Like a fine wine...
Jaws has aged well. In fact, Stephen Spielberg's second child has aged very well. I first saw this movie when I was 4 years old (my parents were not very discriminating in my movie viewing), and I wouldn't go near any form of water that was more than ankle deep for years. As I sat down to watch the DVD some 25 years later, I recalled my first impression, but figured it was mostly due to my young age. Besides, with how far effects have come in movies, could this animatronic shark really be that scary? I have since thrown away my daughter's kiddie pool.

Keep it simple, stupid
The key to Jaws' continued success, I believe, lies in its simplicity. The plot is very simple: There is a shark eating people. The people want it dead. That's it. No underlying subplots, no hidden tree-hugging hippie agenda, and despite the cheesy franchise to follow, no ending-for-a-potential-sequel written in. There is also a lack of explanation in the film. Even with the presence of an ichthyologist, no reason is ever given for the shark's presence, scientific or otherwise. Rather than filling the script with some dated theory, Spielberg presents the simple fact that sometimes bad things happen for no reason.

The crew also realized the limitations of their shark. In fact, the movie is 2/3 over before we ever see the shark. Like a good haunted house, Spielberg realized you don't need to see the fright as long as you know it's there. Possibly one of the most famous and terrorizing early heroine deaths, second only to Janet Leigh in Psycho, opens Jaws with a swimmer being dragged across the water by some unseen, but not unknown, entity. "What could do that?' we think, "A 15 foot shark, at least." And with each subsequent death, our minds add another 5 feet and build this animal to mythic proportions. Never would I have thought that a simple floating yellow barrel could chill me to the core.

But the ultimate simplicity that pulls everything together, John Williams' most famous two notes. If anyone ever doubts the power of a musical score, just walk along a crowded beach one day, and start singing "Daaaah-Dun, Daaah-dun, Daah-Dun", and watch the water clear.

And for the main course...
The cast is classic, of course. There is actually an amazing amount of character development packed into little details instead of boring dialogue and subplots. The scene between Brody and his youngest son brings some realism amongst all of the frenzy feeding. Hooper's dry humor offers some release in tension between attacks. However, if the shark plays second to anyone, it is Robert Shaw as Quint. His monologue on the USS Indianapolis has got to be one of the 5 greatest in cinematic history. There are few things in the movies that I wish I'd written, but that is one of them.

DVD goodies
As for the DVD, there's quite a bit of extra goodies. There is a deleted scene with Quint that is especially good- a tough call on leaving it out. There is also a documentary on the making of the film that offered great trivia and stories for movie-philes. For example, the most quoted line from the film was actually an improvisation of Robert Schneider, and it broke the writer's heart to say so. They also go into the effects, the mechanical shark that never worked, the filming of the live shark footage that was used, as well as the innovative camera techniques used to film water-level shots.

Jaws was apparently a set riff with mishaps and long days of no progress. However, good old-fashioned story telling and movie-making prevailed, and gave us a classic that looks to be around for a long time. At least long enough to keep my kids out of the water.