******GREAT WHITE SPOILERS!******
This tinny, bulky thing you slipped inside your driver’s side car window was sort of the opposite of Dolby Atmos. In fact, most movies in those days sounded like you were ordering a burger, fries and shake at a drive-thru.
Fifty years ago, in that long ago summer of 1975, eight-year old me was piled along with my siblings and parents into our family’s Volkswagen bus, headed to a local SoCal drive-in to see “JAWS”; the blockbuster flick from the as-yet-unkown Steven Spielberg (hard to remember a time when he wasn’t a household name). The queue of cars lined up to get into the drive-in went around the block, and we had to wait until the previous showing cleared before they’d allow the next group of cars into the lot. With our Volkswagen not going anywhere, my dad, my sisters and I exited and peered over the drive-in theater fence. We watched the last third of the movie silently–with barely a whisper of sound coming from the tinny speakers placed inside the windows of cars near the back fence. Not the best way to see “JAWS,” I’ll admit, but the anticipation hanging in the air on that hot summer night was downright palpable.
When we finally entered the lot, it was around 9 pm, and being a kid, I was exhausted from waiting. Sadly, I fell asleep sometime around the halfway point of the movie while watching from the van’s front window (not exactly stadium seating). It wasn’t until a couple weeks later when my family and I went to see “JAWS” at a walk-in theater that I saw the movie properly, from beginning to end (and with that Oscar-winning sound). I consider that screening to be my first ‘real’ viewing of “JAWS.” After that, I never looked at the beach quite the same way; not out of fear, but more of fascination. Whenever I took a dip in the Pacific Ocean, I imagined I was sharing it with what these massive undersea leviathans, modern dinosaurs, living just beneath the surface. Oddly, I was more afraid of going swimming in an unlit pool at night than I was of swimming in the far less predictable ocean. Don’t ask. A child’s logic…
My family also had the original black-covered hardback of Peter Benchley‘s novel “JAWS,” which I have to say, wasn’t as good as the movie. I remember reading it a couple years or so after seeing the movie (I read way beyond my age bracket in those days; none of that “young adult” stuff for me, thanks) and I found myself rooting for the shark. None of the characters in the book were likable. There were also many extraneous subplots, including a queasy affair between Ellen Brody and Matt Hooper that only made both characters unappealing. Nevertheless, the novel is a pulpy page-turner, and Benchley’s descriptions of the shark as some deep, primitive force acting entirely on instinct gripped my imagination, even then.
One of the movie’s most iconic jump-scares, which prompted Scheider’s allegedly improvised line, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Spielberg’s movie was smartly reworked by actor/screenwriter Carl Gottlieb, and it’s a classic that officially ushered in the age of the summer blockbuster; an era reinforced, and later outperformed by Spielberg pal George Lucas’ “Star Wars” two years later. The now 50-year run of summer blockbusters has waxed and waned a bit over the years, but it’s still with us.
For this retrospective, I’m going to give abbreviated reviews for all the “JAWS” movies, with links to my full reviews; as well as share few interesting experiences I’ve had in “JAWS” fandom over the years.
The Movies
After 50 years and three sequels, it’s difficult to separate the legend of “JAWS” (1975) from the reality. The movie benefits from a unique conflux of circumstances, most of them purely accidental, that contributed to this film being one of the most extraordinary pieces of modern cinema. Even the movie’s imperfections (such as a malfunctioning shark prop replaced by barrels on the water) somehow add to its mythos. Far more than a ‘rampaging beast’ movie, “JAWS” is not easy to categorize. The movie begins with a deadly threat to a New England resort community that spurs local corruption, culminating with a high seas action-adventure for its big climax. Amity Island Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) take to the sea to stop the monstrous shark, and these generally unlikable characters from the book become fully dimensional and relatable for the film; forming a complex chemistry nearly on a par with that of Star Trek’s Kirk, Spock and McCoy. The movie also won three Oscars for Best Editing (Verna Fields), Best Original Soundtrack (John Williams), and Best Sound. “JAWS” is one of those rare times when cinematic legend matches reality.
Full review here: “JAWS”(1975); the movie that invented the summer blockbuster…
In tone, the late director Jeannot Szwarc’s sequel “JAWS 2” (1978) sent the series into slasher flick territory (a genre soon to be very popular in those days), with a traumatized Chief Brody (a reluctantly returning Roy Scheider) going Ahab to save a group of sailboating teens (including Brody’s sons) from another Great White Shark. Lorraine Gary returns as Ellen Brody, Murray Hamilton returns as Mayor Vaughn, and Jeffrey Kramer returns as Amity Police Deputy Hendricks. I had issues with the movie’s uneven editing; the middle act lags quite a bit, with pieces that fit, but don’t exactly flow. There’s little of the original film’s fluidity. While the movie’s climax is exciting enough (a truly electrifying finale), the other material lacks the dramatic tension we felt in the first film. “JAWS 2” meanders. Returning Oscar-winning composer John Williams’ jaunty, nautical musical score is used too sparingly as well. This is a textbook case of a so-so sequel existing in the shadow of a legendary predecessor.
