Jaws

From LoveToKnow Movies

Peter Benchley and Steven Spielberg

In 1974, Peter Benchley hit paydirt with his first novel, Jaws. The following year, young director Steven Spielberg, with only one feature to his credit, hit blockbuster territory when he directed the screen adaptation of the novel. And the summer blockbuster was born.

An Island Community Terrorized By a Snacking Shark

Naturalists tell us that shark attacks are rare, with the human victim generally mistaken for something else. But for the great white shark that terrorized Amity Island in Jaws, humans are his meal of choice.

The story begins with a young woman on a moonlight skinnydip. Her young man intended to join her but realized he was too drunk to go swimming. She swims out to the buoy, and while he is asleep on the beach, she fights a losing battle against an unseen predator.

One Man Argues Against Oblivious Authority

When the body is found, island newcomer Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Schieder) wants to close the beach. But he is opposed by the town's mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), who points out that the town's economy depends on tourism, and the Fourth of July weekend is right around the corner. Businesses will go bankrupt if they close the beaches and anyway, surely it was a fluke and the shark is already hundreds of miles away.

Of course, Vaughn is wrong, and after the next fatality, the local government's next bright idea is to offer a reward. Hundreds of idiots take to the water in a scene of chaos as shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) arrives on the scene.

A large shark is killed and displayed, and the town breathes a sigh of relief, prepared to go back to the beach. Hooper knows better; they caught A shark, he tells Brody, not THE shark. He convinces Brody to allow him to cut open the shark. Lack of human remains tell them that the problem shark is still out there.

Quint the Shark Hunter

After another blood-churning beach tragedy, the local authorities finally come to their senses and close the beach until the shark – the right shark – is killed. To do the deed, they hire Quint the shark hunter (Robert Shaw).

Quint is probably Robert Shaw's best role and certainly one of the most memorable movie characters – a crusty old eccentric who lives to kill sharks.

Men and the Sea and the Shark

Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss in Jaws

Quint sets out to sea accompanied by Chief Brody and Matt Hooper, and now we've left the crowds of tourists and the local politics behind and entered a more elemental story, about men and the sea and the shark. You can almost taste the salt spray. It is in the seagoing portion of the movie that we finally get our first good look at the shark, 25 feet of eating power.

The mismatched trio of cool former city cop, smart-mouth young scientist, and obsessed hunter enliven the final portion of Jaws on the rare occasions when the shark is not attacking the boat.

Jaws Credits

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Jaws was scripted by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb from the novel by Peter Benchley. John Williams' Oscar for Best Musical Score (who knew a shark had its own theme music?) presaged his ascendance as the composer of choice for movie blockbusters.