173. JAWS, 1975
- Jay Jacobson
- 3 days ago
- 20 min read
The movie that redefined Hollywood and made millions fear the ocean
Since cinema began, many movies have entertained, fewer have left a lasting impact, and just a handful reshaped cinema, but “Jaws” accomplished all three. An era-defining landmark, it quickly broke box-office records, became an unstoppable cultural phenomenon, instilled a deep-rooted fear of ocean swimming for millions of viewers (including me, who still scans the surface for fins before going in), and if all that wasn’t enough, marked a watershed moment in the history of motion pictures by inventing the summer blockbuster and revolutionizing the way Hollywood releases and markets films.
“Jaws” remains such thrilling entertainment, it continually earns a place on countless greatest films lists, like the 6th All-Time Best by Empire and The Rolling Stone magazines, the 2nd Most Thrilling and the 48th Greatest Movie of All-Time by the American Film Institute (AFI), and the 18th Top Film of All-Time by Entertainment Weekly.
Having first seen “Jaws” in theaters during its initial run, I can attest that its heart-pounding fright remains potently intact fifty years later, for I felt the same white-knuckle suspense watching it for this post as I did in 1975. More than just exciting entertainment, it earned three Academy Awards and a well-deserved Best Picture nomination. One of the greatest and most beloved films in history, “Jaws" is essential viewing for any true cinema fan.
“Jaws” centers on a man-eating great white shark that's taken up residence in the waters of a beach resort named Amity Island, where its food supply is quickly increasing as the summer tourists arrive. Beyond frightening shark attacks, conflicts arise when the town’s newly appointed police chief, “Martin Brody”, pushes to close the beaches for public safety while “Mayor Larry Vaughn” refuses, fearing that shutting down the shoreline before the lucrative Fourth of July weekend will devastate the town’s economy.
As the death toll rises, fear grips the town and a bounty is offered for the shark’s capture. Left with no choice, “Brody” enlists the help of hardened shark hunter “Quint" and sharp-witted marine biologist “Matt Hooper” to track down and kill the beast. Their pursuit becomes an epic life-or-death struggle against man’s deadliest predator. The plot may be simple, but the film’s extraordinary direction, foreboding music, and charismatic performances make it a bone-chilling, character-driven, unforgettable spectacle that preys upon our primal fears.
Based on the 1974 Peter Benchley novel “Jaws”, Universal Pictures producing partners Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown heard about it, read it, and immediately bought the screen rights before it was published. This was during the American New Wave (or New Hollywood, see my post on “Bonnie and Clyde” for more on that), when the old Hollywood Studio System was no longer in place and studios were taking chances on riskier stories and new young talents. One of those talents was twenty-seven year old director Steven Spielberg.
Zanuck and Brown gave Spielberg the chance to direct his first feature film, 1974’s “The Sugarland Express”, and while trying to figure out what his next film would be, Spielberg saw a copy of “Jaws” at Universal in galley form, read it, and told Brown and Zanuck he’d like to direct it. Because of his exceptional work on “The Sugarland Express”, they said yes.
“Jaws'” screenplay was written by a number of writers, beginning with Benchley (who wrote three versions), then Spielberg, and then Howard Sackler. Fearing a possible actors strike at the end of June, and needing to shoot in the summer months, filming had to begin without a final script. So Spielberg hired his friend, comedy writer-actor Carl Gottlieb (who plays newspaper editor “Meadows" in "Jaws") to polish the script and add humor while on the set. After each day's shooting, conversations and improvisations were held each night which Gottlieb shaped into newly written scenes for the following day.
After nine weeks, Universal sent Gottlieb home and Spielberg was on his own. As Spielberg explained in the book “Hollywood: The Oral History”: “So for five, probably four and a half months, we were left to our own devices. And the actors, along with myself, would sit in a room together just about every night and refine the dialogue and think of new moments and pieces of business. And the movie kind of took shape as we went along. But the structure was there from the fourth draft”.
“Jaws” takes place in and around the ocean (with about 50 minutes on a fishing boat named the Orca), and perhaps because of his naiveté, Spielberg insisted shooting in the actual ocean for realism, making “Jaws” the first major motion picture to be shot on small boats in the Atlantic Ocean. The island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts was chosen since it had the desired beach town vibe, and because twelve miles from the shore you couldn’t see land and still had a sandy bottom no more than thirty-five feet below the surface, making filming easier. Sound glamorous? It was anything but.
