Jaws

How this film uses it

Spielberg holds back full shots of the shark for most of the film. You know it is there, in the water and near the swimmers. That knowledge alone fills ordinary beach scenes with lasting dread.

Where to see it

The beach sequence. You see the shark's fin coming while the people on shore have no idea. This is pretty much pure Hitchcock-style suspense.

How this film uses it

When Brody sees the shark attack on the beach, Spielberg uses a dolly zoom, where the camera moves one way while the lens zooms the other. The effect was first created for Vertigo. I feel like it captures exactly how the world lurches when a catastrophe sinks in.

Where to see it

Brody sitting on the beach. The dolly zoom hits as he realizes there is a shark in the water.

How this film uses it

The mechanical shark kept failing. So Spielberg had to suggest the creature through moving water, barrels and point-of-view shots. The shark ends up far more frightening than it would have been in full view.

Where to see it

The barrel dragging through the water at speed. You understand the shark's power without seeing its body. A practical problem became the film's most effective scare.

How this film uses it

John Williams' 2-note theme is score, music only you can hear, so it sits outside the world of the film. The diegetic sound is what the characters hear: the waves, the creaking boat and the reel line running out. Spielberg also uses silence, the absence of the theme, as a weapon of its own. He trains you to relax when the music stops and then strikes without warning.

Where to see it

The Orca scenes. With no theme playing, you relax, and then the shark surfaces unexpectedly. The quiet on the boat works as false safety.