Editor Reviews:

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In the vastly overrated 1998 book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, author Peter Biskind puts the blame for Hollywood's blockbuster mentality at least partially on Steven Spielberg's box-office success with this adaptation of Peter Benchley's bestselling novel. But you can't blame Spielberg for making a terrific movie, which Jaws definitely is. The story of a Long Island town whose summer tourist business is suddenly threatened by great-white-shark attacks on humans bypasses the potboiler trappings of Benchley's book and goes straight for the jugular with beautifully crafted, crowd-pleasing sequences of action and suspense supported by a trio of terrific performances by Roy Scheider (as the local sheriff), Richard Dreyfuss (as a shark specialist), and particularly Robert Shaw (as the old fisherman who offers to hunt the shark down). The sequences on Shaw's boat--as the three of them realize that in fact the shark is hunting them--are what entertaining moviemaking is all about. --Marshall Fine

Rating : - Are You Ready to Go Back Into the Water?
In 1975, a young up and coming director named Steven Spielberg (Duel and The Sugarland Express) became America's premier filmmaker with his motion picture adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel, Jaws. Upon its theatrical release Jaws quickly became a cultural phenomenon, embraced by critics and audiences alike. It's hard to believe, but it's been over thirty years since the film debuted and Jaws still keeps people away from the water. The film's brilliant exploitation (or exploration, depending on how you look at it) of our primal fears of drowning and of being eaten alive by a natural predator is still stunningly effective. And though the mechanical shark in the film may look artificial or quaint when compared to today's advanced CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery), the film remains a chilling and exhilarating adventure/thriller.

When a Great White shark begins stalking the waters of Amity, a New England coastal town, and kills a teenage girl, Police Chief Martin Brody (who suffers from a fear of the water) wants to close down the beaches, but he is overruled by Mayor Vaughn. After two more fatal shark attacks Brody hires Matt Hooper, a wealthy ichthyologist from the Oceanographic Institute and an eccentric local fisherman named Quint, to hunt down and exterminate the shark. Brody says good-bye to his wife, Ellen and their two children, and he joins Hooper and Quint on a small, dilapidated fishing vessel called the Orca. It doesn't take this mismatched trio long before they encounter the deadly 26-foot shark, which repeatedly attacks their boat. Soon it becomes apparent that the hunters are the hunted and that this predator can, not only outsmart them, but outrun them as well. Even after numerous attempts to stop the shark, their efforts are thwarted time and time again. When the shark strikes their boat, creating a large leak, Brody, Hooper, and Quint realize that they are ill equipped to face this natural wonder of evolution, this perfect killing machine.

The film features a superb cast including Roy Scheider as the neurotic Police Chief, Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as the charmingly sarcastic Hooper, Robert Shaw as the stubborn Quint, Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen, and Murray Hamilton as the persistently unwise Mayor Vaughn. The entire cast gives multi-faceted performances and Robert Shaw, in particular, is wonderful as the salty, cynical, and fiercely competitive Quint.
Without minimalizing the talents of the fantastic cast, the film's greatest stars are those behind the camera. Steven Spielberg was aided by special effects expert Robert A. Mattey, experienced shark photographers Ron and Valerie Taylor, production designer Joe Alves, and director of photography Bill Butler. The film's screenplay was written by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb and benefited from unaccredited contributions by Howard Sackler, Steven Spielberg, and John Milius. As far as adaptations go, it's unusual for a film's screenplay to live up to the expectations of the fans of the source material. Often an adaptation of a book is disappointing, to put it mildly, but Jaws proved to be an exception. The film, in many ways, is superior to the novel, which at times drifts into the realm of pretentious melodrama.
Jaws was also given a tremendous boost by renowned film composer, John William's brilliant score, which has become instantly recognizable.
The original Jaws film was so successful that it spawned three sequels: the adequate Jaws 2, the regrettable Jaws 3, and the abysmal Jaws: The Revenge. Apparently you can't keep a good shark down. With all of these indestructible sharks out there, it's no wonder that people are still afraid of going into the water.

The 30th Anniversary Edition DVD includes the following bonus materials: the excellent two-hour documentary The Making of Jaws, deleted scenes and outtakes, From the Set vintage featurette, storyboards, production photos, Marketing Jaws, and Jaws Phenomenon image galleries.
Now the film itself is worth the price and with the addition of the bonus material, having this DVD in your collection is a no-brainer.

Also recommended:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Jurassic Park: The Collection