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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Jaws
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 9 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 37 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Adventure | Horror | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Peter Benchley (also novel)
Carl Gottlieb
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 20, 1975
DVD: November 21, 2000
Running Time: 124 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG
Starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottlieb, Jeffrey Kramer, and Susan Backlinie
In 1975, director Steven Spielberg brought Peter Benchley's best-selling novel to the screen with stunning power and unbearable suspense. Jaws left an indelible mark upon the movie-going (and beach-going!) public, distilling a sea of fear from these five words: "Don't go in the water." Once the terror begins, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw must join forces on a desperate quest to destroy a killer embodying nearly three tons of white death. (Universal Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: A.I. Artificial Intelligence Amistad Catch Me If You Can E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Empire of the Sun Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Jurassic Park Minority Report Munich Raiders of the Lost Ark Saving Private Ryan Schindler's List The Color Purple The Lost World: Jurassic Park The Terminal War of the Worlds
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Empire Ian Nathan
It was the complete nightmare that invented the "summer blockbuster", launched the genius on a global scale and delivered an astonishingly effective thriller built on a very primal level: fear.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Ty Burr
Steven Spielberg overcame the lumpy plotting of Peter Benchley's novel to create an efficient, graceful fright machine in Jaws.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The first is the best. When it comes to this kind of thriller, no movie has been able to top Jaws, although many have tried. And, as the years go by, it seems increasingly unlikely that anything will come close.
Read Full Review >Variety Staff (Not Credited)
Robert Shaw [is] absolutely magnificent as a coarse fisherman finally hired to locate the Great White Shark; and Richard Dreyfuss, in another excellent characterization as a likeable young scientist.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
From the outrageously frightening opening--in which a beautiful young woman skinny-dipping in the moonlight is devoured by the unseen shark--to the claustrophobic climax aboard Quint's fishing boat, Spielberg has us in his grip and rarely lets go.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Vincent Canby
If you think about Jaws for more than 45 seconds you will recognize it as nonsense, but it's the sort of nonsense that can be a good deal of fun, if you like to have the wits scared out of you at irregular intervals.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Gene Siskel
What this movie is about, and where it succeeds best, is the primordial level of fear. The characters, for the most part, and the non-fish elements in the story, are comparatively weak and not believable. [20 June 1975]
Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
Steven Spielberg's mechanical thriller is guaranteed to make you scream on schedule (John Williams's score even has the audience reactions programmed into the melodies), particularly if your tolerance for weak motivation and other minor inconsistencies is high.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 37 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Gavin C gave it a9:
Loads of scares, blood, and the use of not showing the shark for most of the movie make this film the best shark-horror films.
Aditya M. gave it a10:
This definitely a very good movie. Steven Spielberg has delivered a great Educational masterpiece about how to begin the Story and move it to the Climax.
Chris K. gave it an8:
Prolly really awesome 30 years ago.
Lauren S gave it a10:
Spielberg has made the first summer block buster, and Jaws is one of my all time favorite movies, as next to it, a dream works SKG developed, and Richard D. Zanuck (producer of jaws) my other favorite movie next to "Bruce" is Sweeney Todd. Love it! Superb!
Alex gave it an8:
What some of the other reviewers don't understand is that this movie was made in the 1970's and that the sfx was state of the art! Still a classic and anyone who says otherwise obviously doesn't know a good movie when they see it.
Sunshine fan Andrew gave it a0:
Overrated and sucky, one crappy film, rather watch the grudge.
Joyce C. gave it a0:
Disturbing and stupid, it is one of those terrible horror films that just don't make the cut, and have a certain cliche and flaw along the way.
