It’s hard to believe, but this weekend marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most influential and beloved films in the history of cinema. Steven Spielberg’s horror/thriller about a man-eating great white shark terrorizing a small Long Island community stands the test of time. It’s wonderfully shot and edited, holds multiple stand-out performances and will give you nightmares. Even 50 years later, “Jaws” still makes your skin crawl from the opening credits, captained by John Williams’ haunting Oscar-winning score that will inevitably get stuck in your head.
“Jaws” 50th Anniversary: A Legacy-Making Movie
50 Years and “Jaws” is Still King
It might go without saying, but “Jaws” is one of those films that, when it is on, you can’t help but sit down and watch it. No matter what part of the film you join in, you can’t help but grab a chair and let your brain fully engage. Not many films can do that, especially films that are 50 years old. But Spielberg’s iconic shark film is still the absolute best in its genre, even in its longevity. How is that possible? In 50 years, with probably 200 new shark movies, and the 1975 classic beats them all in every aspect. Great film-making and risk-taking, that’s how.
Practical Effects Over CGI
I will stand tall and die on the hill that animatronics, practical effects and puppetry trumps CGI every single time. Bruce, the animatronic shark in the film, looks incredible even to this day. Sure, some shots of him gliding now make it easy to tell he’s a machine, but it still looks better than the overly-done CGI shark of contemporary movies. The way Spielberg was able to make it work perfectly with the attacks, the fully-committed actors and the blood effects just goes to show that if done right and with love, you can make an incredible film. Even after going way over budget because there were many days Bruce wasn’t working properly, Spielberg and crew pulled off what many can not.
The thing is, this still feels REAL. For myself, most notably, Quint’s death is the most horrifying. I remember seeing this movie for the first time in my great-grandpa’s living room during Christmas in the early 1990’s. At the time, I was around six or seven years old. Watching Quint get basically bitten in half, blood spilling from his mouth, his screams filling the room and slowly being brought underwater to be eaten whole is forever embedded in my brain. It looked real then and it still looks real today. That’s how good the effects and animatronics are. You can’t pull off that amount of realism with CGI; it begins to look too cartoony.
Stand Out Performances
Let’s talk more about Quint. To this day, I fully believe that Robert Shaw, who portrays the character, was robbed of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His monologue in the boat, sitting around the table with Brody and Hooper is still one of the best to this day. It’s haunting, visceral and he completely sucks your attention away from anything else. It’s almost like his words become a magnet and your eyes and ears are pieces of metal that can’t get away. It’s absolutely top-tier acting and one of my favorite performances ever.
That being said, Shaw’s performance take anything away from Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss as Brody and Hooper, respectively. Both are fantastic, with Dreyfuss’ performance being my second favorite in the film. All three fully went in on their roles and helped make it seem believable and real. You feel and sense the urgency, fear and determination to stop the killing spree that is happening in Amity.
The Legacy Lives On
Nowadays, the world loves a film that stands the years like it was just released. The moviegoer yearns for that type of entertainment. After five decades, “Jaws” is able to deliver that time and time again. It’s not only one of the best horror/thriller films ever made, but one of the best of any genre, period. Happy 50th anniversary “Jaws,” and here’s to 50-plus more of captivating audiences!
“Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn’t see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen-footer. You know how you know that when you’re in the water, Chief? You tell by lookin’ from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn’t know… was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent.” – Quint
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