Finishing off a list of great movies set on the ocean waves with Steven Spielberg's original summer blockbuster Jaws was as inevitable as the motion of the tides. While technically (and pedantically) you could argue that much of the first half is set largely on dry land, the bulk of the film takes place on the open waters, although as few readers will be unaware, drowning is the last worry on the protagonists' minds. The plot to Jaws couldn't be much simpler - great white shark eating swimmers off the coast of Amity Bay leading to the police chief, an oceanographer and a fisherman to set out on a boat to hunt it down. While in hindsight many have lamented that Jaws - although a very good film - is responsible for the creation of the summer blockbuster (and the increasingly threadbare attention to narrative), this doesn't detract from Spielberg's achievement. On top of that, it reminds viewers that the blockbuster can be a thoroughly entertaining affair with a great deal of personality (take note, Michael Bay. Or preferably stop making films altogether). Jaws suffered from a problem which is commonplace today - sequelitis - and a slew of increasingly atrocious follow-ups lumbered their way into cinemas over the following years. Fortunately, despite its age, a remake has never been touted. But we shouldn't count it out - while it might be safe to assume that no one would dare to remake such a classic movie, it didn't prevent Gus Van Sant from tackling Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. In Hollywood, nothing is sacred. Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.