Full review here: Wading deep into the waters of “JAWS 2” (1978)…
Mike Brody (Dennis Quaid) is now an adult working at a faux-Sea World, alongside greedy manager Calvin Bouchard (Louis Gossett Jr), and his girlfriend/dolphin-trainer Kay Morgan (Bess Armstrong). Quaid and the late Louis Gossett Jr (1936-2024) would later costar in Wolfgang Petersen’s sci-fi survival adventure “Enemy Mine” (1985).
Directed by “JAWS” production designer Joe Alves, “JAWS 3-D” (1983) adds a gimmicky layer of early ’80s 3D, resulting in somewhat blurry cinematography when seen in 2D. Though not in the same league as its predecessors, “JAWS 3-D” takes the series into the B-monster sci-fi movie sub-genre, made popular in the 1950s and 1960s with movies like “Revenge of the Creature” (1955) and “Gorgo” (1961). The movie takes place in a Florida water park invaded by a 30-ft mother shark seeking revenge for her dead pup. The cast is led by actors Dennis Quaid (as legacy character Mike Brody), John Putch (as legacy brother, Sean Brody), Bess Armstrong, Louis Gossett Jr. and Simon MacCorkindale. If a viewer is willing to forgive this movie’s cheesy execution and ignore its daunting lineage, JAWS 3D is goofy, silly entertainment that goes down better with popcorn and perhaps even a few beers. “JAWS 3D” shouldn’t be taken seriously at all; much like 2018’s “The Meg.”
Full review here: “JAWS 3-D” (1983): The B-movie offspring of a 1975 classic…
With a pedestrian 1980s TV-movie feel, and a general lack of conviction from all involved, “JAWS: The Revenge” (1987) is both uninspired and uninspiring. Set largely in the Bahamas with Lorraine Gary returning as Ellen Brody. Ellen soon encounters the same Great White Shark that killed her son Sean on Christmas Eve in Amity Island, and which is terrorizing surviving son Michael (now played by Lance Guest, of “The Last Starfighter”), his family, and his research colleague Jake (Mario Van Peeples). Somehow, Michael Caine gets roped into this mess as a rogue pilot named Hoagie. The movie has virtually no suspense, let alone characters with which to sympathize or empathize. We see little of the craftsmanship we saw in the first two films, or even the B-monster movie campiness of the third. What could’ve been a fresh start for the JAWS series feels instead like a tired TV-movie rehash, set in a nice vacation spot for the cast and crew. Sadly, this movie’s bad reputation remains very much deserved.
Full review here: “JAWS: The Revenge” (1987) spits up a seasick finale to the JAWS saga…
Legacy of “JAWS”
Now, I’d like to share a few of the unique “JAWS” fandom experiences I’ve enjoyed over the years, including a “JAWS” exhibit at the Catalina Museum of Art & History in 2018, a “JAWS Trial” at San Diego Comic Con 2022, seeing the full-scale recreated shark prop at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles in 2023, and recently a more homespun ‘garage theater’ screening my wife and I had with some friends of ours last year.
Links to the full stories and photo galleries are underscored:
“JAWS: The Art of Fear in Filmmaking” exhibit at Catalina Island (2018).
During an anniversary visit to Catalina Island (where my wife and I originally honeymooned in 1999), we visited the The Catalina Museum For Art & History, which had a “JAWS” exhibit that year called “The Art of Fear in Filmmaking,” featuring original props, storyboards and other items related to “JAWS.” All 56 of my “JAWS: The Art of Fear” Exhibit photos can also be found on my Flickr account HERE.
In the summer of 2018, this museum hosted a fascinating display of “JAWS” screen-used props, professionally made recreations, and original storyboard artwork by production artist Joe Alves.
The head of “Bruce the Shark,” named after Steven Spielberg’s then-lawyer, Bruce Raymer. The head was made by renowned makeup artist/director/producer Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”).
Mannequins of Quint, Brody and Hooper, wearing matching clothes for their characters, standing in a mockup of the Orca‘s stern.
The actual “anti-shark cage” and two of the yellow barrels used in the actual production of “JAWS”; while there was a sign asking visitors not to touch the cage, I um, touched the cage. I plead temporary fanboy insanity. The cage is autographed by both Richard Dreyfuss and “Hooper” stuntman Dick Warlock. On the walls, you can see reprints of Joe Alves‘ original storyboards as well.
