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Movies / On DVD / Jaws
Jaws

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Jaws (1975)

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Reviews Counted:36

Fresh:36

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.8/10

Consensus: Jaws remains tense by not showing audiences the shark for the majority of the film, so that when it does, viewers jump out of their seats.

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorized... From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorized one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. Three unlikely partners team up to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Roy Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), and a crusty old-time fisherman (Robert Shaw). The film shoot was notoriously difficult for the young Spielberg, who had directed only one feature film before JAWS. The mechanical shark seldom operated correctly, and Spielberg was frequently forced to create the idea of terror without actually showing the shark. However, after the film premiered it went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time--surpassing THE GODFATHER and becoming the first film to gross more than a hundred million dollars. Composer John Williams created the score to JAWS, which has since become a well-known theme of impending doom. Ron and Valerie Taylor were responsible for filming live sharks in Australia; their sequences were later mixed with footage of the mechanical shark. [More]

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

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottlieb, Jay Mello, Lee Fierro, Jeffrey Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Jonathan Filley

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Carl Gottlieb, Peter Benchley, Howard Sackler
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown
Composer: John Williams
Studio: Universal Pictures

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Jaws

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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A reminder that, once upon a time, Spielberg used to make films for adults rather than infants and critical regressives.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 3 Comments
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A classic. Tense, engrossing, scary and, subsequently, endlessly influential.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/24/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A film that sealed Steven Spielberg's talent as a master entertainer.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/00
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An astonishingly effective thriller built on a very primal level: fear.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
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Achieves a number of cheap thrills at the expense of the mechanical shark.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 4 Comments
07/03/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Nowadays, it doesn't really scare me anymore, but I love watching it for the way it moves.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 2 Comments
06/24/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Simply put, Jaws turned the tide of American cinema: irrevocably, and not for the better.

Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | comment 1 Comment
08/20/09
Rob Nelson
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

Killer sharks cause deaths and provide much excitement.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A looming, terrifying catch of the day.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/24/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spielberg works self-effacingly, with subtly correct camera placement and meticulous editing. He twists our guts with false alarms, giving us the real thing with heart-stopping suddenness.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
10/16/08
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The fast-moving 124-minute film engenders enormous suspense as the shark attacks a succession of people.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/27/07
A.D. Murphy
A.D. Murphy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It just might be one of the very best movies ever made.

comment Comment
04/28/03
Blake Davis
Blake Davis
KFOR Channel 4 News

Director Steven Spielberg has constructed a chillingly frightening film.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/29/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

It was the beast that launched a thousand monster movies.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

In the end, the shark is a MacGuffin necessary for the men to bond and test themselves against what they fear most--their own mortality.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/12/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Steven Spielberg's mechanical thriller is guaranteed to make you scream on schedule.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/27/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

One of those rare films that really deserved its commercial success and its place among the best films of all times.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Along with being a terrific character-driven (not plot) thriller, Jaws should be viewed against the broader context of 1975 as part of a cycle of paranoia films, reflecting the Vietnam War, Watergate scandal, anti-authoritarianism, and political apathy

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/26/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

One of the greatest horror films made. The opening sequence is not only a classic, it's still frightening nearly three decades after it was made.

comment Comment
05/02/03
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

When it comes to this kind of thriller, no movie has been able to top Jaws, although many have tried. And, as the years go by, it seems increasingly unlikely that anything will come close.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
12/12/02
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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