How JAWS rates on IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd
Here’s a scary thought for all you lovers of great cinema:
Saying that JAWS is the greatest movie of all time is just an opinion. It’s actually not a fact.
An opinion is not something you can prove, it a feeling - nothing more. Having a belief that one thing is better than everything else doesn’t add up to a whole lot. Just saying something over and over and with enough conviction doesn’t magically transform it into fact.
But one thing’s for sure, JAWS is an extremely popular film. And this year it’s 48 years old (especially terrifying if you were one of those people who saw it when it was first released), so if people still love it, it must be doing something right. Right?
So, how popular is JAWS exactly? What is the unit of measure we cold use?
Well, thankfully there have always been people out there who are ready to set it all out for the rest of us and explain in minute detail why some things are good and some things really should be thrown in the drink before they start to stink up the whole island.
The saying goes that ‘Everyone’s a critic’ and sometimes being told why something is bad or good can be a bit tedious, however there are a few places that’ll do their best to explain why they feel the way they do and not harangue and harass you if you don’t agree with this.
IMDB
Welcome to the world of IMBD. The Internet Movie Database.
Started by Col Needham - a British computer engineer - in 1990. To start with, the site was just Needham’s personal film database but then morphed into an internet bulletin board. In 1998 Amazon bought IMBD for around $55 million. It has 190 million monthly users and is the largest movie database in the world.
For JAWS it displays a User Rating of 8.1, a suitably high score. It’s not a perfect 10 but if you break the total down into categories, there’s one or two interesting finds.
If you look at gender, in the 18-29 and 30-44 categories, women are less appreciative of its charms, giving it a score of 7.5 & 7.6 respectively. Interestingly at either end of the age scale, the movie receives its highest ratings from women. At the 18 years and lower it gets an 8.1 and at 45 and above it get an 8.2 rating.
For men the movie scores higher across the board. 18-29 and 30-44 both give it an 8.0 while the 18 and younger score it 8.1 and the older demographic of 44 and above give it a whopping big 8.4 rating.
It seems that where both genders are either the youngest or oldest, the movie scores best. Which is quite a telling bit of data. It appears that as children and young adults we lap up the tense thrills and scares but as we get into early middle age our tastes begin to vary. But when we get older we quite often return to what we loved as kid. So there could be some nostalgia going on here but its still a really solid outcome for the movie.
Ain’t it Cool news offers a great many reviews of the DVD releases and interviews with Spielberg about how he refused to change anything with CGI for the movie’s rerelease but there is not a definitive ratings system to speak of. Waht they do have however, are some nice pieces about how Bruce comes off against another animal monster villains, such as the snake from ‘Anaconda’. And after a lengthy story of the imagined battle, Bruce finally triumphs, swimming off with the head of the snake stuck to his head. All good fun.
Letterboxd
On Letterboxd, a great site that allows you to collate and comment on movies you’ve seen or might like to see, JAWS receives a 4.0 right across the board. The reviews by the public are amusing but on the whole everyone seems to be in agreement, the movie is a total barnstormer.
‘A whopper in every sense of the word. Spielberg invents the modern four quadrant blockbuster and he makes it seem easy, a masterclass in tone and scope with a town full of recognisable nuts and three of the most compelling ‘“just a dude” characters in all of mainstream cinema. Insane that despite how shonky the animatronic shark looks it’s still terrifying, a lurching stalking beast as hard to quantify as it is impossible to ignore, All killer no filler’
If you’re looking for a rating for JAWS, the best thing to do really is watch the movie - then make up your own mind. There is a lot of bluster out there on the internet and in the press about what movie is the best or why certain things really stink - but in the end, it’s up to you.
As we see, some sites love crunching the data, sectioning it all up and allowing you to examine in great detail the different facets of a film, while others let their reviewers do the talking, while others still allow the public to respond.
There’s no right or wrong way - simply a variety.
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes, the movie and TV review site launched in 1998 by Berkeley Undergraduate Senh Duong, had one simple central idea - to create a site “where people can get access to reviews from a variety of critics in the U.S.” It gives JAWS two ratings.
The first is the ‘Tomatometer’ which awards the film and extremely healthy 97% from 99 reviews.
The second is a 90% from ‘Audience Reviews’, from over 250,000 reviews.
JAWS is also classed as, ‘Certified Fresh’. Below is the site’s official description of the term:
‘Certified Fresh’ status is a special distinction awarded to the best-reviewed movies and TV shows. In order to qualify, movies or TV shows must meet the following requirements:
A consistent Tomatometer score of 75% or higher.
At least five reviews from Top Critics.
Films in wide release must have a minimum of 80 reviews. This also applies for films going from limited to wide release.
Films in limited release must have a minimum of 40 reviews.
Only individual seasons of a TV show are eligible, and each must have a minimum of 20 reviews.
As you can probably imagine from these scores, nearly every review is a rave. They talk about the characterisation, the score, the direction, the effects and the acting with pretty much universally glowing terms.
Not that it doesn’t pack scares and thrills, but it has a peculiarly ’70s appetite for small character detail.
ROB GONSALVES, Rob’s Movie Vault.
It's immortalized for good reason. Between the thematic score, its perfect cast, and gut-punch of a thrill, Jaws is still very much alive.
KRISTY STROUSE, Wonderfully Weird & Horrifying
Jaws received a mighty score but not quite the 100%. Movies reaching this lofty position are varied in subject matter and of course it’s up to critics whether or not they measure up. Why JAWS is ‘only’ worth a 97 when 1938’s ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ with Errol Flynn as the famous tights-wearing outlaw gets those valuable 3% more, is a mystery. Personally, I’ve never found there to be a better version of this classic tale of robbing-the-rich-to-give-to-the-poor and it’s a worthy recipient of top marks.
I just can’t see how JAWS didn’t get the same score. But then this is how we come full circle to the idea that a personal opinion is just that. Critics are valuable in our decision making processes, but they shouldn’t be the only way we rate a film. There’s been loads of movies I’ve gone to see - purely because every review had given them five stars. But those same films left me feeling cheated and like a five star idiot for not thinking for myself - but you live and learn I guess…
Words by Tim Armitage
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