Jaws (1975)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Peter Benchley (novel)
Peter Benchley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 June 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Amity Island had everything. Clear skies. Gentle surf. Warm water. People flocked there every summer. It was the perfect feeding ground.

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	...	Police Chief Martin Brody
Robert Shaw	...	Quint
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Matt Hooper
Lorraine Gary	...	Ellen Brody
Murray Hamilton	...	Mayor Larry Vaughn
Carl Gottlieb	...	Ben Meadows
Jeffrey Kramer	...	Deputy Leonard 'Lenny' Hendricks (as Jeffrey C. Kramer)
Susan Backlinie	...	Christine 'Chrissie' Watkins
Jonathan Filley	...	Tom 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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 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 | 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:

Richard Dreyfuss originally turned down the role of Hooper but had worries after the initial screening of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) and asked for his part back.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening attack scene, the position of the sun/lighting changes from shot to shot.

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 Saturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Honestly Love You

An instant classic!

When I first saw the film, "Jaws" I was immediately frightened by the unseen terror that pulls the human psychosis to the depths of the ocean...literally! Steven Spielberg had made himself the most successful director of all time when he went all out with this one! Running to the back of the house and turning all the lights on were just a few things I resorted to after watching the opening for the first time!!! I Never watched anymore of it until 1-3 years later. I was highly hesitant because to a young child, a skinny dippers suffering to the wrath of the giant unknown mouth was the most horrifying sequence in film history at the time...and it still is now! Once I finally got the courage to view the film, I was still in for a lot of suprises. The cinematography is superb in its ruthless attempt to bring the audience to the depths of a powerful ocean, and to the eyes of the dark, wretched creature the inhabits it. The story of the killer shark attacking the only unfortunate island in the world is more than scary. It could have been any place in the world, and it had to be Amitty Island. The shark could have easily lost it's way in the swaying currents of the ocean, but as the opposite inhabitants of the beach get angry, this big mother is here to stay! The technique is wild, absolutely wild, and John Williams score earned more than an oscar for it! Creepy piano notes enter this films titles, and the blue depths of the uncharted territory beneath the sea let us all know that no sense, however small, was to be spared. The first victim, alone will haunt those who view it for the rest of their days, and the rest of the story is more like a battle. This strange battle is often more focused on understanding the other side. What Brody, Quint, and Hooper must do is plunge into the depths themselves, and seek out the unruly monster of the sea. The common theme in this terrific classic is survival, and why not? Survival is a natural instinct to all animal alike. The shark must survive, as it makes so clear by snagging unsuspecting swimmers, but also the people, they to have to survive, but the island is not big enough for both man and fish together. Always a joy to experience over and over again, this film is the ultimate scare show to end them all! Sometimes, a lot of us fans can not seem to get enough of this instant classic!