Jaws - Antonia Quirke (BFI Film Classics)

'Jaws' by Antonia Quirke (BFI Film Classics 104-page paperback)

50 years after its release, Jaws still exerts an extraordinary power over audiences. Apparently simplistic and manipulative, it is a film that divided critics into two broad camps: those who dismissed it as infantile and sensational - and those who saw the shark as freighted with complex political and psychosexual meanings. Antonia Quirke, in an impressionistic response, argues that both interpretations obscure the film's success simply as a work of art. In Jaws, Spielberg's ability to blend genres combined with his precocious technical skill to create a genuine masterpiece.