Is Jaws the Greatest Shark Movie Ever Made?

Razor-sharp teeth knifing through the ocean beneath an unsuspecting swimmer. A blood-curdling scream, frantic splashing, and then silence. Can one even think of the movie Jaws without hearing its ominous Oscar-winning noteDuh-dum… Dah-dum…?

Last weekend marked 50 years since Jaws plunged into cinemas, becoming one of Hollywood’s greatest hits. A seminal movie, its cultural impact was far-reaching. Jaws ruined a million beach holidays, as legions of nervous tourists shunned the sea. And the film declared open season on sharks, driving down their populations worldwide as hunters sought them as trophies.

Jaws was also the first summer blockbuster, blazing the trail for decades of mega-budget hits. It marked the first commercial success for a little-known director by the name of Steven Spielberg, who went on to helm modern classics including E.T. – The Extraterrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler’s List.

The first time the mechanical monster was tested, it sank to the ocean floor. The model repeatedly broke down, refusing to flash its lacerating rows of pearly whites on demand, often looking dead in the water. The film’s famous opening shot, of a skinny-dipping blonde swimmer being pulled beneath the waves by an unseen shark, was only filmed this way because the mechanical shark that was intended to make an appearance kept malfunctioning.

“In the end, that worked to our advantage,” said the film’s late producer Richard Zanuck. “We couldn’t use the shark, so we had to rely on people’s imaginations. That delivered what I think is one of the best openings ever in a movie. The thought of the shark, along with John Williams’ perfect score, created more terror in the imagination than the appearance of the shark would.”

Filming mainly outside, with Edgartown, Massachusetts largely standing in for the beach community of Amity, nature also proved uncooperative. Bad weather forced the filmmakers to send home 400 extras who were waiting to film a crowded beach scene, but when the sun suddenly reappeared, they could only find 150 extras to return.

But Shaw’s drinking led to onset confrontations, including almost exchanging blows with Zanuck after losing a game of table tennis. Animosity between seasoned Shaw and newcomer Dreyfuss also made for choppy seas for the filmmakers. Scheider, caught between the dueling actors, recalls of Sha“He really thought Dreyfuss needed a slapping dowa young punk with no stage experience.”

Strangely, Dreyfuss has never read the novel Jaws, having been ordered by Spielberg to avoid it and play shark expert Hooper as more nerdy than the book’s Lothario. “I take directions so well that I still haven’t read it,” he admits.

Spielberg, displaying his cinematic mastery, overcame every production challenge. When a severed prosthetic arm on the beach looked too fake, he buried a crew member in the sand for a more realistic effect.

Spielberg initially struggled with Williams’ “simplistic” score, a relentless two-note theme alternating between F and F sharp, but eventually came to love it. Jaws not only scared legions of beachgoers from entering the water but also made sharks among the most feared — and hunted — animals on the planet.

Despite fewer than 10 fatal shark attacks worldwide each year, more than 100 humans are killed annually by lions, with other animals also causing far more deaths. Jaws cemented the myth of the murderous great white shark, sending hunters into a frenzy. Shark populations have plummeted by 70% since the film’s release.

The decimation of sharks horrified novelist Benchley, who became a vocal conservationist before his death in 2006, stating, “Knowing what I know now, I could never write that book today.”

When Jaws opened in cinemas 50 years ago, it became an instant phenomenon. Crowds had lined up around cinemas before — Gone With The Wind, The Sound of Music, and The Godfather lured hordes — but Jaws changed the rules for summer blockbusters. Its success was no accidenUniversal Pictures spent more money promoting it than any film before, buoyed by one of the most iconic movie posters ever.

Despite its huge budget over-run, the film broke even in just three weeks, earning an estimated $478 million — around $1.5 billion adjusted for inflation. Jaws spawned three sequels, a musical, theme park attraction, video games, and documentaries, continuing to spark fascination with sharks.

Not too shabby for a movie that verged on disaster during filming. Spielberg called Jaws “the errant, wayward child who never listened to his father, but wound up growing up, doing good, and then supporting his father for the rest of his life.”