Jaws

1975 • 124 minutes
4.6
3.13K reviews
97%
Tomatometer
PG
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws set the standard for edge-of-your seat suspense, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the way audiences experience movies. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again. Featuring an unforgettable score that evokes pure terror, Jaws remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history.
Rating
PG

Ratings and reviews

4.6
3.13K reviews
Jameson Stauffer
August 30, 2015
If is too scary and I am old enough for this but I just can't take it I did not even watch it but I watched the trailer and I can tell that they don't want to do this. I don't even know why they make scary movies or scary games. After awhile I finally watched it and the shark is so take just like Sharknado the sharks are so fake and so not real in jaws but it was still scary but pretty good and bad I don't know that is why I am rating it 3 stars. It's ok
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Kyle Vansteelandt
October 2, 2020
Just when you thought it was safe to swim in the ocean, along comes the predator that everyone loves to fear and hate: The mighty great white shark, the world's largest predatory fish, the most notorious creature in the ocean, and it's actually a curious and harmless giant with a hugely misunderstood reputation. That's right; shark attacks are rare. In the ocean, you are more likely to get stung by a jellyfish, or die from drowning without any help, or get crushed by the pressure of so much water above you than getting attacked by any shark. Steven Spielberg knows nothing about marine life as well as any creature on earth. He's like a sailor; he sees a sea creature that he and everyone else does not know about, and was so fascinated, he decided to make a tale about the creature, and he takes it very seriously. In fact: the movie takes place on a fictional island called "Amity Island" and Spielberg tries to make the movie realistic by using realistic characters, great acting, and some of the facts about sharks is true, but visually and aggressively, most of the facts on sharks is highly inaccurate. The premise is original but simple; a giant rogue great white shark that has staked a claim of territoriality and is devouring and killing anything and anyone in it's path. So it is up to Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), a shark hunter (Robert Shaw), and a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) to track down the destructive man-eating beast and kill it. From one shot after another, Steven Spielberg provided us with unforgettable imagery and a great use of camera work. The idea of not showing the villainous shark until the third act of the film is genius, because the scariest thing is something that you don't see than you see and it creates engaging suspense. The screenwriter and author of the original novel is Peter Benchley, and he has created a masterfully moving screenplay. The characters were portrayed as real human beings, because people like these do exist in real life with these kinds of occupations and they have a personal touch of their own families and their motivations. The acting performances from these actors is great acting that delivers realistic execution. The animatronic shark named "Bruce" looks like a nicely done replica of a real great white, but there are also some real great white that were filmed underwater. The original score by John Williams shows that simplistic melody tunes can be strongly effective, and in general: The score is haunting, suspenseful, unforgettable, and provides wonderful support for the whole movie. For entertainment value, the concept is so imaginative, that it's fun. It has some thrilling passages, the movie has gravity to the genre that remains consistent, and as a horror/suspenseful thriller it is very effective indeed. But 70% of the entertainment is just watching these actors doing there amazing performances and that is great, but that's just it. Okay, back to the flaws. Basically the story is someone goes into the ocean to swim, get attacked by a shark, the professionals go after the shark to kill it. It's not the shark's fault, we humans are the ones that are going into their territory, and we are a bigger threat to them than they are to us. Lets uncover the accurate facts about sharks, they are not really man-eaters and they do prefer natural prey, They don't stake a claim of territoriality, they don't eat everything (except for the tiger shark), they are not spear-proof or bullet-proof, they are not mindless eating machines, they are not monsters, and they don't deserved to be destroyed. And one more thing: Great whites don't grow to 25 feet and weigh 3 tons. All of this in a creature feature that started it all makes me very unhappy as an animal expert/lover. In conclusion: Steven Spielberg knows nothing about sharks, the ocean, and all creatures, but it is really an effective and legendary sea monster tale that shows a great example of suspense. Not recommended to anyone. Skip it.
50 people found this review helpful
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J. Elizabeth Klug
July 27, 2019
I actually like this movie cuz I have never seen a great white shark before in real life and now I got the chance to see a great white shark this movie kind of reminds me of that one time when I was in a submarine and I saw a shark and said whoa that is so cool and I had my waterproof camera so I was able to take a photo of the shark and it didn't really freak me out
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