Jaws (1975)
About This Movie
A great white shark terrorizes a New England beach town during peak tourist season, and a police chief, a marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter set out on a small boat to kill it. Steven Spielberg turned a pulpy beach read into a primal experience that made an entire generation afraid to go swimming. The second half, set entirely on the boat, is a three character chamber drama with teeth.
Why It's a Classic
Spielberg invented the summer blockbuster with this film, creating the template for event cinema that Hollywood still follows. The mechanical shark malfunctioned so constantly during production that Spielberg was forced to show the shark as little as possible, using John Williams' two note theme, underwater camera angles, and yellow barrels to suggest its presence. This technical limitation became an artistic triumph: the shark is more terrifying when you cannot see it. Robert Shaw's monologue about the USS Indianapolis, delivered in a single take on a gently rocking boat, is one of the finest scenes in American film, and Shaw reportedly rewrote most of it himself. The chemistry between Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss makes the boat sequences feel lived in and real, so that when the shark finally attacks, the danger feels personal rather than spectacular.
Fun Fact
The production went so far over schedule and over budget that the crew nicknamed it 'Flaws.' The mechanical shark, named Bruce after Spielberg's lawyer, sank to the ocean floor on its first day in the water. The film's famous line 'You're gonna need a bigger boat' was ad-libbed by Roy Scheider. Spielberg was so stressed during filming that he refused to return to the ocean set for the final day of shooting and sent a second unit instead.
Parent Note
The shark attacks involve bloody water, severed limbs (briefly glimpsed), and genuine terror. The opening scene, where a swimmer is killed, is particularly frightening. The tension is sustained and intense throughout the second half. Young viewers who are anxious about the ocean may want to wait. Rated PG (predating PG-13), but the content is firmly PG-13 by modern standards.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 1975
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- Adventure / Action
- Age Group
- Adults (Ages 18+)