Jaws

I was surprised at how much "Jaws" reminded me of the 50s/60s Hitchcock thriller. I confess, I had not known it was made in the seventies and thought it was an eighties movie when I caught it on TV growing up. In all probability, I had only seen the second half of the movie, which I found very different from the first half. It was as though for the first hour Spielberg drew from "Psycho" or "The Birds", and for the second he focused on a model that would inspire the likes of "Armageddon" - the "mission" film.

"Jaws" is a sort of mish-mesh of the two styles of film, making me think of it as a bridge between one era and another. Being a classic movie fan, I enjoyed the first half more; I liked the way he built up suspense and dread in the viewer with the several shark attacks, first the girl swimming late at night and then on the beach in broad daylight. The shots were very Hitchcock, including one that Max pointed out debuted in "Vertigo." Once we had seen the shark, I lost most of my interest in the film.

I can see how, after seeing "Jaws," audiences at the time would have been afraid to go swimming. It is really terrifying in parts. However, once we see the men on the boat attempt a hundred times to kill the shark, I just start to hurl something at the screen to kill it myself. How many times can a shark be shot before it dies? Just for the fact that this film was a hallmark in its day, though, and probably ushered in a new type of filmmaking/distribution pattern, it does deserve to be on the list.