Jaws: 50 years of fins, fear, and film perfections

Steven Spielberg's 1975 nautical nightmare still holds up half a century later

Since Jaws swam into theatres in the summer of 1975, movies (and moviemaking) have changed drastically. Advances in technology have led to an overabundance of flashy, CGI-fueled eye candy. Gone are the days of simple, well-made, character-driven movies. And yet, in spite of that, Jaws still stands out as one of the best, most rewatchable, and damn near perfect movies of all time.

Directed by Steven Spielberg before he became a Hollywood legend, Jaws thrives on its simple, yet intriguing, premise. At its core, it’s about man versus nature. Or in this case…man versus shark. It turns a random shark attack into a mythical tale of survival and fear.

For me, there are three reasons the movie’s premise worked so well back then, and still works half a century later.

The first is Spielberg’s minimalistic approach and mastery of pacing. Sure, the minimalism happened because of a notorious malfunctioning mechanical shark, but it turned out to be cinematic serendipity. Because the shark wouldn’t behave, Spielberg was forced to adapt. And instead of the shark being front and center from the beginning, we only catch glimpses for most of the movie. And Spielberg deftly uses those glimpses to slowly build tension throughout the movie before paying it off with an epic (and explosive) climax.

The second secret to Jaws’ lasting success is the cast. Roy Scheider (Chief Brody), Lorraine Gary (Ellen Brody), Richard Dreyfuss (Matt Hooper), and Robert Shaw (Quint) may be archetypes…but they’re also relatable, memorable, fully fleshed-out characters. And that chemistry is no more obvious than during Quint’s chilling USS Indianapolis story.

The third, final, and most iconic piece of the Jaws puzzle is the music. Even all these years later, hearing John Williams’ unforgettable two-note theme song is enough to fill you with a sense of dread…and keep you away from the water.

It’s true movies have changed dramatically since Jaws released, but it was Spielberg’s sharktastic masterpiece that made a lot of those changes. It was the first summer blockbuster. It changed Hollywood’s release strategies. And its use of POV shots, underwater cameras, and editing techniques are still used today.

And yet, as the proverb goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Jaws might’ve inspired changes and sparked innovations in filmmaking, but its charm lies in its timelessness. Its exploration of themes like fear, responsibility, and man’s struggle with nature, commentary on economic interests versus public safety (still relevant today), and the universality of the story remind us why we fell in love with movies in the first place.

Weigh in on this post by dropping me a line at popcornandparsecs@gmail.com!