Celebrating the Impact of Jaws For Its 50th Anniversary

Cast

How can we honor the film without at least mentioning some of the actors that made it possible? Listed below are some of the actors in this film.

• Roy Scheider
• Robert Shaw
• Richard Dreyfuss
• Lorraine Gary
• Murray Hamilton

“Jaws” Went Way Over Budget

Anything that can happen will happen. This is the motto the “Jaws” crew must have lived by while filming the movie. The water scenes in the film were shot in the ocean, which wasn’t just expensive but also troublesome. The original budget was $4 million, but the producers ended up spending about $9 million.

The Mechanical Shark

Although the production went over budget, it was worth it. The shark seen in the film is actually a mechanical shark that was placed in the water. Because of this, the shark constantly malfunctioned and needed repairs. For instance, the saltwater corroded the shark’s skin and caused the bodies to bloat. There were multiple mechanical sharks. One even frequently got stuck in seaweed.

“Jaws” Was Originally a Novel

The inspiration for the film came from the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley. He wrote this horror novel after growing fascinated by shark attacks, specifically one that occurred in 1964. It was published in 1974 and is about 278 pages long. It makes you wonder if Peter Benchley knew just how beloved his book would become.

Peter Benchley Felt Bad About Villainizing Sharks

Peter Benchley lived the rest of his life as a supporter and educator of sharks. He frequently talked about how he felt bad portraying them in such a murderous and angry light. Although “Jaws” is a spooky movie, we are more likely to attack them, than they are to attack us.

What Kind of Shark Was in “Jaws?”

The shark that terrorized the waters near Amity Island was a great white shark, one of the biggest and most aggressive sharks in the world. Great whites are also incredibly mysterious. While they’ve been the titular characters in countless ocean horror films since “Jaws,” there is still so much we don’t know about them. For instance, we are still trying to understand where and when they breed. It’s rare to see a young great white shark.

“Jaws” Awards

“Jaws” was an almost immediate hit. It won countless awards including,

• Academy Award for Best Original Score
• Academy Award for Best Film Editing
• Academy Award for Best Sound
• BAFTA Award for Best Original Music
• Golden Globe for Best Original Score

Sequels

Considering “Jaws” was such a hit, it’s not surprising to know that this film garnered multiple sequels. However, none of the sequels did as well as the original. Steven Spielberg, the original director, also didn’t return to complete the sequels.

“Jaws 2” follows the first film. It’s four years after the events in “Jaws.” The film was a box office hit, but has poor reviews. The next sequel was “Jaws 3-D,” which didn’t do much better. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits at 17% on the Popcornmeter and 11% on the Tomatometer.