O P I N I O N
BOOMER LIFE
Jaws. A horror film? A thriller? Adventure? Drama?
Yes. And it was rated PG.
It’s been 50 years since the movie Jaws cleared the beaches of Amity Island and across the nation. It’s been fifty years since we waited in line for what became the first summer blockbuster ever (running more than $5 million over its $3 million budget to bring in more than $478 million worldwide just that summer or $1.5 billion, adjusted for inflation).
Fifty years since the viewing of Jaws became an annual event. Fifty years since three 25-foot polyurethane, animatronic mechanical machines (pneumatic hoses were connected to the fins and jaws) scared us even more than ones currently created by AI or animation. Once shark was a full model while the other two were “left to right” and “right to left” sharks.
And fifty years since a two-note sound created terror in our hearts and souls.
Chances are if you are reading this column, you were part of the experience.
Yes, Jaws was one of a kind and stands up, even now, with all today’s modern movie-making assistance to scaring us as no other movie has done. Bruce, the shark, by the way, was named after director Steven Spielberg’s lawyer, Bruce Ramer.
I remember attempting to see it several times with my future husband but the film being “sold out” at the theaters and drive ins. (You couldn’t purchase tickets online back in the day.) That year, 1975, the average ticket price was $2.03; the price adjusted for inflation brings it up to $11.41. And of course, the top-grossing movie that year was indeed Jaws.
Even though the movie claimed to be located on Long Island, our own Martha’s Vineyard took center stage that summer, with islanders takin on the many parts of, um, islanders in the movie. In fact, fewer than 10 Hollywood actors were featured.
Steven Spielberg was a 27-year-old, coming off his directorial movie success of Sugarland Express in 1974 and the television movie Duel in 1971. It featured Richard Dreyfuss as marine biologist Hooper, professional shark hunter Robert Shaw as Quint, and Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody.
Many people already knew the story, as the film was based on Peter Benchley’s 1974 book, which placed fictional Amity on the south shore of Long Island. Benchley was inspired by several real-life incidents, including the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks, five over 12 days, four of which resulted in death. The book remained on the bestseller list for 44 weeks.
In spite of the three stars, Jaws was the star of the show. And he was only on screen for four minutes of the 81-minute movie of the film! It was the “Hitchcock-like,” where the anticipation and tension of what was to come built and continued the ongoing suspense.
As Alfred Hitchcock said about suspense: “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” Perhaps that’s why the shark is only on screen for four minutes, and yet you are afraid of it for the entire 81-minute movie.
No one can forget composer John William’s two-note Jaws theme: two notes of terror heard around the world even though director Spielberg initially laughed off what would become the signature sound—and sign— of the great white shark’s attack.
Jaws has been referenced in Saturday Night Live (remember the several “Landshark” skits?), The Simpsons, and other TV shows and movies, including Back to the Future Part II, where a Jaws 19 poster is shown at a movie theater.
And as we leave, we cannot not mention the (unscripted) line mentioned throughout the past 50 years by a shell-shocked Brody: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
You can reach Annette Kurman at annette.kurman@gmail.com.