"Jaws" contains no digital effects or process shots — everything you see was actually filmed. For shots on the ocean, boats holding cameras, actors, and crew continually drifted, causing many issues (actors suddenly out of frame, crew boats entering shots, the camera suddenly facing the wrong direction, and so on). Random boats would unexpectedly sail across the horizon, stopping filming for at least an hour until they were out of the shot. Everyone got seasick, cameras got wet, and even the Orca began to sink at one point. People would unexpectedly fall into the water, and if it was an actor, they’d have to wait for them to dry before filming resumed.
As Spielberg recounted in the documentary “The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of Jaws”: “We all gained a tremendous respect for the sea, for nature, for currents and tides, for waves, for rain and sun and exposure to them”. Principal photography on “Jaws” was scheduled for 55 days. It took 159.
A major delay was with the shark. Though there are some quick shots of real sharks incorporated into “Jaws”, in order to get the shark to do what was needed, three twenty-five foot mechanical sharks were built to scale (named "Bruce", after Spielberg's lawyer). One, used for straight-on shots of the shark, had a large adjustable pivot arm attached to its bottom that rode along a rail constructed on a 12 ton, 60 foot-long sea platform. The other two sharks (for shots when we see the shark move right-to-left or left-to-right) were each missing side panels (one on the left, the other on the right) so operators could easily access controls.
The sharks were still being built and tested when filming began, taking months until they were deemed ready. When the first one was lowered into the ocean, it immediately sank to the bottom. No one was prepared for the corrosive salt-water, the waves, tides, and so forth, and the sharks continually malfunctioned, constantly holding up production. It wasn’t until September that they could get the shark to come out of the water for the famous shot when we first see it with “Brody” on the boat.
As the proverb goes, “necessity is the mother of invention”, and thanks to these production delays (and not having a shark), Spielberg realized how our minds create much worse things than one can show, so he found ways to scare us without showing the shark. In the end, that approach gave the film its terrifying power. It is hair-raising when we see a floating deck suddenly turn and move towards a swimmer, or buoyant barrels attached to the shark stop or change direction. Not only does this induce panic, but it also gives the shark an elevated imagined strength and cunning. Even though we don’t see a lot of the shark, its presence is so scary, AFI named it the 19th Greatest Villain in movies.
The opening of “Jaws” is the most iconic example of Spielberg’s uncanny ability to create fear. He ingeniously begins at a causal beach party at sundown when the ocean is dark as night. A woman goes in for a swim and the camera approaches her from below. Back on the water’s surface, we see her suddenly get pulled in every direction by something underwater as she helplessly screams for her life, flailing around until she disappears into the darkness below. This harrowing scene is over in a flash yet stays with you forever.
By not showing what’s happening below, Spielberg forces our imaginations to run wild with our worst scenario of events, certifying our deepest fears about predators, the ocean, and the unknown. His shots, framing, edits, and pacing are the work of a director with an acute understanding of how to stage action to maximize tension and impact. This scene sets the tone for the entire film, making us feel unsafe when anyone’s in the water. Despite seeing that scene a plethora of times, I’m still overcome with terror by it. That’s the power of cinema and Spielberg’s gift at moviemaking.
Spielberg’s quest and openness at how to best tell a story made him a master at guiding audience’s emotions. An example of his learning process can be found in “Jaws” regarding a shot involving a person’s head (you’ll know it when you see it). After feeling it didn’t get a big enough scream at previews, he used his own money to reshoot it in a swimming pool nine different ways, each with a different timing. After showing each version, he put the one that got the biggest reaction in the final film (it now reportedly gets one of the film's biggest reactions). It’s a demonstration of someone learning and mastering the minute details of how to reach an audience.
Spielberg's use of highly engaging film techniques (such as jump cuts and a "Vertigo-esque" dolly/zoom shot) also help hold an audience in the palm of his hand. A virtuoso at balancing entertainment with profound storytelling, Spielberg quickly became one of the most successful and influential filmmakers in history. “Jaws” was the film that launched him.
