(1975) 5 Lucia Bozzola Shooting on Martha's Vineyard with a mechanical shark dubbed "Bruce," 27-year-old Steven Spielberg wanted to shoot Jaws on the open water for as much terrifying realism as possible. Between rewrites of Robert Benchley's and Carl Gottlieb's script, the unruly ocean, and the glitch-laden shark, the shoot went way over schedule and the budget ballooned to $10 million, leading everyone to believe that they had a B-movie disaster on their hands. However, Spielberg and editor Verna Fields turned the liability of an obviously fake Bruce into a potent source of fear by leaving the shark unseen until the final battle. Instead, swift cuts between swimmers above the surface and underwater shark's-eye views of helplessly dangling legs, combined with John Williams's pounding score, create a relentless atmosphere of primal horror. With an ad image of a giant shark aiming for a tiny female, Universal Studios aggressively marketed Jaws as a thrilling "event," especially in primetime spots on TV, a then seldom-used advertising venue for movies. Bucking the old practice of using wide releases for stinkers, Universal opened the heavily-anticipated film in over 400 theaters in June 1975, and it shattered box office records. Tapping into an abiding dread of the unknown, made scarier by the reality of Great White sharks and corrupt bureaucrats as well as by Spielberg's effective orchestration of excitement, Jaws became the first film ever to return over $100 million to its studio. Producers David Brown and Richard D. Zanuck received a Best Picture Oscar nomination, but wunderkind Spielberg was passed over for Best Director. The film's technical achievements were rewarded with Oscars for Editing, Sound, and Score. With the lines at the box office, the proliferation of Jaws products, and a rash of reported shark attacks, Jaws became a cultural phenomenon and the first bona fide summer event movie, leading the thrill-packed and profitable way for summers to come.

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releases for Jaws on AllMovie

Jaws (1975)

Jaws

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Violence
Not For Children
Adult Language

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Feature

directed by

Steven Spielberg

countries

USA

released

1975

run time

130 min.

produced by

Universal

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	Title/Studio	Release Date
	Jaws [WS] [30th Anniversary Edition] [With Movie Cash] Universal Studios More	July 10, 2011

	Jaws [P&S] [Anniversary Edition] [2 Discs] [With Movie Money] Universal Studios More	May 24, 2009

	Jaws [WS] [Anniversary Edition] Universal Studios More	February 27, 2009

	Jaws Universal More	April 3, 2006

	Jaws [30th Anniversary Collector's Edition] Universal Pictures More	August 29, 2005

	Jaws [30th Anniversary Special Edition] Universal Pictures More	August 29, 2005

	Jaws [P&S] [30th Anniversary Edition] [2 Discs] Universal Studios More	June 14, 2005

	Jaws [WS] [30th Anniversary Edition] [2 Discs] Universal Studios More	June 14, 2005

	Jaws Universal Pictures More	April 5, 2004

	Jaws [P&S] Universal Studios More	November 21, 2000

	Jaws Columbia Tristar More	July 24, 2000

	Jaws [WS] Universal Studios More	July 11, 2000

	Jaws [WS] Universal Studios More	July 11, 2000