Jaws – 50th Anniversary (35mm)

When a killer great white shark terrorizes a small resort community in Maine, aquaphobic sheriff Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) calls in wiseass oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and piratical local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) to help him hunt the beast down on the high seas.

Based on Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel, Jaws crosses Herman Melville with Roger Corman and remains one of the most terrifying — and entertaining — movies ever made.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Steven Spielberg's gut-wrenching adventure-horror thriller has lost none of its ability to keep audiences on the edge of their seats and swimmers out of the water. Greatly aided by Verna Fields' razor-sharp editing and John Williams’ portentous minimalist theme, Spielberg combines drive-in attraction and masterful suspense.

With performances that range from subtly and charmingly underplayed by Scheider and Dreyfuss, to deliciously hammy by Shaw — who snacks on more scenery than the great white does bathers — to frighteningly convincing (by the prop sharks), the film has become a quotable, often-imitated classic with a lasting, immeasurable impact on popular culture.

A watershed moment in Hollywood history, Jaws was the dawn of the summer blockbuster and announced Spielberg's arrival as one of the most powerful and influential filmmakers in the world.

Adapted from the original 2018 programme note by Andrew Tracy

Content advisory: extreme violence, nudity, coarse language, drug use, mature themes