Shy, skinny, unpopular, and the only Jewish kid at school, Ohio-born Steven Spielberg found solace with an early love of movies. Growing up in an Orthodox Jewish household where his grandmother taught English to Holocaust survivors, he heard many tales of World War II (and learned how to identify numbers from the Holocaust tattoo serial number on the arm of one of his grandmother's students). He and his family eventually moved to Phoenix, Arizona when he was eleven, where he began making Super-8 home movies with his father's camera. Before long, he was writing, directing, and editing professional looking films. Around the age of fourteen, the family moved to California. His parents divorced a year later, and he moved to Los Angeles with his father and enrolled at California State University, Long Beach. In 1968, he directed a twenty-six minute 35mm film titled "Amblin'", which caught the eye of the head of Universal TV, who offered him a seven year contract. Spielberg dropped out of college, and at twenty-one, became the youngest director to sign long-term with a major Hollywood studio. His professional directing career began with a 1969 episode of "Night Gallery" titled “Eyes" starring Joan Crawford. While trying to get the resources to make his own movies, Spielberg continued directing and co-writing for TV, and in 1971, he directed a TV Movie of the Week titled "Duel", which was so successful, Universal asked him for extra footage to turn it into a feature film, which was released outside the US.
Spielberg's feature film debut came when he approached Zanuck and Brown (now producers at Universal) with "The Sugarland Express", a film he co-wrote and wanted to direct. As Zanuck recalled in the book "Filmmakers on Filmmaking": I was very impressed by [Spielberg] after seeing his short, 'Amblin''... It was a combination of our belief in the property and the story and our belief in Steve that swung us". It was his first break in movies, and though it was not a commercial success, it got positive reviews and showcased Spielberg's directing talent. “Jaws” came next, whose troubled production (including a budget that soared from $4M to about $10M) gave Spielberg nightmares, frayed nerves, and a full-fledged panic attack. Little did he realize, “Jaws” was going to change his life and Hollywood as well.
TV had been detrimentally pilfering movie audiences since the 1950s, and movies and television were considered two opposing worlds. Movies were high brow, TV low brow. Movie stars only appeared on TV when their film careers ended, and TV stars almost never became movie stars. So in an unprecedented move, Universal spent a whopping $700,000 on prime-time TV ads promoting “Jaws” (only a couple films had previously ever advertised on TV, and not for such a hefty amount). Also unheard-of, was opening “Jaws” in over 400 theaters nationwide. With very few exceptions, wide-releases like that were only used for films studios knew would flop (to make fast money before word of mouth closed the film).
Nearly $2M total was spent marketing “Jaws” (an exorbitant amount at the time), using pioneering methods such as promoting the not-yet-released movie alongside the best-selling novel, using the same logo and visual for the movie poster and the paperback cover, and creating a gigantic merchandising campaign that included T-shirts, posters, games, jewelry, toys, mugs, underwear, lunchboxes, beach towels, and even books about the making of the film (like Carl Gottlieb's "The Jaws Log" and Edith Blake's "Making of the Movie Jaws").
The hype turned "Jaws" turned into a phenomenon. Released June 20, it held its wide-release, and because the film was good, expanded to even more theaters as the summer progressed, with people returning to see it multiple times. According to a news article in “The Chronicle of the Movies”: “In its first six weeks, one person in eight in America has already seen [‘Jaws’]”. Within three months, “Jaws” became North America's highest grossing film, and within seven months it was the highest-grossing film in history worldwide (a record held until "Star Wars" took over in 1978). “Jaws” became an event that ushered in what became known as the summer blockbuster.
“Jaws’” successful marketing, distribution, and summer opening (when kids were out of school), gave way to studios making films aimed at massive audiences, teens, and big box-office returns — which continues today. Wide-releases and TV advertising campaigns quickly became the norm (with continually increasing amounts of money spent on both). “Jaws” ignited a hunger for instant, massive profits, and from this point on, as Peter Biskind said in the book "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls”: “Studios wanted every film to be ‘Jaws’”. The rising marketing and distribution costs led studios to take fewer risks, which instigated an end to the counterculture, New Hollywood films that preceded it. Before “Jaws” there were movies, after “Jaws” there were blockbusters.
Now famous, Spielberg followed "Jaws" with another blockbuster, 1977’s "Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (Columbia Pictures’ biggest moneymaker at the time), which he wrote and directed, and it earned him a Best Director Oscar nomination. A myriad of hits and blockbusters followed, and based on box-office receipts today, Spielberg is the most commercially successful director in film history. Other films he directed include "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", "Jurassic Park”, "The Color Purple”, "Catch Me If You Can", and "West Side Story". To date, he's won two Best Director Oscars ("Saving Private Ryan” and "Schindler's List"), with nine nominations. He set up his own production company, Amblin Entertainment (named after his short film), which began producing films in 1981, and in 1994, he co-founded DreamWorks studio and distributor. As a producer he's earned thirteen Best Picture Oscar nominations (winning for "Schindler's List”). He's written about a half dozen features, with an Oscar nomination for "The Fablemans".
