Overview
A summer of terror unfolds as a deadly predator stalks the waters of a small beach town.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- foreboding
- visceral
- propulsive
- summer movie night
- classic horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as an exceptionally crafted, terrifying, and highly entertaining natural-horror thriller that helped define the modern summer blockbuster.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The great white shark is often suggested through underwater perspective, attacks, and John Williams's warning motif before being fully displayed.
Amity Island's beaches and summer tourism become the central arena of fear, economic pressure, and public risk.
Mayor Vaughn and local businessmen resist Brody's instinct to close the beaches despite repeated evidence of shark attacks.
The film shifts from crowded beaches to open-water pursuit, using widescreen seascapes, practical effects, and escalating encounters at sea.
Films like Jaws, and why
The Birds
Shared natural horror, escalating suspense, isolated community under threat, and a determined professional confronting a lethal predator.
The Abyss
Shared survival thriller structure, oceanic setting, visceral danger, and strong tension between ordinary people and an implacable threat.
Jurassic Park
Shared adventure thriller pacing, charismatic specialists pursuing a dangerous creature, and suspense built around hostile wilderness.
Crawl
Shared natural-horror premise, predatory-animal threat, community panic, and suspense shaped by the limits of human control.
Movie Details
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Release Date
- 1975-06-20
- Runtime
- 124 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (11894)
Cast
- Roy Scheider
- Robert Shaw
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Lorraine Gary
- Murray Hamilton
- Carl Gottlieb
- Jeffrey Kramer
- Susan Backlinie
- Jonathan Filley
- Ted Grossman
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, YouTube TV, Netflix Standard with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Jaws about?
- A coastal police chief joins a hardened shark hunter and a marine biologist to stop a great white terrorizing a resort island before fear and civic pressure overwhelm the community.
- What is Jaws like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Jaws as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Jaws violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Jaws as moderate.
- What did critics think of Jaws?
- Critics broadly regard it as an exceptionally crafted, terrifying, and highly entertaining natural-horror thriller that helped define the modern summer blockbuster.
- Which films are like Jaws?
- Films with a similar feel include The Birds, The Abyss, Jurassic Park, and Crawl.
- How long is Jaws?
- Jaws runs 124 minutes.
- Where can I watch Jaws?
- In United States, Jaws streams on Netflix, YouTube TV, Netflix Standard with Ads.
