Jaws @ 50 is an illuminating recap of the work that went into the making of Hollywood’s first true blockbuster. Fifty years after Jaws took to the big screen and shook the foundations of the film industry to its core, the movie is still influencing generations of filmmakers and movie fans alike. Jaws @ 50 is a new documentary on the subject, compiling previous interviews and conducting fresh retrospectives to tell the definitive tale about how the critically acclaimed Jaws became one of cinema’s biggest success stories.
While some of the behind-the-scenes influences, drama, and challenges had been discussed before, Jaws @ 50 gives Steven Spielberg a chance to set the record straight on multiple subjects. This includes his views on the tension that emerged between his co-stars, changes to the edit and screenplay, and his own expectations for Jaws‘ release. Here are the biggest stories and revelations from the history of Jaws, as they’re recounted in Jaws @ 50.
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Jaws Is A Spiritual Sequel To Duel
Both Movies Have A Deep Thematic Connection
One of the most interesting points that Steven Spielberg makes about Jaws in Jaws @ 50 is explicitly describes the iconic shark movie as a “sequel” to his earlier movie, Duel. Duel was Spielberg’s debut as a director, a TV movie that focused on a massive unseen truck driver chasing a traveling salesman on the highway.
Steven Spielberg has previously discussed the influence Duel had on Jaws, noting that both movies are about regular people trying to escape inhuman “leviathans.” However, in Jaws @ 50, Spielberg openly describes Jaws as a sequel to Duel. While they had different characters and settings, they were both very much about the same fears.
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Jaws Almost Had A Lot Of Different Titles
Jaws Was A Last Minute Decision By The Book Author
Peter Benchley wrote the original novel Jaws and co-wrote the film adaptation. However, the actual title of Jaws was hotly debated by Benchley before the book was sent to the publishers. Other options included Leviathan Rises, Great White, and The Jaws of Death. However, Benchley thought they all sounded too melodramatic.
As recounted in Jaws @ 50, the title ultimately was decided shortly before the book went to print. Arguing that the title was at least short and punchy, Benchley convinced editor Tom Congdon to run with Jaws as the final title.
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Why Jaws Dropped The Romance Subplot
Spielberg Didn’t Want To Distract From The Adventure Movie Tone Of Jaws
In the original Jaws novel, there is a subplot about an affair between Matt Hooper and Ellen Brody. As archival footage of Spielberg explains in Jaws @ 50, the decision to cut this aspect of the story came from a greater focus on the thriller aspects of the story. According to Spielberg, this ensured that the movie’s plot remained “on a straight line.”
The removal of the Hooper/Ellen affair is among the bigger changes that the cinematic Jaws made from the book, including Mayor Larry Vaughn’s mob connections and the final fate of Hooper.
This ensured Jaws remained an adventure story without getting derailed by other genre tropes and touches. This may have also helped saved Hooper, as the book’s more unlikable version of the character ended up being killed by the shark. Without the affair, Hooper’s death would have felt far harsher to audiences.
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Robert Mattey Was Brought Out Of Retirement For Jaws
Mattey Designed The Shark From Jaws
Robert Mattey is a legend in the world of special effects, with Jaws serving as one of his most enduring works. However, it took some convincing to bring him onto the film. After two decades in the film industry, Mattey left film to work with companies like Walt Disney Imagineering to design some of the animatronic characters in the original Disneyland.
Although Mattey had retired from films in the 1970s, Jaws @ 50 reveals that he was brought out of retirement to work on the three animatronic sharks used in the film’s production. The documentary underscores the respect his creative collaborators had for Mattey and his skill in bringing the fake sharks to life.
9
The Studio Forced Jaws To Go Into Production Early
Jaws Started Early To Avoid Strike-Related Complications
Much has been made over the years of Jaws‘ troubled production, with challenges on set and with props causing the budget and shooting schedule to balloon by the end of production. However, executives at Universal Pictures wanted the movie to move ahead because of a potential Screen Actors Guild strike.
