Last week, I was lucky enough to find some time to go and see Jaws on the big screen for the film’s 50th anniversary. True, I already own a copy of the film and have seen it dozens of times by now, but I had never seen it projected in the cinema. Now, for the anniversary, a 4K restored cut got screened near me for one week only, and it seemed paramount that I make the effort to go and see Steven Spielberg’s iconic film. So, how does the first blockbuster fare 50 years later, and was it worth seeing on the big screen? Let’s find out. And as a bit of housekeeping, I saw this edition in 2D.

In case you actually have never seen Jaws, here’s the rundown. A killer shark is attacking beachgoers off the coast of the fictional island town of Amity. It also just so happens to be happening in the days leading to the town’s Fourth of July celebrations, so there’s a lot of bureaucratic red tape to try and keep the popular beach front open, as it’s the town’s main source of revenue. But as the bodies keep piling up, it’s up to the town’s sheriff, an oceanographer, and a potentially shady shark hunter to venture to sea to try and kill the creature themselves. So what’s there to say about Jaws that’s fresh and new? Well, nothing really. It’s a 50-year movie after all, and the film that arguably changed the way Hollywood makes films. But the 4K restoration was really well done, with the colours, particularly the sunset shots, really popping off the screen. From a technical standpoint, it’s all been said before, but I wanted to praise Spielberg’s blocking as it’s so good in this movie, as well as reemphasizing that the lack of shark in this shark movie (due to many technical issues during production) was a blessing for Jaws at the end of the day. Seriously, less is more.

It has been a few years since I last saw Jaws, and I think my biggest takeaway, post-COVID-19, was just how selfish a lot of the Amity residents were, particularly the mayor. One thing I’ve noticed over the last few years is that people have become a lot more selfish, “me, me, me” and I’m not sure if that’s due to the pandemic or social media or both, but I thought it was interesting that a lot of the behaviours I’ve seen a lot over the past few years were present here. People were dying horrible deaths, but the mayor shrugged it off, more interested in reputation and profits than people’s well-being. Even the merchants were flabbergasted at the notion of even shutting down for a single day, with one vendor decrying that such a shutdown is equivalent to three weeks’ wages at a town hall meeting.

Robert Shaw as Quint is also really amazing in the movie, and it’s still pretty much a cinematic crime that he was not nominated for his work. Despite the film being about hunting sharks and the horror of said creature stalking the beach and killing people, the best scene in the movie is when Quint, oceanographer Hopper (Richard Dreyfuss), and Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) are drunk on the boat, sharing field stories, including one harrowing one about the Bomb, and singing shanties. For a film best remembered for its shark-centred theme and its iconic John Williams riff, this scene stands out as the best part of the film.

I know Jaws was very responsible for a wave of anti-shark sentiment for decades, as swimmers became terrified of the ocean as a direct result, but I think thanks to Jaws, I’ve always had a fascination with these creatures, in particular the Great White. I hope that as we leave that era of fear behind, more and more younger viewers don’t leave Jaws with a sense of dread and fear of the monster, but maybe some reverence and interest. So if you missed watching it on the big screen, you should definitely give it a watch, whether it’s your 50th time watching it or even your first. It may be from 1975, but if you’ve never seen Jaws, you should definitely give it a go. It’s a classic for a reason.