Spielberg's countless other accolades include the Kennedy Center Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, France's Legion of Honour, eleven Emmy Awards (twenty-six nominations), three BAFTA Awards (sixteen nominations), three Golden Globes (sixteen nominations — including one for “Jaws”), and AFI, BAFTA, the Directors Guild of America, and Golden Globe Life Achievement Awards. Be it sweeping adventures, themes of childhood, wonder, historical dramas, or science fiction, Spielberg’s films are always personal with human emotions front and center. They defined generations, inspired countless filmmakers, and continue to touch the hearts of millions upon millions of viewers around the globe. His genius at blending imagination, technical wizardry, and emotional storytelling have made him one of cinema's greatest and most influential directors. He's been married twice, to actress Amy Irving, and (since 1991) actress Kate Capshaw. Still going strong, he's in pre-production for a film due out next year. As of the writing of this post, Steven Spielberg is 78 years old.
One of my most vivid memories of seeing "Jaws" in 1975 was being scared to death by the opening credits. Thanks to Jawsmania, I already knew what the film was about, so as the theater darkened and we were suddenly gliding past seaweed and coral in the murky depths during the credits, I was already terrified of sharks. The reason? The pulse-quickening score by John Williams.
The most famous part of Williams’ score, which ranges in emotion from still to frenzied, is its shark’s theme. Based around the repetition of two notes (easily modified in tempo and pitch), it forms a relentless, guttural beat (almost like a heartbeat) that gets the blood racing with a feeling of dread. Instantly iconic, those notes still imply approaching danger even to those who’ve never seen “Jaws”. As Spielberg said in the documentary “The Making of Jaws”: “I think the score was clearly responsible for half the success of that movie”. It won Williams Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe Best Score Awards, and AFI named it the 6th Greatest Film Score of All-Time.
New York City-born John Williams grew up around music. His father was a jazz drummer and percussionist, and the young Williams would sometimes sit in on rehearsals when his father worked with film composer Bernard Herrmann. He played music in school, in the Air Force during his military service (composing his first film music for a 1954 promotional film titled "You Are Welcome”), and studied at Juilliard and the Eastman School of Music before beginning work at film studios as an orchestrator and pianist. In 1958, he began composing for films and TV. Williams first worked with Spielberg on "The Sugarland Express”, and to date has scored all but five of Spielberg's thirty-four directed features. He’s composed many of the most iconic film themes in history, won five Oscars (“Fiddler on the Roof”, “Jaws”, “Star Wars”, "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and "Schindler's List”), with 54 nominations (he's the second most nominated person in Oscar history, after Walt Disney). His TV work earned him three Emmy Awards out of six nominations. As of this writing, John Williams is 93 years old, and the oldest living Academy Award nominee. You can read more about the legendary John Williams in my previous posts on "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Fiddler on the Roof". Click on the film titles to open them.
Roy Scheider stars in “Jaws” as “Chief Martin Brody”, a police chief from New York City scared of the water and out of his element on Amity Island. It’s “Brody’s” first summer there, and Scheider makes him a regular guy with doubts and fears, doing his best to protect the town and his family. Scheider never overacts, be it his frustration with the mayor or fear of the shark, and his naturalistic style has us empathize and root for this reluctant leader.
The most iconic line in “Jaws” was ad-libbed by Scheider during an improvisation. It’s when, in stunned disbelief after first seeing the shark, “Brody” says to “Quint”: "You're gonna need a bigger boat". Perfectly delivered by Scheider, it’s both funny and frightening at the same time and AFI chose it as the 35th Greatest Movie Quote of All-Time. “Jaws” made Scheider one of the most famous actors of the 1970s.
New Jersey-born Roy Scheider suffered from rheumatic fever as a child, which led him to become athletic to gain strength, eventually becoming an amateur boxer (where he broke his distinct nose). Initially considering a law career, he discovered a passion for acting in college, and after serving in the Air Force, embarked on an acting career. While working in theater for about a decade (earning an Obie Award in 1968 for his performance in “Stephen D.”), he made his television debut playing a dancer in a 1955 episode of “The United States Steel Hour”. His film debut was in 1964’s “The Curse of the Living Corpse”.
