Jaws (1975)

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.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Peter Benchley (screenplay), Carl Gottlieb (screenplay),

Stars:

Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss

Top 250 #141 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Scheider	...	Brody
Robert Shaw	...	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

Storyline

It's a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn't sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy's mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they're going to need a bigger boat.

---

Plot Keywords:

Shark | Island | Great White Shark | Mayor | Beach | 

---

Taglines:

You'll never go in the water again!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Universal Studios

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stillness in the Water

Filming Locations:

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$260,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zanuck/Brown Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min 130 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The average summer tourist population of Martha's Vineyard before the film was released was approximately 5,000 people. After it came out, the population ballooned to 15,000.

---

Goofs

When Chrissie is attacked by the shark, her mouth doesn't match her screams in many shots of her.

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

The producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of The Nation Geographical Society and Mr. L.J.V. Compagno of the Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mallrats (1995)

---

Soundtracks

" (You're) Having My Baby"
Written by Paul Anka
Performed by Paul Anka with Odia Coates

User Reviews

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

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/