Their hope was that the film could be completed quickly, allowing the film to enter post-production before the strike potentially went into effect. This may have contributed to some of the challenges Spielberg and his collaborators faced on set, as they were forced to discover problems with the mechanical sharks and boats as they were trying to shoot the film.
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Spielberg Cut Some Of The Brutality Ahead Of The Censors
Jaws Used To Be A Lot Bloodier
One of the things that Steven Spielberg was most committed to on Jaws was recreating the authenticity of a shark attack. As he explains in Jaws @ 50, he wanted to replicate the real effect of a shark attack. This is why the film doesn’t shy away from gore and blood. However, there’s a version of Jaws that took the violence even further.
Spielberg reflects during the documentary on shooting the shark attacks with as much brutality as he could give them. This led to some truly vicious imagery. Then, while editing the film, Spielberg “came to his senses” and trimmed the gory elements of the film down. This helped Jaws clear the MPAA with a PG rating and helped turn it into a blockbuster hit.
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Sidney Sheinberg Wasn’t Sure Jaws Could Be Finished
Spielberg Had To Convince Universal Pictures That The Movie Was Salvageable
Universal President Sidney Sheinberg was connected to the production from the start, with his wife Lorraine Gary cast as Ellen Brody. However, when Universal began to fear the production couldn’t be completed, it was Sheinberg who flew out to speak with Spielberg to discuss the movie’s future.
During Jaws @ 50, Spielberg recalls speaking with Sheinberg. At first, Sheinberg wasn’t sure that the film could actually be completed, highlighting the lack of faith the studio had in the movie. However, Sheinberg backed off when he saw Spielberg’s commitment to completing the movie. The result remains one of the most iconic films of all time.
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“Gonna Need A Bigger Boat” Changed In The Moment
Jaws Had Lots Of Little Improv Moments
One of the best lines in Jaws is Brody’s shocked “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” after seeing how big the shark really is. The line was a famously ab-libbed line by Roy Scheider. However, the entire brunt of the scene was made up on the fly, according to Spielberg.
During Jaws @ 50, Spielberg recalls how, when they were filming the scene, inspiration struck and Spielberg told Scheider to step backwards into the cabin but keep his eyes on where the shark had been. This bit of improv helped ensure one of the film’s most famous moments truly landed, giving the line room to breathe.
5
The Quint/Hooper Drinking Duel Was Improv
Tension On-Set Led To Magic On-Screen
That Roy Scheider scene wasn’t the only moment in Jaws that was made up on the spot. According to Spielberg, much of the tension between Quint and Hooper evolved naturally from the antagonistic chemistry that developed between Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, leading to lots of little moments in the movie.
Related
There’s A Scene In Jaws Where You Can Really Tell 2 Actors Didn’t Like Each Other
The making of Jaws was filled with obstacles and issues, but the tense relationship between Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw can be seen on screen.
One of the most notable moments that was improvised on the set was the beat where Quint drinks a beer in one sip, only for Hooper to mockingly drink a Styrofoam cup and mimic his crushing of the can. According to Spielberg, moments like these just came naturally to the cast on set and were all cobbled together in the edit to great effect.
4
The Apocalypse Now Writer Did The Original U.S.S. Indianapolis (But It Was Too Long)
Multiple Writers Brought Their Own Touch To Quint’s Most Iconic Scene
While working on the now iconic scene where Quint recounts his experiences as a survivor of the U.S.S. Indianapolis sinking during World War II, Spielberg was forced to turn to three different writers to get the scene correct: Howard Sackler, John Milius, and Robert Shaw.
Sackler’s version was too short, and Milius’ was far too long. While there has been debate over who deserves the most credit for the monologue, Spielberg recounts in Jaws @ 50 that it was Shaw (a noted playwright in his own right) who refined the monologue into its final form.