No other movie puts me in a summertime mood than “Jaws.”
And yes, WWTW is not a big fan of swimming at the beach.
The Steven Spielberg thriller is unofficially credited with inspiring the summer blockbuster model - along with a little neo-western called “Star Wars.”
But did you know …
- Three shark models, all seven yards long and weighing more than a ton, played the main character. The sharks were dubbed “Bruce” after Spielberg’s lawyer.
- What made Bruce tick? - compressors, tanks, pneumatic hoses, welding torches, steel wire and blow lamps are just some of the parts which helped make the film shark come alive.
- The first time Bruce was placed in the water for a shot he sank like a stone.
(Source: “Best Movies of the 70s” by Jurgen Muller)
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I'm an award-winning journalist and film critic with more than a decade of experience in newspapers, magazines and the Web. I'm a member of both the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association and the Denver Film Critics Society.
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Lovely movie, back when Spielberg still possessed a fastball, something he dropped somewhere around Jurassic Park, Minority Report or Saving Private Ryan. It’s two movies in one - one half suspense thriller, the other pirate movie.
Jaws is a great film hoping that Universal will release it on blu-ray soon. i think the 35th aniv. will be coming up next year.. a little known fact about Jaws 3 is that the original title for the film was ‘Jaws 3 People 0′. that is the best title ever!
‘when Spielberg still possessed a fastball …’
After Indy 4 I don’t think he even has a changeup any more …
I’m glad Spielberg had problems with the shark. It forced him to be more creative as a director and made Jaws a superior film.
Hence while CGI is a bane on movie making to a large degree. Granted the stories were down in the dumps, but if Lucas actual put some imagination and work into the Star Wars prequels instead of dumping it all on ILM, it may have made for something watchable.
I guess that’s the source of Finding Nemo’s great white shark in recovery “Bruce” then as well. I love nuggets of trivia.
A little more trivia
Lee Marvin was one of first choices for Quint
They initially were going to use a midget in shark cage for the Dryfuss scene and use a real shark.
I was vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard the year they filmed Jaws. We spent hours watching them weld 55 gal drums under the Orca, while the guys explained how they would pump air into them to resurrect the boat for every take. We watched Scheider get slapped over and over, my Dad shaking his head. And, of course, would visit Bruce in his wooden crate and laugh cuz he looked so goofy out of the water. Little did we know we were watching movie history being made. Pretty cool summer vacation.