Jaws

Released: June 20, 1975

Studio: Universal

Genre: drama/action

Box Office (numbers in millions)

Domestic: 265.86 Worldwide: 470.70

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 1262.47 Worldwide: 2100.00

Directing: Steven Spielberg

Screenwriting: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb

Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss

Review:

Jaws was that “rare case of a bubble-gum story (by Peter Benchley) scoring as a terrific movie.” ^LM “This action/adventure/horror classic” ^FS “emptied beaches and created the modern blockbuster.” ^TV “John Williams’ pulsating score still haunts swimmers around the world.” ^A07

A “Great White Shark…has been attacking swimmers at an island resort in New England” ^A98 “during the summer tourist season.” ^FS “Three unlikely partners team up on a suspenseful ‘fishing trip’ to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Dreyfuss), and a crusty, grizzled old-time fisherman (Shaw) resembling the obsessed Ahab in the Moby Dick tale.” ^FS

Jaws holds up today not so much for its jolts – there aren’t as many as you think you remember – but because of…real characters. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw are more than fish bait, and the conversation about the USS Indianapolis is worth all the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.” ^TV “Spielberg shot some scenes at water level, making the audience feel as though they were treading water.” ^A07