Jaws

     "Jaws" is an absolutely amazing, near perfect film by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of beach town Amity, and the new Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) dealing with an intruder in the town's waters. When Brody realizes he can't deal with this shark alone, he joins forces with shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw). They take to the sea to track down this menace and face a variety of problems. After much trouble, it all comes down to Brody vs. Shark, Man vs. Nature.
     By now, most people know the story of the sharks not working, causing Spielberg to reassess how he was going to shoot this film. The result was a mysterious, invisible force that roamed the waters of Amity. The first scene does a great job of introducing you to this mysterious beast, with the girl being thrashed around above the water, and then finally disappearing when you least expect it, to the sound of only the water lapping up on the shore. From there, Spielberg does a great job of slowly building up the mystery of the shark, with the final reveal happening when you least expect it. And what a reveal it is. The size of just the shark's head is enormous and leaves you ready to see more. The score in this movie is one of legend, and John Williams was either a genius or got extremely lucky in his choice of this simplistic sound. Without it, the underwater scenes from the shark's POV wouldn't have the same terrifying effect that they do. Spielberg picked three great actors for this film, and the scene in which Quint tells them about his shipmates being picked off by the sharks, followed by their drunk singing, is an extremely memorable scene. The cinematography is also very noteworthy, specifically the Hitchcock-esque dolly zoom that is used when Roy first sees the shark.
     "Jaws" is a great film on all fronts: the actors, the cinematography, the mystery of the shark, and score. It is a film that has completely stood the test of time due its suspense and rawness.