Blockbuster movies are commonplace in the entertainment industry these days. Avatar is currently the highest grossing movie ever but was preceding by many blockbusters before it. In 1975 however, there hadn’t really been a true blockbuster that played in theaters for multiple months. The movie Jaws changed all of that on its way to making box office history. In the summer of 1975, Jaws made Steven Spielberg a household name and became one of the biggest and scariest movies of all time. Here are just a couple of reasons why the movie is so beloved by audiences worldwide:
1.) The cast- Led by Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and Roy Sheider, the cast is able to captivate audiences with their sincerity and screen presence. When dealing with a subject as scary as great white sharks, the audience needs to be able to identify and sympathize with these characters. Success is met on every front as the audience is able to put themselves in the place of these characters and root for their survival. Shaw’s portrayal of the drunk shark hunter is incredibly believable as the audience realizes this is the one man who can take down this great beast. The sheriff in charge of the investigation serves as the everyman that the audience identifies with and Dreyfuss, the shark expert, provides great comic relief that atrracts and endears the audience.
2.) The director- This was the first blockbuster for Steven Speilberg and only his second film. The shoot was extremely challenging and not one that would be advised in these times. That’s because the water scenes were actually shot on the Atlantic Ocean and not in a tank or in a pond. It was an incredible difficult shoot that went far over budget and shooting days were far more numbered than intended. It was the movie that launched a career for Steven and allowed him to make such great films as E.T., Indiana Jones and Saving Private Ryan.
Jaws was the first true summer blockbuster and still holds up as a great movie decades after it was released.