Jaws (1975)
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Jaws (1975) follows police chief Martin Brody as a great white shark terrorizes the beach town of Amity Island. When the attacks begin to threaten the summer tourism economy, local officials resist closing the beaches despite the danger. Brody joins marine biologist Matt Hooper and shark hunter Quint in a dangerous effort to kill the shark and protect the town.
Narrative Score
Full Plot & Ending Explained
Intro
At Amity Island, a young woman, Chrissie Watkins, skinny-dips at night and is dragged underwater and killed by a shark; the next morning, her remains are found on the beach, and Police Chief Martin Brody suspects a shark attack.
Turning Point 1
Brody tries to close the beaches, but Mayor Larry Vaughn and the town leaders pressure him to keep them open because the summer tourist season is vital to Amity’s economy; after the coroner is pushed to call the death a boating accident, Brody reluctantly backs down.
Turning Point 2
After a child, Alex Kintner, is killed in a crowded swimming area, the town panics and a bounty is placed on the shark, triggering amateur hunters; marine biologist Matt Hooper confirms the killer is a very large shark, and when a caught tiger shark proves to be the wrong animal, the real shark remains at large.
Turning Point 3
Brody and Hooper search the water at night and discover Ben Gardner’s damaged boat; Hooper dives beneath it, finds a huge shark tooth in the hull, and then recoils in horror after seeing Gardner’s severed head, confirming the danger is real while Mayor Vaughn still resists fully shutting down the beaches.
Turning Point 4
On the Fourth of July, the beaches are packed despite the danger; the shark enters a lagoon, kills a boater, nearly kills Brody’s son Michael, and forces Vaughn to finally accept Brody’s warnings and hire Quint, the grizzled shark hunter, to kill the shark.
Turning Point 5
Quint, Brody, and Hooper sail out on Quint’s boat, the Orca, and during the hunt Quint reveals his brutal past and obsession with killing sharks; the great white repeatedly attacks the boat, destroys equipment, and finally cripples the Orca as the three men struggle to survive.
Turning Point 6
Hooper tries to stop the shark by entering an underwater cage, but the shark attacks the cage and kills him or leaves him presumed dead in the chaos; Quint is then bitten in half and swallowed by the shark after a desperate final struggle aboard the sinking boat.
Ending
With the Orca going down and the shark still attacking, Brody stuffs a scuba tank into the shark’s mouth and shoots it, causing the tank to explode and kill the shark; Brody and the apparently surviving Hooper are then left adrift as the threat to Amity is finally ended.
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