Jaws

 Police Chief Martin Brody is new to Amity Island. The citizens there, while welcoming to tourists and newcomers, have a great pride in their town and aren't very welcoming to change. Which becomes a problem when Brody wants to close the beaches after a young girls body parts wash up on shore. The islanders argument is that they are a "summer town" and depend on tourism, and plus they are all passionate beach-goers. The citizen's minds change however, when a child is eaten by a massive shark in front of hundreds of people on the beach. A town meeting is held, and the mother of the dead boy offers a reward. Everyone with a boat is out on the water trying to claim the reward and a tiger shark is caught. The mayor, convinced the chaos is over reopens the beaches. Brody hired an oceanographer who says the attacks were not done by a tiger shark. Even after they scuba dive a wreck and finding the tooth of a great white, the mayor is not worried. After another man is killed, the mayor is finally convinced. Brody and the oceanographer, Hooper, team up with an old fisherman known as Quint, the only man willing to take on the great white. After battling this creature at sea, Brody shoots a tank that is lodged in the shark's mouth from his sinking ship, and the shark explodes.

All I can say is that if massive sharks mutilating beach-goers isn't enough to keep your attention (unlikely), then the brilliantly created characters and eye catching camera angle will. The content of the film alone brought in ticket sales and made it a blockbuster in the summer of 1975, but without the touch Spielberg added to this film, it wouldn't be such a classic. The characters all played their roles in the plot very well, each introduced at the right time, and with perfectly formulated yet believable personalities. The subtle placement of the camera added the correct gaze and mood to each shot, and the editing/special effects were just enough to be eye catching yet still realistic. Well done for 1975.

The ending Spielberg chose seems to be the point of controversy around this film. In my opinion it was 100% his decision to blow up the shark, anything less dramatic just wouldn't have done the build up to that point justice. Sure, that was a little far fetched, but no one is watching Jaws expecting to get an education on marine biology or physics. It's a keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat style film, that still maintains an artistic appeal. A masterpiece in my opinion, but I believe if this same film was released today it would not have been as popular or impressive.