Steven Spielberg proved himself to be the most talented young director in Tinseltown when he unveiled Jaws upon the world, and generations and generations of people have been terrified of going swimming into the ocean ever since. Jaws is a masterclass in blockbuster filmmaking, of course: every inch of its construction is arguably perfect - it contains exactly the right balance of drama, characterisation, special effects and action: no wonder it became the highest-grossing movie ever made upon first release. After a great white shark the size of a car has terrorised the small island community of Amity Island, then, it's up to police chief Martin Brody, oceanographic expert Matt Hooper and shark hunter Quint to track down the big b*stard, opening up Jaws' third act as something of an awesome pirate adventure. After a heated final battle in which Hooper is forced to flee to the seabed and Quint is eaten alive, Brody takes aim with a rifle and tries to shoot an air tank caught in the shark's mouth. "Smile, you son of a b*tch!" he shouts with just one bullet to go, and - BOOM! - hello immensely iconic scene!
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
