was basically a rival to Brody and slept with Brody's wife. Thankfully they removed all these elements from the film and changed Hooper to suit Dreyfuss more. Hooper is the sort of comedic relief of the film, and Dreyfuss in his usual fashion lights the screen up with his presence whenever he's on with a wisecrack here and there. He uses his signature style to beef up the role substantially and has some great chemistry and anti-chemistry with Scheider, and Shaw.

Robert Shaw's performance must be seen to be believed. You'll believe this man's been at sea all his life, you'll believe all the horrors he's had to endure, you'll completely understand why he has such conviction that he MUST hunt down this shark. Quint could've gone completely wrong in the wrong hands. Instead, he's probably one of the most iconic film characters in cinematic history. It's probably Shaw's best performance, which is really saying something, and he perfects the triangle of characters who set off to hunt down Bruce the shark.

Setting up such likeable and rather identifiable characters makes the film resonate even more with its horror elements. The human element in Jaws is always there through the work of the actors and script; but Speilberg elevates it all to masterpiece levels with his depiction of the horror. Few directors can make daytime scenes scary, it's really a talent, but Speilberg does it not once, but twice to superlative effect. The cinematography, whether it's in the more brooding, suspenseful sequences, or the more adventurous, overtly thrilling ones, is pitch-perfect; one can never forget how effective the zoom-in on Brody's face when the beach attack by the shark begins. Then of course, John Williams' simplistic, minimalist horror score which soon transitions into a rousing adventure tune, without losing a beat of suspense. This really is a great horror film that should be watched by everyone, and no better time than next week, really.


Also, do tell me which of these retroactive Jaws casts tickle your fancy the most, and choose any director if you can think of any.


2010s Jaws
Brody: David Harbour
Hooper: Paul Dano
Quint: Liev Schreiber


2000s Jaws
Brody: Don Cheadle
Hooper: Robert Downey Jr.
Quint: Gary Oldman


1990s Jaws
Brody: Viggo Mortensen
Hooper: Sam Rockwell
Quint: Ian McKellen


1980s Jaws
Brody: James Woods
Hooper: Jeff Goldblum
Quint: Harry Dean Stanton