Thursday, July 16, 2009

56. JAWS (1977)

TOP 100 FILMS OF ALL TIME - JAWS

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
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

Product Description
A POLICE CHIEF, A SCIENTIST, AND A GRIZZLED SAILOR SET OUT TO KILL A SHARK THAT IS MENACING THE SEASIDE COMMUNITY OF AMITY ISLAND.

Product Details

  • Actors: Susan Backlinie, John Bahr, Peter Benchley, Richard Dreyfuss, Lee Fierro
  • Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
  • Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Subtitles: Spanish, French
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Studio: Universal Studios
  • DVD Release Date: June 14, 2005
  • Run Time: 124 minutes