Universal Pictures released Jaws on 20 June 1975.
I loved this film when it came out. It gave me nightmares for years. (It wasn’t the first. The Last Man on Earth also gave me nightmares for years.)
But as great as the film seemed five decades ago, it is even greater today. I’m not sure that any film has aged better. I can put it on at any time and enjoy it. Even more, I can watch any part of it and enjoy it. It’s great from beginning to end.
Jaws is also a great example of a collaborative triumph. I think Zanuck and Brown deserve a lot of credit for creating the amazing environment that the film came from. Take the ending, for example. The novel ends in an uninspired way. The shark dies of its many wounds, and Brody goes back to his life. (Hooper dies in the novel, as he must, after sleeping with Brody’s wife. Yeah, the novel has a lot of that kind of stuff that is wonderfully absent from the film.)
That ending would not work on film. Instead, we get the air tank in the shark’s mouth and Brody making the shark blow up right after saying, “Smile, you son of a bitch!” This wasn’t in the shooting script. Carl Gottlieb probably wrote the final scene, since he was doing the rewrites on set. But no one really knows whose idea this ending was. And it probably wasn’t any one person’s idea. It came out of the creative environment.
A similar example is Quint’s story about the USS Indianapolis. The first version of the story seems to have shown up in an uncredited rewrite by Howard Sackler, where he was tasked with developing Quint’s character. But we know that the speech was finely tuned by many people, including Robert Shaw himself. But the basic speech was Sackler, who didn’t even get screen credit. It’s a good example of the importance of collaboration in the film.
Then, of course, there was Verna Fields and her editorial team, which took a ton of often disjointed footage and created a coherent and supremely enjoyable film. And none of this takes anything away from Steven Spielberg. But based upon his own interviews, he seems to have seen the film as something he survived. But he got great footage in the can. And the film has a level of energy that is largely absent from his later films.
It is always a good day to watch Jaws. So what are you waiting for?!
Other 20 June Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- Errol Flynn (1909-1959): Actor known for The Adventures of Robin Hood and more.
- Robb White (1909-1990): Screenwriter known for William Castle classics House on Haunted Hill, Homicidal, and more.
- Martin Landau (1928-2017): Actor known for Space: 1999 and Ed Wood.
- Stephen Frears (1941-): Director known for Gumshoe, The Hit, and more.
- John Goodman (1952-): Actor known for Barton Fink and Matinee.
- Nicole Kidman (1967-): Actor known for BMX Bandits and The Others.
- Robert Rodriguez (1968-): Director of From Dusk Till Dawn, The Faculty, and much more.
Films
- The Invasion of the Vampires (1963): Mexican vampire film.
- Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973): Cosmetics are turning women into sex murderers.
- Chinatown (1974): A modern noir involving Southern California water.
- The Blues Brothers (1980): They’re on a mission from God.
- Batman & Robin (1997): Each film in this series gets sillier.
- Demon Under Glass (2002): Serial killer turns out to be a vampire.
- Hulk (2003): The Ang Lee version.
Jaws (1975) poster via Wikipedia. It is in the public domain.
