STEVEN SPIELBERG'S JAWS

Steven Spielberg cut his teeth on the meaty role Jaws presented, directing a film using a giant rubber shark model, that simply would not work. Oddly enough, having to resort to Alfred Hitchcock like suspense building, in not showing 'Bruce,' as the flawed animatronic became known, the lack of props actually helped to make the film a success.

When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community, it's up to the local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old sea dog to hunt the beast down.

Director Steven Spielberg delivers an iconic film that has an entertaining story featuring unforgettable characters. Not to mention 'Bruce' the shark. This was the original summer blockbuster that kicked off that trend in Hollywood.

This is an iconic movie, superbly made. It's not the best movie ever, but it's the best shark movie by far - until Hollywood decides to give it another go. But we all know how long it takes for a re-make to be better than the original. King-Kong and Titanic are testament to that.

The picture was produced by Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown (Zanuck/Brown Productions). It was a Universal Pictures release on June 20th 1975. The stunning music track was composed by John Williams.

The screenplay was by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottieb. The movie starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton.

Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name. In the film, a man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town, prompting police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw). Murray Hamilton plays the mayor, and Lorraine Gary portrays Brody's wife. The screenplay is credited to Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography.

Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean, and as a result had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule. As the art department's mechanical sharks often malfunctioned, Spielberg decided mostly to suggest the shark's presence, employing an ominous and minimalist theme created by composer John Williams to indicate its impending appearances. Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of director Alfred Hitchcock. Universal Pictures gave the film what was then an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture, on over 450 screens, accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise.

MAN ATTACKS SHARKS - In Kulo Luna, John Storm faces off four great white sharks, bravely challenging them to take a bite out of him, armed with only a speargun, a megaphone and a plan of sorts.

  PETER BENCHLEY'S STORY OF A PREDATORY GREAT WHITE SHARK

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