Jaw It is a legend, not only the film, but the way it was made. It is difficult to imagine that a film this iconic was once on the collapse point. But in the summer of 1974, a 27 year old Steven Spielberg He found himself in the middle of the Atlantic, shooting a shark movie that seemed would never have been finished.
“We didn’t know how this movie would ever end,” the actor recalled Jeffrey Kramer. “There have been rumors throughout the set that the study would have closed us.”
And who could blame them? Three mechanical sharks, who worked barely. Unpredictable time. Sea helmets and troupe. Over 100 days late.
$ 4 million budget has risen to $ 8 million. For Spielberg, the pressure was intense. “His nails were bitten for the butts,” said the co-writer Carl Gottlieb. “But that was the only manifestation of his nerves. Steven knew he needed to give an example. This meant concentrating on his work and keeping calm even when everything around him was going to hell.”
Everything went to hell. Spielberg wanted to film the real ocean off Martha’s Vineyard to make it authentic, but made continuity a nightmare. Boats drift in the frame. The shark sinked. And the cast, above all Robert Shaw AND Richard DreyfussHe clashed strong. “The jaws should never have been made,” Spielberg admitted. “It was an impossible effort.”
Yet … it was over. And not only … it was a turning point.
When he hit cinemas on June 20, 1975, Jaw Terrified and collected audience in $ 260.7 million in its initial release, becoming the film with the greatest collection ever at the time. The trial audience screamed so strong popcorn that flew. “As soon as the study saw that reaction, they went,” Jesus, this will be a great film, “said the production of production Joe Alves.
This is when everything has changed. Universal paid $ 1.8 million dollars for marketing and downloaded the film in over 400 theaters at national level, which at the time was something unheard of.
The study leaning on the success of Peter Benchley’s novel and embraced the film’s shark logo as a brand. “When we sneaked the film in Dallas, we don’t even need to name it in the announcement,” said the manufacturer David Brown. “We put the shark’s teeth logo and the swimming girl and 3,000 came out in a hailstorm.”
The chain effect was enormous. Jaws did not simply create summer success, he created the project. Great show, wide release, aggressive marketing, goods. Star Wars, Jurassic ParkThe entire Marvel cinematographic universe, all exist because Jaw He showed that you could turn a film into a cultural phenomenon.
But the brilliance of Jaw It wasn’t just marketing. Spielberg has made the most of the limits of the film. When the mechanical shark has broken, he spreads in suspense, letting music, the blows of poor and the modification of the building of Build.
Verna FieldsEditing, John Williams’Now-Legendary Score and Spielberg’s decision not to show the shark so often made the film more frightening.
“I played Boom Boom Boom on the piano for him,” said Williams. “And Steven said:” Are you serious? “… then he said,” Oh, it’s wonderful. “”
The emotional core is what the film is still. Spielberg cut the sub -trams and refined the story to three men against the sea. That clarity has made its fruits. Moments like Brody’s son who imitate him at the table or the Quint Indianapolis monologue makes human terror heard.
Gottlieb remembered when Shaw finally broke the speech: “He came to dinner one night, he slammed his hand on the table and said:” I have that more annoying licking speech. “
That four -minute monologue is a masterclass in the character’s work and is one of the reasons Jaw It affects 50 years later. It is not only the fear of sharks, it is the fear of losing people, the fragility of control, the reality of death deep.
Even the filmmakers born decades after they still look at him. “Much of the language of cinema comes from this film,” he said Eli Roth. “Spielberg created everything.” Jason Blum He agreed: “The young filmmakers say:” It will be like the shark in jews “. It’s incredible for a film that is 50 years old.”
Spielberg, of course, continued to beat more box office record with And AND Jurassic Parkand gained the applause for Schindler list AND Save private Ryan. But Jaw It was the film that made him … and he scarred him.
“You probably noticed that I didn’t take many jaw -water photos,” he told his biographer.
Who could blame him? When you survive a nightmare and change the cinema in the process, you have earned the right to stay on dry earth.
Away: variety
By Joey Gour
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