Scheider's breakthrough came in 1971, with standout roles in “Klute” and “The French Connection”, the latter earning him a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination. He met Spielberg at a party, and impressed by his performance in “The French Connection”, Spielberg cast him as “Chief Brody” in “Jaws” (after Robert Duvall turned down the role). The film’s immense success catapulted Scheider to stardom, and though now one of the most famous actors in the world, his career continued with a mix of good and bad movies. He ended the decade with his second most famous role, starring in Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz”. Though still a major name, his career lost some of its sparkle in the 1980s, and by the 1990s, he was primarily appearing in supporting parts. He appeared in 89 films and TV shows, and his films also include "Marathon Man”, “Sorcerer", "Naked Lunch", "62 Pick-Up”, and "Blue Thunder". He reluctantly starred in the first “Jaws” sequel, 1978's “Jaws 2”. He starred in the science fiction TV series "SeaQuest 2032" (produced by Spielberg). He was married twice, divorced once. Roy Scheider died in 2008 at the age of 75.
Robert Shaw delivers a powerhouse performance as “Quint,” the rugged shark hunter whose first appearance (scraping his nails down a blackboard) immediately signals a dangerous edge that gives us hope he might indeed have what it takes to find and kill the shark. Shaw’s charisma and intensity shine in the iconic scene where "Quint" recounts his tattoo to "Brody" and "Hooper" aboard the Orca. Rich with personality and emotional depth, it’s a powerful moment often cited as the film’s most memorable. Not in the original novel, the monologue was rewritten multiple times, with Shaw ultimately refining it himself to perfectly suit "Quint’s" character.
England-born Robert Shaw lost his father to suicide when he was twelve and began a love of classic literature and theater, eventually enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to pursue acting. His London stage debut was in 1951’s “Caro William”, and he worked on TV while performing small roles in various Shakespeare productions. Actor Alec Guinness spotted Shaw in a play, which led to Shaw's film debut in Guinness’ 1951 film "The Lavender Hill Mob”. Shaw spent the rest of his life moving between TV and movies, and UK and Broadway stages. His first big break was starring in the 1956 British TV series “The Buccaneers”, which made him a star in the UK. Playing the villain in the 1963 "James Bond" movie "From Russia with Love” turned him into an internationally recognizable actor.
Shaw's next breakthrough was with the 1968 Best Picture Oscar-winner "A Man for All Seasons", earning him Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. Known for his intimidating screen presence and magnetic style, he spent several years in mostly lackluster films until the early 1970s when he had major roles in the blockbusters “The Sting”, “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three”, and “Jaws”, which marked the peak of his stardom, that lasted until his untimely death. Shaw appeared in 65 films and TV shows, including "Battle of the Bulge", "Black Sunday", "Young Winston" (Best Actor BAFTA nomination), "Force 10 From Navarone”, and "The Deep”. Shaw was also an acclaimed writer of six novels, two plays, and two screenplays, most notably adapting his novel "The Hiding Place" into the 1965 film "Situation Hopeless ... But Not Serious", and "The Man in the Glass Booth" into a Tony-nominated play. He was married three times (including to actress Mary Ure). Robert Shaw died of a heart attack in 1978 at the age of 51. As a kid, he was one of my favorites.
The third star of “Jaws” is Richard Dreyfuss, who is dynamic as “Matt Hooper”, the cocky marine biologist who enthusiastically loves sharks and science. Dreyfuss makes this somewhat spoiled, well-to-do guy engaging through unyielding passion and humor, and adds unexpected depth with moments of sensitivity (such as his expression watching “Brody” walk away after being slapped by a townsperson).
“Hooper” contrasts sharply with the vulnerable “Brody” and the gruff “Quint”, and his tension with “Quint” brings much of the film’s humor and color, especially in the iconic scene comparing wounds and scars. Off-screen, there was competition between Shaw and Dreyfuss, which heightened their performances. Dreyfuss earned a Best Actor BAFTA nomination for “Jaws”, and became a familiar face to audiences. With his next film, he’d become one of the biggest stars of the 1970s.
