Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Jaws: This one's kind of required


     Jaws is a film about life, love, and a 25 Foot Great White Shark that kills everything it encounters. The plot presents a premise that generally does not entice much more than a summer cheap thriller. A shark terrorizes people trying to have fun on an island. The same idea has produced some of the worst movies of all time.  Steven Spielberg does something with this film, though, that pushes it out in front of the rest. There is character, there is suspense, and there is the driving fear throughout the whole movie that makes the audience not wan’t to be within 100 miles of the ocean. A beautiful soundtrack and ingenious cinematography are the cherry atop this instant classic of a film.
    The story tells of a shark plaguing a small island town. The sheriff seems to be the only man in charge with some sense of intelligence, as he, an oceanographer, and a drunken old fishing captain voyage a dinky old fishing boat (Named Orca ironically) in pursuit of the Great White Shark.
     From the beginning of the film, we see lighting (and it’s absence) begin to paint the terror of a picture. With the sun setting and a girl swimming in the twilight, only the iconic music and the Shark’s POV shot add to the dramatic suspense. Yet we all know what is going to happen to the young girl, we fear for her life all the same. The film also contains masterful cuts, intense camera angles, and presents an overall vibe of helplessness as the audience themselves fears for poor Amity Island. 



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