The film's poster.
Jaws is a 1975 American horror film directed by Steven Spielberg. It stars Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody, Robert Shaw as Sam Quint, Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper, and Murray Hamilton as Mayor Larry Vaughn. The film was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America.
When released, Jaws became the highest-grossing movie of all time, surpassing The Godfather, by making over US$86,0000,000. Jaws kept this title for two years, until 1977 when it was surpassed by Star Wars.
Jaws also won three Academy Awards. It was nominated for Best Picture but lost to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The movie was ranked as number two on the top horror movies list compiled by the American Film Institute (AFI), right behind Psycho. The shark has been ranked as number eighteen on AFI's top movie villains list.
A successful sequel, Jaws 2, followed in 1978.
Plot[]
This film begins when a teenage girl named Chrissie decides to go for a swim in the ocean. As she is swimming, something is shown to bring her down. The next day, Chrissie's dead body washes up on shore. Police chief, Martin Brody examines her corpse and comes to the conclusion that she was attacked by a shark. Brody alerts the mayor, Larry Vaughan, of the possibility of there being a shark in the nearby waters. However, Vaughan refuses to close the beaches, as his town, Amity Island, is a known to be a tourist attraction, and he does not want to ruin the town's good name. Vaughan decides to announce that the death was caused by a boating accident and Brody reluctantly goes along with that.
Unfortunately, the next day, the shark kills a young boy named Alex. After this, Vaughan agrees to close the beaches. Alex's mother offers a $10,000 reward to anyone who kills the shark. After this, many fishermen go out in search of the underwater killer.
A group of fishermen return shortly afterwards with a tiger shark. Vaughan announces to everyone that the problem is now solved. However, marine biologist, Matt Hooper is not convinced that a tiger shark is the killer, as they normally do not eat people. That night, Hooper opens the shark's stomach and discovers his hunch is correct, as there are no human remains. Brody and Hooper go to warn Vaughan but he refuses to believe them and tells them that the beaches will stay open for the Fourth of July Weekend, no matter what.
Sign in Universal Studios Hollywood.
Over the Fourth of July Weekend, many tourists arrive. The shark which killed Chrissie and Alex returns and kills a man. It nearly kills Brody's son but the boy is able to escape before he goes into shock. Brody then convinces Vaughan to hire a man named Quint, who is a trained shark hunter, to set out to sea and kill the shark. Brody and Hooper join Quint.
The three men search for the shark for some time in Quint's boat, named Orca, Brody manages to find the shark, and finds it is a lot bigger than they imagined. Quint estimates its size as twenty-five feet in length, with a weight of over three tons. He harpoons it with a line attached to a flotation barrel but the shark pulls the barrel underwater and disappears.
The following day, the three men encounter the shark again. Quint decides to tie the shark to the stern of the ship, then sail to shallow water and suffocate the creature. However, this plan fails, as the Orca's engine blows and the shark manages to escape again.
Being stuck in the ocean, Hooper decides to put on some Scuba gear, go into a shark proof cage and attempt to stab the shark with a hypodermic spear filled with strychnine. However, the shark manages to break the cage, causing Hooper to hide on the seabed.
The shark suddenly leaps onto the boat, causing everything to slide to its side. Brody and Quint attempt to hold onto the side of the boat but Quint slips and falls straight into the shark's mouth. Brody tries to save him, but is unable to, and Quint is eaten by the shark.
As the ship is sinking, Brody tries one last thing to stop the shark. As the beast comes closer, he tosses a pressurized scuba tank into its mouth. Taking Quint's rifle, Brody climbs the sinking ship's mast. He then uses the rifle to shoot the tank, blowing it up, and causing the shark to explode along with it.
In the end, Hooper floats up to the surface, and the two use the barrels to float to shore.