Film Notes
     "In the vastly overrated 1998 book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood, author Peter Biskind puts the blame for Hollywood's blockbuster mentality at least partially on Steven Spielberg's box-office success with this adaptation of Peter Benchley's bestselling novel. But you can't blame Spielberg for making a terrific movie, which Jaws definitely is. The story of a Long Island town whose summer tourist business is suddenly threatened by great-white-shark attacks on humans bypasses the potboiler trappings of Benchley's book and goes straight for the jugular with beautifully crafted, crowd-pleasing sequences of action and suspense supported by a trio of terrific performances by Roy Scheider (as the local sheriff), Richard Dreyfuss (as a shark specialist), and particularly Robert Shaw (as the old fisherman who offers to hunt the shark down). The sequences on Shaw's boat, as the three of them realize that in fact the shark is hunting them, are what entertaining moviemaking is all about (and are vastly more watchable than some of the self-indulgent meanderings of other '70s directors Biskind is so fond of)." (Marshall Fine, Amazon.com)
     Color by Technicolor; shot in Panavision on location in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Titles and opticals by Universal Title; cosmetics by Cinematique. Ron and Valerie Taylor were responsible for filming actual sharks in Australia, and their sequences were later mixed with footage of the mechanical shark. They filmed these scenes using a small diver to make the sharks seem abnormally large. However, this effect was undercut when the role of the diver in the film went to the diminutive Richard Dreyfuss. Released in the USA on June 30, 1975 with an enormous public-relations campaign. "Like the novel, the movie was launched with an almost unprecedented promotional campaign, complete with cross-country tours by stars and $700,000 worth of prime-time TV time to trumpet the release in 450 theaters throughout the land." (excerpt from Newsweek) The film became the highest-grossing film of all time, until Star Wars surpassed it two years later. Spawned three sequels, Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983), and Jaws 4 - The Revenge (1987). Additional cast: Jonathan Filley (Cassidy).