Jaws

     

All you need to hear is John Williams' Jaws theme to get goosebumps, you dont even have to see those " lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes." The search for the human flesh eating giant carries on as a second death, one of a young boy, occurs.  I have seen Jaws numerous times and still get chills and scared to death when that shark jumps onto the boat near the end and swallows Quint right up. I think the crazy appeal and sense of horror comes from the fact that you know this movie is about a shark, you don't know how big he is or the markings on his body but you know he's somewhere out there. You already know more than the citizens of Amity do but you still feel uneasy any time the camera shows the ocean. And you won't see him until about 3/4 of the film have passed. 
     Quint is my favorite character in the movie... well, human character.  He is such an anti-hero, he's so  funny and scary at the same time you're not really sure how to size him up until you get to know him during the drunken stupor the three main characters get themselves into while on the boat. 
     Another dazzling aspect of this film is the use of special effects. Some might watch it now and chuckle but I still remain impressed to this day at how they handled the effects. I also appreciate the dedication from the set creators, I read that while filming the scene where they display the shark they thought was Jaws, they used an actual decomposing shark which must have reeked. But you never would have known considering the way the cast hides their disgust.  One other thing that is notable about Jaws is the "shark view" perspective of the camera while underwater. You don't see the shark but sense its ominous presence.
     Overall, Jaws is an extremely impressive film from a then-newbie director. It's so easy to see why this film has become such a classic and believe that it will stand the test of time so that even when we eventually have 4d tv's with 'smellivision', you'll still get goosebumps when you hear those two notes played in the film.