Back in an era where movies that made money were allowed to be nominated for Best Picture, Steven Speilberg made a movie that created the summer blockbuster. So films like The Avengers, The Dark Knight and Toy Story 3 all owe their thanks to this film. But, so does Sucker Punch, Transformers, and After Earth. But enough of all that, let’s talk about Jaws.

Martin Brody (Roy Schneider) is a police chief on Amity Island, where everything is nice and peaceful, with the exception of a giant killer shark. To solve this problem, Martin teams up with a scientist named Hooper (Ricahrd Dreyfuss) and a professional shark catcher (Robert Shaw) to go down and destroy the thing once and for all. (Until Jaws 2, that is.)

Oh my God, where do I start with this film? The story may seem like your typical horror movie, but this movie success in not only proving some serious thrills, but also manages to be a completely immersive experience, or at least as immersive as possible in 1975. The first half of the movie is very good, but it’s once the characters leave on the boat that the movie truly begins.

This movie was nominated for four Oscars, winning three. I personally can’t believe it missed out on Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, and Director. Even on a relatively small budget, Spielberg creates a feeling of suspense that hooks you in right away, takes you along for the ride, and leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction. In short, this movie is everything that a great movie should be.

The acting is great from the entire cast, particularly Schneider, the reduction design has just the right amount of detail, the script is simply wonderful, and do I even need to say anything about John Williams’ music? This is one of those movies where everybody involved brings their A game. There’s not much else to say about it except that if you haven’t seen it, see it.

I told my mom that I’m gonna make her watch it on Halloween. Don’t worry, I’m going to be holding her hand the whole time.

Or will I…

*****

PS: My opening paragraph was slightly stolen from The Nostalgia Critic. Sorry.