Bob Cload

It’s an absolute masterpiece. The cast is stellar, and the young Spielberg’s direction is spot on. Add in the iconic soundtrack, which was composed by the legendary John Williams, and you’ve got an all-star lineup bringing this great film to screen. The fact that the mechanical shark did not work most of the time forced Spielberg and company to develop ingenious ways to represent the shark on screen without using the shark. What you don’t see can many times be far more frightening and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. It must have been beyond stress inducing at the time, I’m sure, but it worked. The screenplay is taut and arguably an improvement on the novel on which it was based. Gone are the distracting subplots. And Spielberg conceived a far more dramatic ending for the film. This film deserved the blu-ray treatment and holds a place of honor in my collection. Five stars all day long.