Born to an affluent Brooklyn family, Richard Dreyfuss moved to Los Angeles when he was nine years old. With an early love of acting, he made his professional stage debut at the age of fifteen in "In Mama's House". Spotted by an agent, he began appearing in small and bit parts on TV starting with 1964's"Karen", soon making his film debut with bit parts in "Valley of the Dolls" and "The Graduate", both in 1967. More than a dozen film and TV appearances later, he gained attention as "Baby Face Nelson" in the 1973 film "Dillinger", followed by a standout performance in the 1973 George Lucas hit, "American Graffiti” (Best Actor Golden Globe nomination). Next was the title role in 1974's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz". When Spielberg was struggling to cast "Hooper" in "Jaws", Lucas suggested Dreyfuss. Impressed by Dreyfuss in "American Graffiti", Spielberg offered him the role, which he initially declined. But after wrapping "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz”, he feared his performance might ruin his career, so he called Spielberg and accepted “Jaws”. Dreyfuss gained exceptional acclaim for his work in "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz”, once it was released.
"Jaws" launched Dreyfuss towards stardom, and his next film, Spielberg's 1977 "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", put him there. That same year, he won a Best Actor Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA for "The Goodbye Girl", becoming, at 30, the youngest actor to ever win a Best Actor Academy Award (a record broken by Adrien Brody in 2003). Though he delivered strong performances in films like "The Big Fix" and "Whose Life Is It Anyway?", his career was derailed by a growing cocaine addiction, culminating in a 1982 car crash and arrest. After rehab, he returned to the screen in 1986 with "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Stand by Me", and continued working steadily in film and TV. His credits include "Mr. Holland’s Opus" (Oscar and Golden Globe nominations), "Nuts" (Golden Globe nomination), "Tin Men", "What About Bob?", "Postcards from the Edge", Spielberg's "Always", and "Fail Safe". Dreyfuss is open about being bipolar, he founded The Dreyfuss Civics Initiative to promote civic education, and in 2024, drew criticism for a widely condemned onstage rant described as "transphobic, misogynistic, homophobic, and sexist" at a "Jaws" screening. Married three times, divorced twice (including his first marriage to actress Jeramie Rain), as of this writing, Richard Dreyfuss is 77 years old. You can read a bit more about him in my post on "The Graduate".
A quick nod to Murray Hamilton as “Mayor Larry Vaughn”, the politician more worried about Amity's economy than its safety. A phenomenal actor, Hamilton makes a lasting impact with a just few scenes and minimal dialogue. Watch his face as “Hooper” tells “Brody” they may have the wrong shark — skepticism, anger, frustration, concern, feeling cornered, and panic, flicker across it before he even speaks. And when he finally says “Fellas, let’s be reasonable. This is not the time or the place to perform some kind of a half-assed autopsy on a fish…”, his emotion-packed delivery brilliantly reveals a man who knows he’s in trouble but doesn’t want to face it. Hamilton reprised his role in “Jaws 2”. A gifted and recognizable actor, he's appeared in over 160 films and TV shows including three already on this blog, “Anatomy of a Murder”, “The Way We Were”, and “The Graduate”, and you can read more about him in my post on the latter.
A fun mention that Peter Benchley, who wrote the novel “Jaws” appears in the film as the TV reporter on the beach.
A limited theatrical re-release of "Jaws" is scheduled for this summer to commemorate the film's 50th anniversary. Three sequels were made (each worse than the one before), starting with 1978's "Jaws 2" (the best of them), 1983’s "Jaws 3-D" (called "Jaws 3" when not shown in 3D), and 1987's "Jaws: The Revenge" (a flop in every way).
Along with its Best Picture Oscar nomination and win for Best Score, “Jaws” took home Oscars for Best Sound (Robert L. Hoyt, Roger Heman Jr., Earl Madery, John R. Carter), and Best Film Editing (Verna Fields).
This week showcases one of moviedom’s all-time top thrillers, a landmark in filmmaking, and a legend in horror. Enjoy the wonderfully terrifying “Jaws”!
This blog is a weekly series (currently biweekly) on all types of classic films from the silent era through the 1970s. It is designed to entertain and inform through watching a recommended classic film a week. The intent is that a love and deepened knowledge of cinema will evolve, along with a familiarity of important stars, directors, writers, the studio system, and more. I highly recommend visiting (or revisiting) the HOME page, which explains it all and provides a place where you can subscribe and get email notifications of every new post. Visit THE MOVIES page to see a list of all films currently on this site. Please leave comments, share this blog with family, friends, and on social media, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post. Thanks so much for reading!
YOU CAN STREAM OR BUY THE FILM ON AMAZON:
OTHER PLACES YOU CAN BUY THE FILM:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, and any and all money will go towards the fees for this blog. Thanks!!