JAWS (1975 U.S.) D: STEVEN SPIELBERG W: PETER BENCHLEY/CARL GOTTLIEB P: RICHARD D. ZANUCK/DAVID BROWN
This adaptation of Benchley`s unremarkable but best-selling novel is the pinnacle of Spielberg`s career in my opinion. I don`t need to go into the details of this masterpiece of sustained suspense that i`m sure left many in fear of the sea (i was and we don`t get sharks in Wales). If you find yourself thinking "oh shit, that`s on again" when it crops up on tv next time, actually sit down and watch it again from beginning to end, i think people have forgotten how good it is. It peaks at just the right moments and is audience manipulation at it`s most precise. Doesn`t matter if you`ve got a pristine widescreen print on a remastered Blu-Ray DVD, or are watching it on a rudown old b/w tv with a dial, this works anywhere. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw are great as the mis-matched, reluctant heroes. With Murray Hamilton, John Landis, Benchely, Spielberg and that John Williams score that has become as much a part of our culture as the PSYCHO shower scene violins. Check out THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON for the underwater photography that inspired this. Sequels followed.