Released 50 years ago in June 1975, Jaws endured an intensely difficult production period in summer 1974 on Atlantic beaches and waters -- under the helm of then-27-year-old director Steven Spielberg -- to launch the era of the summer blockbuster and change our view of the ocean forever.
For the uninitiated, Jaws chronicles the frequently deadly impact of a marauding great white shark on the summer tourists and year-round residents of the New England island resort community of Amity (played in the film by the island of Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts).
Starring are Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, and, most memorably, Robert Shaw, as the shark hunter Quint.
Here's the original trailer:
On July 10, National Geographic Channel premieres Jaws@50: The Definitive Inside Story, directed by French-American filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau. It's the only authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood and the image of sharks (sometimes for better; sometimes for worse).
The film features interviews with Spielberg and other filmmakers, the family of Peter Benchley (author of the book the film was based on), and shark scientists and conservationists, along with archival footage.
On June 20, the film screened at the Martha's Vineyard Performing Arts Center in Oak Bluffs, then screened the following Sunday (and also Wednesday) at the Martha's Vineyard Film Center in Vineyard Haven.
Spielberg recorded a special introduction for the Martha's Vineyard screenings. Here it is.
From its classic John Williams score to its inventive visuals (often created to compensate for the misfires of Bruce, the temperamental mechanical shark), Jaws has seeped into the consciousness of movie audiences and filmmakers.
Jaws spawned three big-screen sequels, a theme-park ride, and endless spoofs and pastiches, including this classic skit from the first season of NBC's Saturday Night Live in the fall of 1975:
And it's hard to argue that Discovery Channel's Shark Week, NatGeo's Sharkfest and the Sharknado movies would ever have existed without Jaws.
Of course, the contributors to this blog have our own memories and thoughts about Jaws.
As someone who loves reading source material for movies, audiences often forget Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was a superb adaptation of the Peter Benchley novel. Benchley grew up in Nantucket and was fascinated by shark sightings while fishing as a youth. He wrote Jaws and intended it as psychological horror fiction. Spielberg captures this horror by not revealing the shark until midway through, allowing the viewer’s imagination to fill in the blanks.
Spielberg exceeds the novel in that the second half of the film plays as a survival film. The eventual revelation of the entire shark comes with cheesy practical effects, even for the 1970s. I think Spielberg knew this and focused more on the characterization of the three men charged with hunting the shark. Moby Dick comes to mind and I think the theme of human obsession with finishing an undesired and perilous task will be the film’s lasting contribution to cinema.
There once was a movie named Jaws.
The blood and the guts gave me pause.
The whale was a killer,
The movie, a thriller.
It scared me to death, with good cause.
When the Steven Spielberg film Jaws was released in 1975, I lined up with crowds to see it in the theater. Jaws injected fear so deeply that at beaches as far inland as Lake Michigan, people were afraid to swim because of the possible presence of a shark.
This week, on Jaws' 50th anniversary, I watched it again in the comfort of my living room; but it was just as scary as the first showing. That the soft, warm and welcoming waves should part to reveal the spiky teeth of a carnivore is just hard to accept!
Jaws is the movie that had people thinking twice about going into the ocean. To be honest, it took away the enjoyment of swimming and surfing in the ocean, and terrified audiences of all ages. For a long time after seeing the film, the ocean was something to enjoy from afar.
The soundtrack is a classic. It took only two notes to warn viewers about potential danger. Two notes. To this day, those two notes signify danger. Kudos to John Williams. With all his composing talent, he relied on just two notes for the killer.
Jaws is considered a classic, and people enjoy watching it over and over ... however. once is enough for me!
I grew up surrounded by Northeastern resort communities. I've also read Benchley's novel (one of the rare instances where the movie is better). One of the main themes of the book is the desperation of a resort town faced with the loss of the short but precious tourist season that keeps its residents off welfare the rest of the year.
When you realize that, much of the film makes more sense -- and it's something to think about the next time you go on vacation (or, obviously, in the ocean). Now, I live in Los Angeles, but I still prefer to look at the Pacific from the shore ... LOL.
Should parents let kids watch Jaws? The film is rated PG ... with the proviso that it was released prior to the creation of the PG-13 rating in 1984. So, it's PG by the standards of its time. But, there are intense and frightening scenes -- along with some gore and jump scares -- so it's a judgment call for those who know the kids in question best.
On the other hand, the prevalence of shark documentaries in recent decades, and changing attitudes toward sharks, may mean that today's young people can look at Jaws with a more balanced and educated eye than in 1975.
Here the trailer for Jaws@50, which premieres July 10 at 9 p.m. ET on National Geographic Channel, and streams on July 11 on Disney+ and Hulu -- as part of Sharkfest.
Image: National Geographic Channel
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.
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