Jaws

“you’re gonna need a bigger boat.” upon leaving the imax theater, i entered the men’s restroom, having held my bladder for the last half of this film. as i am pissing, a loud teenager and his friend enter and the loud one says “man that movie was so slow and boring. i was constantly waiting for something to happen.” then the friend slowly turned to him and said loudly and sternly “dude. are you really bitching about jaws to me?!?!?!” he is right. spielberg is considered one of the greatest for many reasons and this might be the biggest one. jaws is a landmark piece of cinema that has been replicated and paid homage to countless times, yet no other film quite evokes the magic and suspense it has. i am so glad i got to re-experience this gem in glorious imax for its 50th anniversary as i had only seen it in film class or at home on the tv. the technicolor absolutely glowed and i was mesmerized by the sheer craftsmanship of each and every scene and shot. the shark actually looked great! yes the film is 50 years old but on the big screen, it looked and sounded great and a couple moments definitely had me jump a bit in my seat. the characters are forever iconic — richard dreyfuss as the cocky ichthyologist hooper, robert shaw as endlessly entertaining ship captain quint, and roy scheider as police chief martin brody at the center. they all have memorable lines and moments and combined with spielberg’s direction, they make the mundane moments feel full of life and energy. an absolute masterclass on how to build tension and nerves and then to also deliver a satisfying result is so impressive. what can i say that hasn’t already been said before. this film is just kind of untouchable in the sea of horror films that take place on beaches and in the ocean. if you haven’t for some reason seen this film, do yourself a favor a get a ticket while it is available to see on the big screen!