Hooper’s canister of compressed air that Brody later tosses into the shark’s mouth at the climax of “JAWS,” as well as the “fish finder” sonar device used on Hooper’s own boat during the scene when he and Brody discover the wreckage of Ben Gardner’s fishing boat.
“JAWS: The Trial” at San Diego Comic Con (2022)
“JAWS: The Trial” was an event I attended at San Diego Comic Con in 2022, and for which I wrote an article for TheDailyJaws.com; the premiere website for all things JAWS-related. Full article and photos can be here at TheDailyJaws.com: JAWS: The Trial, Kintner vs. Mayor Vaughn mock trial at San Diego Comic Con 2022.
The mock trial was moderated by Legal Geek, Josh Gilliland. Both plaintiff and defense counsels were real-life lawyers. The plaintiff, Mrs. Kintner (Valerie Tosi) went toe-to-toe with the defendant, Mayor Larry Vaughn (Jeff May, in his killer Great White Wig), who was “acting in the town’s best interests”. Michael Dennis and Mark Zaid represented Mrs. Kintner (payment in cash or check undetermined), with Jane Boardman and Kathy Steinman as defense counsel. The judge in this case was Carol Najera, who brought considerable expertise to the proceedings, as one of the former prosecutors in the real-life double homicide case of Lyle & Eric Menendez, a double-homicide that became a media sensation in Los Angeles (and the US) during the late 1980s.
Oh, and if you’re a true-blue JAWS fan, you might want to subscribe to TheDailyJaws.com online newsletter for up-to-the-minute JAWS-related content, including trivia, stories, interviews with cast and crew, and some terrific science content relating to the study and preservation of sharks. TheDailyJaws also coordinated the delightful, labor-of-love fan film “The JAWS WeMake” (2020), which came out on YouTube at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 for the movie’s 45th anniversary, and which greatly boosted spirits in my household.
“JAWS” at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles (2023)
At a by-appointment visit to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles in March of 2023, my wife and I took multiple shots of the full-size, 26 ft Great White Shark replica made by the aforementioned makeup artist/producer/director Greg Nicotero especially for the museum. The replica was reportedly based on actual blueprints for the original 1975 automaton, and it is beautifully detailed. If you’re a movie fan and are visiting the Los Angeles area, you owe it to yourself to book a visit to the Academy Museum. The museum is the greatest collection of props and movie memorabilia I’ve ever seen. All 238 of my Academy Museum Photos can be viewed on my Flickr album here.
Top to Bottom: Multiple views of “Bruce the Shark,” as recreated by Greg Nicotero. These pics were taken by my wife and I across multiple floors of the museum, as well as the escalator. You can see scarring on the shark that is screen-accurate, as well as Bruce’s ‘jowls’; an anatomical cheat used on the original prop to cover part of the shark prop’s jaw hinge mechanisms. The obviously male shark has anatomically-accurate claspers near its pelvic fins.
Watching 1975’s “JAWS” with a young first-timer (2024)
On a more personal note, last summer my wife and I arranged for a friend of ours to bring her then-12-year old son Joshua (an avid movie fan, and John Williams’ aficionado) over to our house to attend a “garage theater” screening of “JAWS,” which he’d never seen until that night. We viewed the movie on an 80″ (2 meter) rollout screen with a powerful Bose bluetooth speaker. It did the trick (certainly a smoother presentation than my first time seeing “JAWS” back in 1975). Watching “JAWS” with appreciative first-timers like Joshua is like vicariously reliving that first time experience for yourself.
Our ad-hoc ‘garage theater’ (forgive the Bruce photobomb) where we held a screening of “JAWS” in July of 2024 for our friend Kathy and her movie fan son, Joshua, who loves the music of John Williams and the movies of Steven Spielberg. “JAWS” was a natural for him.
“Amity, as you know, means friendship.”
For the movie’s 50th anniversary on or around June 20th, there will be random theatrical screenings across the country, as well as events taking place on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts (where the first, second and fourth movies were filmed). Some events are listed here on Jaws50th.com.
Even after 50 years, “JAWS” seems to attract new fans all the time, and to readers, I’d love to hear your own first-time experiences with seeing the movie, or any other interesting “JAWS” memories/anecdotes you choose to share in the comments section below.
Where to Watch
“JAWS” is available for free streaming as of this writing on Tubi (along with the sequels), and is on YouTube Premium (with paid subscription). “JAWS” will also be on AMC cable/streaming on June 7th, 2025, and is also available on physical media (DVD/Blu-Ray) with a 4K remastered version set for release on June 17th, with new bonus material (via Amazon.com, GRUV.com, Barnes & Noble and other retailers).
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