Movie Description From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorized one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. Three unlikely partners team up to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Roy Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), and a crusty old-time fisherman (Robert Shaw). The film shoot was notoriously difficult for the young Spielberg, who had directed only one feature film before JAWS. The mechanical shark seldom operated correctly, and Spielberg was frequently forced to create the idea of terror without actually showing the shark. However, after the film premiered it went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time--surpassing THE GODFATHER and becoming the first film to gross more than a hundred million dollars. Composer John Williams created the score to JAWS, which has since become a well-known theme of impending doom. Ron and Valerie Taylor were responsible for filming live sharks in Australia; their sequences were later mixed with footage of the mechanical shark.
| Credits | | Producer: | David Brown | | Cast: | Jay Mello, Jeffrey Kramer, Jonathan Filley, Lee Fierro, Murray Hamilton |
| Details | | Edition: | 30th Anniversary Edition 2 Disc Widescreen |
Editorial Reviews "...One of the most effective thrillers ever made....One of the remarkable things about the picture is its relatively muted tone..." Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (08/20/2000)
"...The phenomenon that invented 'the summer movie'..." USA Today - Mike Clark (11/24/1995)
"...This fishy thriller is still Steven Spielberg's best movie..." Total Film - George Kiritopoulos (09/01/2000)
"...It pretty much rewrote the rules for the modern-day blockbuster..." Entertainment Weekly - Entertainment Weekly Staff (01/11/2002)
"[A] record-shattering success..." Premiere - Premiere Staff (12/01/2003)
"JAWS is a movie masterpiece, and still a joy to watch." Premiere - Premiere Staff (07/01/2005)
"[A] terrific thriller....Perfect film-making." Uncut - Michael Bonner (09/01/2005)
"[I]ts combination of thrills, suspense and smart characterisation has rarely been matched." Sight and Sound - Matthew Leyland (10/01/2005)
Awards 1975Academy AwardsBest Film Editing, 1975Academy AwardsBest Original ScoreJohn Williams, 1975Academy AwardsBest Sound
| See an error? Submit a change request |