There wouldn鈥檛 be Shark Week without 鈥淛aws.鈥
Steven Spielberg, director of "Jaws,"聽 appears in "Jaws @ 50."
And there probably wouldn鈥檛 have been 鈥淛aws鈥 without a lot of determination. Director Steven Spielberg, who was plagued by all sorts of delays and mechanical woes, says he had nightmares years after the film was released. It was traumatizing, he admits, 鈥渂ut I got final cut because of it.鈥
Able to pull what could have been disaster out of the fire, Spielberg was able to make the first summer blockbuster. Released in 1975, it created an anticipation for filmgoing and set a bar for producers. If 鈥淛aws鈥 could make hundreds of millions of dollars, why couldn鈥檛 their picture?
In 鈥淛aws @ 50,鈥 a new National Geographic special, Spielberg and others detail the rollercoaster ride that took place in the early 1970s and the legacy it left.
Spielberg was a fledgling director with 鈥淭he Sugarland Express鈥 as his calling card, but he had nothing that said he could turn this into a moneymaker, much less a seminal entry in film history.
People are also reading…
Through home movies, old interviews and newspaper clippings, director Laurent Bouzereau tracks the elements of 鈥淛aws,鈥 from the best-seller by Peter Benchley to the Oscar wins for composer John Williams and others.
Seeing Martha鈥檚 Vineyard folks recall the time when Hollywood came calling is one of the documentary鈥檚 true joys. Like other once-in-a-lifetime sites, it鈥檚 a quiet place where locals aren鈥檛 quite sure what this means. When Spielberg uses plenty of them as extras, 鈥淛aws鈥 achieves a realistic quality that helps sell the story.
A crew member works on the mechanical shark on the set of "Jaws."聽
To put this in cinematic context, Bouzereau has blue-chip filmmakers (like James Cameron, Jordan Peele, Guillermo del Toro and Stephen Soderbergh) weigh in on the film鈥檚 impact.
Others detail the difficulties, the headstrong actors and the measures Spielberg had to take to bring the film in on budget. (Spielberg even shot scenes in his editor鈥檚 swimming pool, just to make sure he got the shots he wanted.)
While the film initially made folks wary of going into the ocean, it prompted shark hunting and led to a fear that the creatures might disappear. Thankfully, that abated and now numbers are back and fans are primed for the anniversary.
Surprisingly, some of the moments in the film ring true today 鈥 particularly when it comes to politicians lying to citizens.
One of the sharks used in the filming was found, refurbished and placed in the Academy Museum, overlooking the stairs. It鈥檚 immediately identifiable and a testament to the power of a film that some didn鈥檛 think had a chance.
鈥淛aws @ 50鈥 airs on National Geographic July 10, then streams on Disney+ and Hulu.
