Jaws [1975] Please note this is still being updated

Fan made wallpaper of our fims brave men

The 26 year old Steven Spielberg was not the first  Richard D Zanuck had considered to direct this cinematic masterpiece,John Sturges who had Old Man In The Sea under his belt was the first,and thank God never transpired as this has been would not have brought the Midas touch Spielberg delivered,would probably turned out to be in the same dated genre as 1956's Moby Dick starring Gregory Peck,the Melville novel was Benchley's inspiration. The same error was made choosing Franklin D. Shaffner to take the director's chair for the 1968 version of Planet Of The Apes,this should have been placed in the hands of a younger director like Coppola or Rod Serling who wrote the screenplay so it didn't look so antiquated

Jaw's the novel one year before the films release was 1974's best seller,when Spielberg read the novel he was excited to take the directors chair under the stipulation the novel would have dormant scenes removed as reference,Robert Shaw [Quint] who also penned 2 novels himself shared his tour de force in script changes.Spielberg had only 1 theatrical film to his name,1973's The Sugarland Express,this laudable box office bomb was a masterpiece,but it's audience thought otherwise,Steve also directed the 1969 Nigh Gallery anthology episode called ''Eyes'' with Joan Crawford in which he developed a longtime friendship with the veteran actress.I had the pleasure of viewing it's premier while in a Chicago hospital room all alone,a terrifying experience for an 8 year old. My T shirt pictured below,this is similar to the one sold in 1975.

Now for the cast,Zanuck initially wanted unknowns as to keep with the film's budget,enter Richard Dryfuss,Richard was referred to Spielberg by friend George Lucas who would visit the set,Dryfuss never a leading man at this point in his career had only American Graffiti under his belt that was a box office sensation a year before. The contentions between Dryfuss and co star Robert Shaw are legendary,shame Shaw isn't alive to give his side. Richard was very cocky and often whined on the set,this is just one element that provoked the much more experienced Shaw who was not only a fabulous character actor,but superb writer who shared his expertise in re writing part of the script. Below is the headlines from a Philly newpaper covering several shark attacks at the New Jersey shoreling Benchley based Jaws the novel on.

Shaw let Dryfuss have it verbally several times while filming. Spielberg's next choice would be the underrated Roy Scheider to play the naive but gentle spirited chief Brody,a [role Jeff Bridges was also considered for,but think he would have been too young at that time,Charton Heston was another,but Spielberg felt was too prominent an actor,plus salary was the issue so Universal declined him] who's nose gave prominent evidence of what years of being an amature boxer can do to one proboscis,Schieder's performances included his role as Sonny Grosso in The French Connection and 1973's The Seven Up's,ironically his role as Chief Martin Brody would be his most remembered,but his hatred for Universal would force him to get out of the contract,so Jaws 2 was his last film with this studio.There were 2 other actors considered to play the ''Ahabish'' Quint,Lee Marvin and Sterling Hayden were both considered before Robert Shaw.

 

 

 Other actors chosen would be Murray Hamilton who was relatively unknown aside from a few bit parts as a character actor was perfect as the impassive and greedy Mayor Larry Vauhgn,and stunt woman Susan Blacklinie as Chrissie Watkins who had the toughest role in the film as the girl on the beach our film's star would devour before our eyes as her drunken admirer passed out. This effect started with Spielberg himself pulling her under the water than later hired a few divers. Blacklinie was attached to a board and then cables when it appeared the shark was yanking her from side to side,a very affective technique years before CGI would dominate moviemaking,her burping noise added to the effect I found quite horrifying and made her fate more credulous. Blacklinie's only other claim to fame prior was a layout in Penthouse magazine and would later star in a Jaws swipe called Day of the Animals.

Composer John Williams genius has or never will be surpassed,his score to this film is the most recognized in film history,he and Maurice Jarre remain my favorites. Dolby surround invented in 1970 was unfortunately not used in Jaws do to it's budget and short time frame given to it's release and most theatre owners could not afford the sound systems required to accommodate this luxury,a fate 1974's Earthquake would further deter due to damage to theatre walls because of the rumbling of the huge speakers required to evoke the effect of actual earthquake. Jaws was remarkably digitally remastered in5.1 on it's premier DVD release,a remarkable and painstaking task turning it's original mono soundtrack into incredible sound specially at the films opening when you here the fire crackling during the beach party scene,though there aren't too many rear channel occurrences with the exception of a few.Jaws would have been a lot more effective has Universal opted for a surround sound recording while it was filmed. Jaws opened June 20,1975,

I saw the film around 5 days after it's release in a Wayne New Jersey theatre at age 14 to a packed crowd ,the film left a permanent impression on me and did indeed leave many theatre goers too afraid to go to the beach,even swimming pools in some cases,lol,Spielberg himself reputably never swam in another ocean to this date. The novel was based loosely on the Jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 I believe were provoked by the German U-Boats errantly distributed in that region during this era,though Great Whites rarely attack humans,this was the perfect Shark to choose with it's ferocious teeth and Juggernaut size,the Bull Shark is much more aggressive. Jaws often called Flaws,and appropriately so was loaded with errors,this was largly due to post production,after all Universal did not have confidence in the subject matter,title of the film or intrusting the young Spielberg to take the helm as director,were they ever wrong. Steven was way over budget,Steven even put his own money into one scene.