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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Dolby, Dolby Digital (5.1), English
Spielberg pits three mena against a great white shark that hasbeen attacking swimmers at an island resort in new england. Thefilm redefined the word "blockbuster," and john williams' scorestill haunts swimmers around the world.
"...a terrific movie... Hold onto your seats!" Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...tight, very scary and sometimes hilarious..." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
"...the final sequences are one shock after another..." The Motion Picture Guide
Editor's Note
From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorized one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. Three unlikely partners team up to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Roy Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), and a crusty old-time fisherman (Robert Shaw). The film shoot was notoriously difficult for the young Spielberg, who had directed only one feature film before JAWS. The mechanical shark seldom operated correctly, and Spielberg was frequently forced to create the idea of terror without actually showing the shark. However, after the film premiered it went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time--surpassing THE GODFATHER and becoming the first film to gross more than a hundred million dollars. Composer John Williams created the score to JAWS, which has since become a well-known theme of impending doom. Ron and Valerie Taylor were responsible for filming live sharks in Australia; their sequences were later mixed with footage of the mechanical shark.
Plot Summary
Steven Spielberg's film is generally considered one of the scariest movies ever made. The frightfest is based on the book by Peter Benchley, son of author Nathaniel and grandson of author Robert Benchley. The plot is simple: The tourist season of a resort island is devoured by a great white shark. The ensuing "fishing trip" to catch the monstrous man-eater is filmed with power and suspense and plenty of scares that has had audiences jumping out of their seats for decades--and staying out of the water.
| Features | Production Drawings | | Trivia Game | | PC Screen Saver | | Theatrical Trailer | | Photo Gallery | | Storyboards | | English Subtitles | | "Making Of" Featurette | | "Shark World" Documentary | | English Dolby 5.1 Surround | | English Dolby Surround | | French Subtitles |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 5/19/2009 |
| Running Time: 125 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1975 | | Catalog ID: 20912 | | UPC: 00025192091223 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English, French | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1976) |  | Verna Fields, Winner, Best Film Editing | | John Williams, Winner, Best Music, Original Score | | John R. Carter, et al., Winner, Best Sound | |
British Academy Awards (1976) | | John Williams, Winner, Anthony AsquithAWard For Film Music | | | Richard Dreyfuss, Nominee, Best Actor | | | Steven Spielberg, Nominee, Best Direction | | | Verna Fields, Nominee, Best Film Editing | | | Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Nominee, Best Screenplay | | | John R. Carter, Nominee, Best Soundtrack | |
Golden Globe (1976) | | John Williams, Winner, Best Original Score: Motion Picture | | | Steven Spielberg, Nominee, Best Motion Picture Director | | | Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Nominee, Best Motion Picture Screenplay |
| Memorable Quotes| "You're gonna need a bigger boat."----Chief Brody (Roy Scheider, who ad--libbed the line) to Quint (Robert Shaw) |
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| | Professional Reviews | Chicago Sun-Times
"...One of the most effective thrillers ever made....One of the remarkable things about the picture is its relatively muted tone..." 08/20/2000 p.5USA Today
"...The phenomenon that invented 'the summer movie'..." 11/24/1995 p.3D Total Film
"...This fishy thriller is still Steven Spielberg's best movie..." 09/01/2000 p.98 Entertainment Weekly
"...It pretty much rewrote the rules for the modern-day blockbuster..." 01/11/2002 p.36 Premiere
"[A] record-shattering success..." 12/01/2003 p.12 Premiere
"JAWS is a movie masterpiece, and still a joy to watch." 07/01/2005 p.125 Uncut
"[A] terrific thriller....Perfect film-making." 09/01/2005 p.148 Sight and Sound
"[I]ts combination of thrills, suspense and smart characterisation has rarely been matched." 10/01/2005 p.98 Hollywood In The Seventies 9 of 10
The opening sequences have few parallels in modern cinema; like the shower scene in Psycho, they will haunt a whole generation. - Les Keyser
Boxoffice Magazine 8 of 10
...Cast is headed by three actors of note... Each creates an individually rugged character, yet it is no comment on their fine work to state that the real star is the mechanical shark which menaces the seaside area. By now, most people should be aware of the shark's inner workings, via articles or interviews on the film. Yet the illusion of reality is so great that even veteran reviewers at a recent screening made audible gasps at each appearance of the shark.
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