Particle.news
Download on the App Store
34 ARTICLES
·
19h ago

Jaws Marks 50th Anniversary With National Geographic Documentary and Retrospective Events

The National Geographic documentary chronicles Spielberg’s troubled shoot, showing Jaws’s role in launching the summer blockbuster era, pioneering shark science, inspiring ocean conservation.

In this image from July 1925, naturalist William Beebe poses with a sand shark, one of thousands of fish he "collected" over a six-month journey across oceans with the New York Zoological Society.
Audiences waited in lines down the block to see "Jaws" when it premiered in June 1975. The 1974 novel upon which the film was based was already a bestseller.
Image
Amity Islanders flee the shark-infested water in this scene from "Jaws," shortly before little Alex Kintner's deflated raft returns to shore without him.

Overview

  • The documentary Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story premieres July 10, featuring Steven Spielberg recounting production crises that left him fearing a heart attack.
  • Upon its 1975 release, Jaws became the first film to top $100 million domestically and set the template for summer tentpole releases with a wide launch strategy.
  • Fear stirred by the film prompted overfishing of sharks before protections such as the 1990 NOAA ban on great white harvests helped restore populations.
  • Researchers at Scripps and other institutions credit Jaws with igniting public interest and funding for shark biology studies that now guide marine ecosystem management.
  • Fifty years on, screenings and panel discussions on Martha’s Vineyard and beyond underscore the film’s enduring suspense, its critique of economic interests over public safety, and its cultural resonance.