Jaws (1975)

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Peter Benchley (screenplay) and
Carl Gottlieb (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

The Nation's No.1 Best-Selling Book now the Screen's Super-Thriller

Plot:

When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it.

Plot Keywords:

Shark | Beach | Island | Fisherman | Mayor

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Brody
Robert Shaw	...	Sam Quint
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Hooper
Lorraine Gary	...	Ellen Brody
Murray Hamilton	...	Vaughn
Carl Gottlieb	...	Meadows
Jeffrey Kramer	...	Hendricks (as Jeffrey C. Kramer)
Susan Backlinie	...	Chrissie
Jonathan Filley	...	Cassidy
Ted Grossman	...	Estuary Victim
Chris Rebello	...	Michael Brody
Jay Mello	...	Sean Brody
Lee Fierro	...	Mrs. Kintner
Jeffrey Voorhees	...	Alex Kintner
Craig Kingsbury	...	Ben Gardner

Runtime:

124 min | USA:130 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1995) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Spain:T | USA:TV-14 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Israel:PG | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (video rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:GP | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | USA:PG (Certificate #24175) | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

American Legion Memorial Bridge, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Zanuck/Brown Productions

Trivia:

According to the boat handlers who worked on the film, Quint's boat, "Orca", was a studio fabrication based upon a boat purchased locally. After the special effects team finished with it, it was so top-heavy as to be unseaworthy. Ballast would correct that, but the only large quantity of lead that could be located locally was owned by a local dentist who was going to use it to shield his X-Ray room. So that was rented from him at an exorbitant fee. The fake Orca, designed to sink, was actually more seaworthy than the real thing.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the beach scene when everyone was rushing out of the ocean, there were several medical staff dressed in white to assist the bathers coming out of the water. One of the medical staff (a male with his hair pulled back in a pony tail) can be noticed laughing and joking as the people rush out of the ocean during the Alex Kinter attack. He is located close to the bottom of your TV screen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tom Cassidy: What's your name again?
Christine 'Chrissie' Watkins: Chrissie.
Tom Cassidy: Where are we going?
Christine 'Chrissie' Watkins: Swimming

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: A Dream of Jennifer (#1.20)" (1980)

Soundtrack:

Spanish Ladies

Spielberg turns weak story into a cinematic masterpiece.

Every once in a while the right talented people are at the right place together and come up with a masterpiece. "Jaws" is definitely one of those movies, that is thanks to the amazing cast and the crew the classic masterpiece that it is today.

Let's face it, the story is dumb and silly and in a way very average. Spielberg magically turns the silly story into a tense exciting thriller with brilliant dialogue and classic scene's. Mark my words, "Jaws" is a movie that will never be considered outdated.

Everything in the movie works so well! The acting, the dialogue, the tension, the typical Spielberg humor, the music, everything! It's hard to name just one thing why this movie is such a masterpiece. It is the mix of everything combined that makes the movie work. Probably my favorite thing about the movie would be the dialogue, they are very raw and performed well by the perfect cast. Another thing of course would be the music and I'm not just talking about the main theme but about the entire musical score in general.

The cast is great but they are mainly great together. All of the Scheider/Shaw/Dreyfuss scene's are like three ingredients thrown together and the end result of it is pure gold.

And than Bruce the shark. Yes, he really looks believable even now days.

A real classic masterpiece that launched Spielberg's career

10/10