Why this is the single most important shot in Jaws

Jaws (1975) is a film that is full of iconic shots, it's part of what makes it such a classic movie almost 50 years after its release.

But one shot above all others is the most important in the whole of the film, you'll know it. You love it and it's a shot you look forward each and every time you watch the Steven Spielberg shark classic.

It's the shot from Quint's shack window - shot through the jaws of a shark - as the camera slowly tracks Quint, Brody and Hooper as they set sail out to sea on the Orca.

So, why is it the most important shot in the film? Put simply. it's the film told in one single shot, the shark's mouth literally swallowing the Orca whole, foreshadowing that need for a bigger boat long before Chief Brody has his encounter with the great white shark whilst chumming.

It's the passing of the baton, from the safety of dry land of Amity Island - remember it's only an island if you look at it from the water - to the characters being all at sea. Quite literally.

The danger and adventure level has just gone up several notches as our intrepid hero’s travel headfirst into the realms of the shark. They are in its domain now, they have crossed a threshold and so have we, the viewer.

And it isn’t a moment that is lost on Jaws fans, @l8dyscribe on Twitter said: This shot is my ultimate favorite in the movie. The shark’s jaws framing the Orca portends the fight to come and Quint’s violent end. Brilliant movie making.

Sandy Nieman on Facebook added: Great foreshadowing I love the shot. Brilliant!

@Gord45794144 on Twitter commented: Outstanding shot and that music, chills!

As with much of Jaws, everything just comes together perfectly, from the composition of the shot to the John Williams music; creating an outstanding moment of almost visual poetry, reminding that whilst Jaws may well be regarded as the first summer blockbuster, that it is also rightly regarded as art and a bona fide classic of cinema.

Those mesmerising shark jaws may just well also feature in one of the iconic Jaws promo shots.

And that shot with Quint (Robert Shaw), Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) and Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) staring through the shark’s jaws was recreated for the making of Jaws play, The Shark Is Broken, starring and co-written by Ian Shaw, the son of Robert Shaw.

Words by Dean Newman.

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