A very good, and evidently a very influential, film from 1975.
That release year doesn't even sound correct, the film holds up extremely well in that regard - I knew already, but if I didn't and I had guessed the year I wouldn't have said anything earlier than 1990. This alone raises the film up ½* for me - it's impressively made.
I don't, personally, think the story is as perfect as the aforementioned. Don't get me wrong it's all entertaining, but I feel it peaks with the shark terrorising the town as a whole - when it's down to just the trio, I didn't enjoy it quite as much. Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss do give notable performances, though.
Going back to my initial point, the effects for the shark are incredible. I kinda wanted to simply see more of just the shark, even if we do get more of the great white towards the conclusion. Heck, the film from the shark's prospective would've been 5*. Lastly, that John Williams score is sensational - I think every film fan, whether they've seen it or not, knows that famous theme.
Almost 47 years after its release, I've finally seen 'Jaws'. I don't honestly think the story/the characters itself are anything out of this world, but there's so much to admire and praise from a technical aspect. A marvel, really.