Imagine standing in line. A warm day in June, basking in the glory of a sunny afternoon, with your stomach full after a late lunch (probably pizza) and your excitement reaching a pinnacle that is consistent with every other teenager and 20 year old in line. The trailer and the posters were enough, as everyone is out and ready to see this movie. It's about a giant shark, and It's directed by a guy that hasn't done much. You go in, buy a massive bucket of salty and dangerously buttery popcorn, and you race to find the best seat that you can manage.

And then the movie starts. It's the equivalent of stepping into a hurricane with a cheap umbrella,…

The perfect blockbuster.

I saw this video somewhere of a guy petting a great white shark. While watching it I was filled with utter dread. Sharks scare me. I guess it's the teeth. I assume you can imagine what spurred me on to rewatch Spielberg's masterpiece.

And a masterpiece it is. Now, before I continue, I hate people who use the ‘omg the shark looks sooo fake' argument to criticize this film. Yes, the shark shows its age and had the shark looked fake at the time it was created as well it would be a fair criticism. Looking at the rest of the film, I'd say it's easy to step over its dated look.

Pacing is paramount in most…

Widely regarded by critics & viewers alike as one of the greatest, scariest & most influential films of all time, Jaws is Steven Spielberg's breakthrough masterpiece that didn't only catapult his career to great heights but also ended up establishing the modern Hollywood business model by becoming the first blockbuster in cinema history.

Set in a fictional Amity Island, the story concerns a town sheriff, a marine scientist & a local fisherman who team up together to hunt down a gigantic great white shark which has been terrorizing their small island community. However, once they set out into the wide ocean, they only end up discovering themselves as the ones being hunted by the great white.

Produced on low budget, the masterful creativity…

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Film #12 of the "Scavenger Hunt" Challenge!
Task #10 : 10. A film that scares you!
letterboxd.com/naughty/list/scavenger-hunt/

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As I've mentioned previously graphic gore and horror does not scare me! What does scare me are things that happen in the real world and shark attacks would definitely qualify! Obviously the premise of a vengeful shark outwitting and outplaying its human counterparts in a sick and twisted game of "Survivor" is a bit far fetched but in the hands of Spielberg a master storyteller we find it is incredibly easy to swallow!

While the film boasts having some of the most terrifying scenes to ever grace the big screen the film encompasses so much more! It is a fascinating adventure…

Jaws still stands as an unmatched collision of silly spectacle and artful formalism.

Spielberg has since capitalized (like few others – he just crossed 10 billion at the worldwide box office) on his ability to produce this kind of popular entertainment. Unfortunately, he has rarely approached the blockbuster with such artistry.

Of course, the modern blockbuster itself is often (at least partially) credited to Jaws, so it seems fair to assume Spielberg and co. didn’t yet recognize the formula they were constructing with this shark movie. They were updating studio-era classicism with an assured sense of innovation and style.

It seems the basic Jaws formula is still apparent in many Hollywood spectacles today. Yet, the visible formalism has been largely…