Mr. Thompson's Two Cents:

'Jaws' is not only one of the most famous horror films of all time, it's one of the most iconic films, period. It is the O.G. summer blockbuster and is the reason why so many films are now produced and marketed specifically for teenagers. Despite the limited technology of the time, it still provides a master class on how to compose every single frame in such a way as to communicate powerfully to the audience, whether it's a shot that fills us with absolute dread or abiding hope. It's the craft of its filmmaking that makes it so relevant and watchable almost fifty years after it was first made.

I have a surrogate uncle who worked on 'Jaws' as a camera operator. He loves to tell stories about what a torturous experience it was. The crew even began to call the film "Flaws" behind the producers' backs since the mechanical shark (which they named "Bruce") kept breaking down. The film went way over budget and took three times longer to shoot than planned. Had it not been such a success (it became the highest grossing movie of all time until 'Star Wars' two years later), we might have never heard the name Steven Spielberg nor eventually seen the record SIX films of his in the AFI Top 100. 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' 'Schindler's List,' 'Saving Private Ryan,' and yes... 'Jaws.'

So how did he do it? How did he salvage such a great movie from such a terrible production? How do you create such a great monster movie when your monster is a broken hunk of junk? How do you make one of only six horror movies to EVER be nominated for best picture (at the time it was only the second) out of, well, pretty much nothing?

Simple. You use basic composition and let the audience's imagination do the rest.

Will 'Jaws' scare you? Probably not. Are there moments at the end when the shark will look cheesy to you? Probably yes. But that's not the point.  Students who go into this film with their backs up for a good scare come away disappointed. If you focus instead on how much the film does with so little, you're in for one heck of a ride. Think of your favorite scary films. How much restraint do they show? How much CGI and makeup and effects do they use because they HAVE to? Would they be just as scary if they never showed the monster? Spielberg creates one of the most tense films of all time using virtually nothing except the pure language of film. Creating fear out of nothing? Now THAT'S an accomplishment!

Enjoy Steven Spielberg's 1975 thrill ride, 'Jaws.'