"Jaws" by Steven Spielberg (1975)

Another movie that I have just seen and enjoyed very much was the very first cinematic smash from a movie God Steven Spielberg - this is the movie that put him on a map and even though he has been directing before, starting from here his international career took off, followed by "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and countless list of other successful movies. I know that in some circles he is the epitome of big budget Hollywood (and therefore, industry insider) but personally I make no excuses for the fact that his movies are great entertainment and escapism, therefore I no amount of nitpicking would ever make me forgetting my love for "E.T" or Indiana Jones or even his latest "West Side Story". 

I have no idea why I have never seen "Jaws" before - it could have been that the original screening happened while I was still too small and later it never came on TV. Subsequently, I have seen many Spielberg movies, in fact many of them fresh in the cinema (I still remember initial shock with "Jurassic Park") but this one was always at the back of my mind and finally this last weekend I decided to give it a go. It was excellent! In fact, much better than I expected from a 1970s movie - apparently the huge success of "Jaws" has changed the industry, starting from this point movies that were potential hits were released simultaneously nationwide and backed by huge advertising. Where previously the success of the movies depended on good reviews and summer was the low season for the cinema, "Jaws" has turned this all upside down and summer now became the best time for promoting blockbusters. Starting from here, new era arrives.

Movie itself is very interesting because between the lines the real monster is not shark itself but the local townspeople who refuse to close the beaches in the middle of the tourist season, fearing for their pockets and loss of profit if the visitors stay away. Death after death happens, it is very clear that there is a dangerous shark around the beaches and still they do everything to block efforts of sheriff (Roy Scheider) and a scientist (Richard Dreyfuss) who eventually prevail and team up with a hard-boiled local shark hunter (Robert Shaw). The movie is extremely watchable, despite its age and I enjoyed it immensely - except for Robert Shaw who, in my personal opinion was hamming it up too much and over-acting the role of the tough seaman - in comparison with the other two, he was just annoying, selfish and stubborn character. It was delight to see Richard Dreyfuss so young and fresh faced.