Just 10 Reasons I Love JAWS

 Just 10 Reasons I Love JAWS

Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman. I am your host, David, and today I’ll be running down 10 reasons I love the movie JAWS. 

Just 10 reasons for today, and I’m not about to even attempt to rank them. 

Suffice to say that JAWS has become one of my all-time favorite films and has led to a Godzilla sized merch habit as well. 

Let’s jump right in the water and begin from the beginning. 

My Personal Connection

One of the main reasons I love JAWS is that I was 13 years old when it came out and I became instantly obsessed with it and with sharks in general. 

Fictional sharks and real sharks.

I read every book I could get my hands on about the making of the movie and also read a lot of science books about actual, non-mechanical sharks. 

I had read Peter Benchley’s source material either in the summer of 1974 or the summer after that when the movie premiered. I read it on the beach in Seaside Heights, NJ on a family vacation with our friends the Nogays. I think all 5 kids passed it around that summer. 

Or at least that’s what my nostalgia tells me. 

I still have that same paperback copy, and will be reading it again this summer along with my daughter Dakota as we do a little “JAWS” book club. More about her later since she’s heavily involved in all of this. 

My Grandma Lou was 13 when “The Great Gatsby” was published, so I kind of look at “JAWS” as my Gatsby.

Another reason I love JAWS is…

Bruce and the Practical Effects

The mechanical shark in JAWS was nicknamed Bruce, after director Steven Spielberg's lawyer, and the fact that Bruce was uncooperative for most of the beginning of the shoot resulted in his not showing up until 81 minutes into the movie.

If Bruce had worked from the start, Spielberg would have featured him much earlier, and a lot of the suspense leading up to the buildup reveal would have been lost. 

Bruce worked perfectly in the testing runs, but that was in fresh water. When he was put into the ocean, the salt water quickly made this production much, much more difficult.

I’m all for technology being used to make movies better, but I’m still a sucker for practical effects.

Bruce may look cheesy and fake to 2025 movie fans, but he certainly looked real, and terrifying, in 1975. 

Another reason I love JAWS is…

Stunning Images & Cinematography

Bill Butler shot JAWS. It was the only time he worked with Spielberg, but the two combined to design some absolutely breathtaking shots, especially during the third act out on the water.

The beach scenes are shot with a sense of tension even when things are seemingly normal.

One of my favorite sequences is of Brody on the beach and the shot zooms in on him each time someone passes in front of him and through the frame.

One of the more memorable sequences, the severed head Hooper spots in the sunken boat, wasn’t shot by Butler at all but by editor Verna Fields and Spielberg in her swimming pool. 

Another reason I love JAWS is…

Shooting Stars (real or not)

Speaking of memorable shots, those shooting stars are the chef’s kiss of cinema. 

There are two of them, and they come only a couple of minutes apart. 

I remember being blown away by those shooting stars and hoping they were real and not added in post production. 

Over the years I’ve read various accounts regarding “Real vs. FX.” I’ve read that both were real, I’ve read that both were added in post, I’ve read that one was real and one was FX.

Spielberg has said they were both lucky coincidences, and that’s good enough for me; even if I don’t believe in coincidences. 

Another reason I love JAWS is…

The Music (NOT just the iconic theme!)

Absolutely EVERYONE is familiar with the iconic double bass/cello heavy theme from JAWS, and that theme is definitely one of the reasons I love the movie. 

But John Williams’ score is so much more than that famous theme.

The music throughout the film is absolutely tremendous and fits perfectly no matter what the mood of the scene may be.

Spielberg himself would probably be the first to tell you that the reason he is considered one of the greatest directors in film history is that John Williams scored 29 of his films for him. 

Whether it’s light, frolicking music to accompany the arrival of the summer crowds, or people safely enjoying the beach, or the deep sinister tones of Bruce on the prowl, Williams hits each note perfectly. 

I also admired how Williams and Spielberg let Quint begin his tale of the U.S.S. Indianapolis without score before slowly and quietly adding it to the tale. 

Masterful.

Another reason I love JAWS is…

Shot ON the Ocean

There is no doubt that JAWS would not be JAWS if it was shot in the tank at Universal. 

Young, green Steven Spielberg knew this and insisted it be shot on the ocean to make it look more authentic.

