Jaws (1975)

Plot Outline:When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it

Based on Peter Benchley's bestselling novel, 'Jaws' centers around the fictional North Atlantic resort island of Amity, which finds itself terrorized by an enormous great white shark. Our hero is Martin Brody, a New York cop who took the job as Chief of the Amity PD the remains of young Christine Watkins are found on the beach, the apparent victim of a shark attack.Chief Brody wants to close the beaches, but is refused permission by Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) and the Amity selectmen, all of whom fear that news of a shark attack off of Amity will threaten the summer tourist trade, on which the town depends for its very survival. The Mayor persuades Chief Brody that such incidents are always isolated, and, inexperienced in such matters, he ggrees to keep quiet.Consequently, the shark kills again Brody eventually finds himself dealing both with his own moral guilt for agreeing to hush up the first shark attack and with an enormous human and social catastrophe which appears to be his sole responsibility. Help comes first in the form of Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss, in the role that propelled him to stardom), an icthyologist and oceanographer dispatched to Amity to lend his expertise. Together, Hooper and Brody struggle in vain against both the shark and Mayor Vaughan, who is certain that keeping the beaches open for the sake of the town's economy (and his own real-estate business) is worth the gamble.

Finally, Brody and Hooper charter an expedition with the enigmatic, vaguely malevolent Quint (Robert Shaw), Amity's most feared and respected shark hunter, to find and kill the shark and save the town from financial disaster. 'Jaws' succeeds on almost every level. It is terrifying without being grotesque, and spectacular without being unbelievable.The suspense is potent and the action thrilling.8/10