The charm of Jaws is that while it’s a thriller, making use of famously foreboding music and suspenseful moments galore, it doesn’t lose its sense of enjoyment. It understands that audiences are more afraid about what could happen to the character on screen if they’re people that you don’t want bad stuff to happen to. So even if you’re not personally, physically affected by the scares, if you don’t get the shakes any time you hear the trademark notes indicating danger, you are invested in the story of these characters and their hunt for this great white shark. It would be fun to see Steven Spielberg return to a similar style of filmmaking, just one more time.
There are so many more films from the 1970s that are emblematic of what the decade meant for movies. While today’s movies, especially the independent variety, as well as cable television shows, are arguably back at the level of this prolific decade of quality, it’s a period that stands on a bit of an island in American film history, and deserves attention for that reason. If you like old movies that don’t feel like they’ve been pulled out a time capsule but instead like they’re fresh and contemporary in spirit if not in technology, then films from the 1970s are a good source to tap.