That decision, of course, led to Bruce malfunctioning and other production issues, but I have a feeling this movie wouldn’t have the impact it has had on film history if it had been shot in the tank. 

Spielberg and cinematographer Bill Butler also shot quite a bit of the film at water level to give the viewer the illusion that they, themselves, were in the water. 

I’ve seen a ton of ocean movies shot in tanks, and most of them look like ocean movies shot in a tank. 

Gotta love Spielberg and his stubbornness. 

Another reason I love JAWS is…

Power Trio Cast

The poster certainly has an order to the cast; Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, but in my mind, they’ll always be equally billed.

Adding to all of the technical problems on set plaguing Spielberg was the fact that Shaw and Dreyfuss absolutely HATED one another. 

I’m sure that tension helped to make the shoot miserable, but it certainly came across on film and added to the performances. 

There are times the two are angry and arguing and you can tell that they really weren’t acting at all. 

One account tells the story of Dreyfuss not having to work the day Quint’s death scene was shot, but showed up anyway to watch Shaw get eaten by the shark. 

And in the middle of it all was the stoic Chief Brody, played by the great Roy Scheider who always has, and always will, remind me of my father. 

Another reason I love JAWS is…

“The Shark is Broken”

“The Shark Is Broken” is a play co-written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon and is based on Robert Shaw’s journals he kept during the production of JAWS.

As you can probably tell from the title, the play details ALL of the problems that plagued the shoot from start to finish. 

It’s all here; Shaw’s clashes with Dreyfuss, Shaw’s pleading with Spielberg to do the Indianapolis scene drunk (which was disastrous and needed to be re shot), Shaw’s income tax troubles that required him to be flown to Canada on days off, pretty much everything that went wrong during the production was included in Shaw’s journals. 

How did the writers get a hold of Shaw’s journals? Well, Ian Shaw is Robert Shaw’s son, so that part was easy.

I got the opportunity to see “The Shark Is Broken” with Dakota a couple of years ago, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. 

The entire set was the Orca and never changed. One of the barrels used in the film was among the onstage props. 

Shaw played his dad and the actors portraying Scheider and Dreyfuss were extremely talented. 

Ian Shaw looked and sounded so much like his father that I sometimes forgot who I was watching. 

Thank you, Dakota, for enabling my JAWS problem over the years by taking me to this play, and the next adventure which is…

Another reason I love JAWS!

Screening with a Live Orchestra

I already talked about how important the score is to this film and how the music seems to perfectly fit whatever the visuals are throughout. 

I realize this isn’t the first JAWS related episode I’ve done, AND I have mentioned this before, but screening this film at an outdoor venue with a live symphony orchestra providing the soundtrack is one of my most favorite film experiences EVER!

I loved that when the musicians had a break they were riveted to the movie as much as the crowd was.

I know they do this with a lot of different movies, so if you EVER get a chance to see something like this, jump at the chance. It doesn’t have to be JAWS. Star Wars movies get this treatment as do some of the Harry Potter movies.

It’s such a fun experience and you feel like you’re part of the ‘behind the scenes’ crew. 

And one more reason I love JAWS is…

Homages to Film Favorites of Mine

I’ve seen JAWS so many times now that I may be reading into things from time to time, BUT I do believe there are a couple of shots in this movie that are direct homages to other films I also love. 

When the Orca is leaving  port, Spielberg shoots it through a window and a set of shark’s jaws at Quint’s place evoking the “No Trespassing” shot and nightclub window shot in Orson Wells’ masterpiece Citizen Kane.

Later on during the calm before the storm on the Orca while trying to hook the shark, Quint looks at the reel slowly clicking and anticipates something is up. Just before the fish takes off and the chase begins, Quint locks himself in with his harness anticipating the violent ride about to begin. This reminded me of the driver of the Charger in Bullitt who buckles his seatbelt right before embarking on THAT iconic cinematic chase.

Then again, as I always say, I could be wrong.

Well, that is a wrap from here at Cinema Wellman as we fawn all over one of our all-time favorite movies on its 50th birthday. 

We hope you’re back with us next time when we take a look at more shark movies!

And these are all worse than a JAWS sequel!

Until then, take care.