Police Chief Brody is experiencing his first Summer on Amity Island after moving there with his family several months prior. He receives news that a girl had disappeared the night before during a beach party after she went skinny dipping. Her remains are then discovered on the beach and her death is considered to be caused by a shark attack. Brody then tries to close down the beaches, but the mayor gets word of this and stops him. He explains to Brody that the Island is a Summer location that relies on the tourist trade and if the beaches are closed they will lose a lot of money. He even persuaded the choroner to change the girl’s death to boating accident. Soon after, a local boy is killed by a shark in view of the inhabitants, and the boy’s mother puts out a bounty for the shark and blames Brody for keeping it quiet. This brings a lot of shark hunters out, including local hunter, Quint and oceanographer, Matt Hooper. Brody and the two men go out on a boat to capture the shark themselves with their combined knowledge.
Where to begin? This movie is a classic. It’s one of those movies that just about everyone has seen, and everyone has heard of. The theme song is probably one of the most recognisable movie themes of all time. The entire soundtrack is great. I love it when directors have their go-to composers for their movies. Tim Burton has Danny Elfman, Alfred Hitchcock had Bernard Herrmann, Ron Howard had the late James Horner, and Steven Spielberg has John Williams. As of 2019 Williams has scored 25 of Spielberg’s movies.
The movie includes your character archetypes. The heroic police chief who wants to save the town. The stubborn mayor who just wants to ignore the problem so the town can prosper financially. The gruff old shark veteran who served in the war and survived being eaten by sharks after his ship sank. The young college hipster who threatens people less intelligent. They’re all there and played exactly as you imagine them to be. The casting is on point.
Let’s get this out of the way. The shark. Now I know people talk about how fake it looks and how bad it looks. I, personally, don’t think it looks too bad. They used practical effects and for the 1970s I think it looks fairly believable. That’s just how I’ve always viewed it. I think that when I saw it as a kid, I didn’t even realise it was fake. Then again, as a kid, I didn’t think of things like that.
This is a great Summer flick. It may be a thriller, but it’s a fun movie, and that’s all we really want in both our movies and the Summer.
Where to watch: Justwatch
Linsey Loves Horror 