Jaws (1975)
92%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: Won 3 Oscars
15 wins & 20 nominations total
Compelling, well-crafted storytelling and a judicious sense of terror ensure Steven Spielberg’s Jaws has remained a benchmark in the art of delivering modern blockbuster thrills.
Jaws is the ultimate summer blockbuster that will make you think twice about going into the water. Steven Spielberg’s direction and John Williams’ iconic score create a thrilling experience that still holds up today. Plus, who can forget the unforgettable performances from Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss? Jaws is a classic that will continue to scare and entertain audiences for generations to come. Just make sure to watch it with a buddy, because you never know what’s lurking beneath the surface.
Production Company(ies)
Fantasy Films, Bryna Productions N.V., Zvaluw
Distributor
Universal Pictures, DiscoVision
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Water Street, Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1975
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 20, 1975 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 14, 2005
Genre(s)
Horror/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottlieb, Ben Meadows, directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Howard Sackler, John Milius, Robert Shaw, produced by David Brown, Richard D Zanuck, horror, adventure, PG rating, box office success, $260.9M gross, reviewed by Adam Nayman, Adam Kempenaar, Arthur Cooper, Derek Malcolm, Gary Arnold, Arthur Knight, Brian Eggert, Kristy Strouse, Jason Shawhan, Robin Holabird, Niall Browne, Sarah Brinks, shark, beach, police chief, ichthyologist, ship captain, New England, tourist town, Amity Island, terror, thriller, suspense, John Williams, score, monster movie, primal fears, blockbuster, summer movie, Jaws
Worldwide gross: $471,411,300
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,836,527,095
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 8
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 309,326,837
US/Canada gross: $260,758,300
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,569,007,750
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 7
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,061,513
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $42,489,802
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 284
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $42,119,673
Production budget ranking: 913
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $22,681,444
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,771,725,979
ROI to date (est.): 4,277%
ROI ranking: 25
Robert Shaw – Quint
Richard Dreyfuss – Matt Hooper
Lorraine Gary – Ellen Brody
Murray Hamilton – Mayor Larry Vaughn
Carl Gottlieb – Ben Meadows
Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
Writer(s)
Peter Benchley, Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Howard Sackler, John Milius, Robert Shaw
Producer(s)
David Brown, Richard D. Zanuck
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
15 wins & 20 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Editing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Original Score Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (96) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (94) | Rotten (2)
The beauty of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic is that you can choose how to watch it: as a summery, shark-bitten thriller or as an allegory about the failed leadership of institutions…
June 25, 2020
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
…more interesting is where the political and personal intersect… which fits nicely with what the movie as a whole does so well, mixing the horror and adventure with the personal.
June 19, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Adam Kempenaar
Filmspotting
TOP CRITIC
Jaws is a grisly film, often ugly as sin, which achieves precisely what it set out to accomplish-scare the hell out of you.
September 21, 2017
Arthur Cooper
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Jaws is a splendidly shrewd cinematic equation which not only gives you one or two very nasty turns when you least expect them but, possibly more important, knows when to make you think another’s coming without actually providing it.
December 22, 2016
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
I don’t think there’s a more exciting talent at work right now than Spielberg, an authentic moviemaking prodigy, and perhaps his worst problem from June 20, 1975, on will be preventing success from making a nervous or artistic wreck of him.
July 31, 2015
Gary Arnold
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Perhaps the most perfectly constructed horror story in our time.
July 6, 2015
Arthur Knight
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
A carefully composed and genuinely great piece of filmmaking Steven Spielberg accomplished through unimaginable circumstances.
February 23, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
It’s immortalized for good reason. Between the thematic score, its perfect cast, and gut-punch of a thrill, Jaws is still very much alive.
October 14, 2021
Kristy Strouse
Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying
Jaws (1975) is a classic that defined the modern Summer Movie Blockbuster as we know it. It still plays like gangbusters and will make you deeply nervous around water.
September 10, 2021
Jason Shawhan
Nashville Scene
A relatively inexperienced director Steven Spielberg found a “less is more” visual approach heightened suspense in the movie’s early scenes. Characters to care about helped, along with spot-on editing by Verna Fields.
August 10, 2021
Robin Holabird
Robin Holabird
Jaws may be Steven Spielberg’s greatest achievement. Sure, Schindler’s List may get more critical kudos and Indiana Jones may be more iconic – but Spielberg’s 1975 adaptation of Peter Benchley’s aquatic thriller is a masterpiece from start to finish.
June 24, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Niall Browne
Movies in Focus
I have always been a fan of “creature features” and monster movies and Jaws is that and so much more. It is endlessly rewatchable and fun.
March 24, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension…
Plot
It’s a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn’t sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy’s mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they’re going to need a bigger boat.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Jaws on Fresh Kernels.
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