Jaws Film Review Jaws uses suspense and tension to capture the audience, creating perfect moments of shock.

The film is reminiscent of Hitchcocks Psycho using a formula of suspense, but this was done due to the faults that the mechanical shark had other than being blindingly obvious that it wasnt real. Hiding the shark seemed to be the best way to keep the shark as a threat.

Figure 1. Jaws.(1975) The shots in the film allowed us to see through the eyes of the shark when he was going to attack, the shark had a god like feel because it was as if this all seeing beast was attacking although we never saw him . Figure 2 shows us the view of the ocean through the jaws of a shark and the boat that the sheriff and his crew are sailing. The boat is framed inside of the shark mouth to possibly represent the danger the crew are walking into and foreboding death. The music score was able to enforce fear more than the shark itself, this film without the soundtrack would be slow. A critic from BBC movies stated that the, memorable score is used sparingly but its tone of impending terror is more responsible for the power of the film than the sightings of the beast itself. (Haflidason, 2001). The music score is iconic and is known independently of the film. Its strong heart beat pace feels as if its telling your pulse to beat faster because something dangerous is about to happen. The shark doesnt feel like an important factor in this film, the less its seen the more effective the film is. Although the protagonist is the Sheriff, the rivalry between the shark and the fisherman is more engaging almost feeling like the relationship between Moby Dick and Captain Ahab . Samuel Walters from Dauntless Media explains that its Quint who makes the whole thing work. His maniacal ravings would seem to make him too cartoonish to be taken seriously But instead Quint finds the right balance between his mania and the kind of singular knowledge and passion needed to catch this bad fish( Walters, s.d). His strong persona seems to work in the favour of the film, hes crazy enough to make Jaws entertaining bringing the mechanical fish to life. Although Quint is a supporting actor his role seems to

more valuable than the main actor and it seems predictable that he dies and the sheriff kills the shark.

Figure 2 .Shark attack. (1975) Jaws was effective when the star, the great white wasnt in shot. The moment the mechanical creature was seen it took away the fear factor that the film had created through clever cuts. Figure 2 is a film still of the shark eating its way through the boat. This still is taking from the climax of the film but it had a comical feel when Quint was eaten, because the sharks appearance was distracting. Although the gory seen of blood spewing out of Quints mouth counteracts the comedic look of the shark. Although the movie is about a shark eating swimmers, the underline story of the sheriff and the mayor hiding the threat of the shark. Just to allow the flow of tourism to continue seems to be a commentary on shady authority. Jamie Graham a critic from total film explains that Jaws for all its thrills and spills offered a post-Watergate savaging of corrupt authority (Graham,2012). The film comments on a government that is willing to sacrifice a few people just to make money. This could be a possibly warning to the viewers that theyre not a valuable part of society and maybe Spielberg is making us question what the government could be hiding from the public. Bibliography Haflidason, A .(2001).Movies Jaws 1975. At: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/07/14/jaws_review.shtml (Accessed on 05.02.2013)

Walters, S. ( s.d). Jaws Film Review. At: http://dauntlessmedia.net/jaws/jawsfilm-review.html (Accessed on 05.02.2013) Graham, J.(2012) Jaws. At: http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/jaws-1 (Accessed on 05.02.2013) Illustration list Figure 1. Jaws.(1975).From Jaws. Directed by: Steven Spielberg [Film Still] .At: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7jNzxJBoQA0/TN1kzDqilLI/AAAAAAAADZE/M3exQZ 3cbmY/s1600/jaws16.jpg (Accessed on 05.02.2013) Figure 2 .Shark attack. (1975)From Jaws. Directed by: Steven Spielberg [Film Still]At: http://static.guim.co.uk/sysimages/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2010/7/6/1278435783280/JAWSFILM-STILLS---1975-006.jpg (Accessed on 05.02.2013)