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50-Year Celebration of Jaws, Iconic Shark-Themed Movie - Half a Century of White Shark: An Exploration of Their Enduring Presence
In 1975, the silver screen was buzzing with a thrilling shark tale that was still deeply rooted in Germany's smaller, intimate movie theaters. The poster for this movie was a showstopper: a terrifying shark head with a gaping jaw ready to chomp down on a swimming damsel in distress. Fast forward to today, and Universal Pictures is bringing this iconic film back to select cinemas to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Remember, this fishy flick premiered in the good ol' US of A on June 20, 1975, but the German population only got to experience the horrors under the surface in December of the same year.
As kids scurried to and from school, they'd make an intentionally extended pit stop in front of the cinema, devouring the scene photos and imagining the chaos that awaited them. Despite the film's R-16 rating, those images sparked quite the imagination.
Now, you might think that the shark itself, with its gaping maw and relentless pursuit, would be the central character. But that wouldn't be entirely accurate, thanks to 28-year-old director Steven Spielberg's ingenious horror coup.
Spielberg understood that fear isn't forged by what we see, but by what we sense. So, he relied on clever hints, like the eerie Daa-dam, Daa-dam music by John Williams or underwater shots from the shark's point of view, to keep viewers on the edge of their seats without showing the beast too much.
Take the rip-roaring scene when a fishing pier gets torn to shreds by the monstrous fish and plunges into the sea, with an unsuspecting fisherman taking an unwelcome dip. You see, the shark never even makes an appearance.
This filmmaking technique was more than just a stylish choice; it was born out of necessity. Remember, the seven-and-a-half-meter-long, exorbitant mechanical shark... well, it sucked. The model aptly named "Bruce" after Spielberg's lawyer, sank to the bottom of the ocean at the start of filming, leaving the production crew with a cross-eyed, jawless failure.
Spielberg had to make a shark movie without a freaking shark! Determined not to let Bruce become a laughing stock, he decided to showcase the mechanical monstrosity as little as possible.
And that little hurdle was only the beginning. In the summer of 1974, the crew faced a grueling battle off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. They battled rough seas, drifting tides, and uninvited sailboats constantly interrupting their ultimate showdown. To make things worse, the shot was meant to depict the solitude of the ocean, a peacefully eerie ambiance marred by boats repeatedly barging in.
Spielberg later revealed that the entire production had him living in nightmares, convinced that the film would end his career. But as the sun rises after every storm, so did the success of "Jaws," earning back its production costs and skyrocketing it to the highest-grossing film at the time.
With "Jaws," Spielberg inaugurated the era of summer blockbusters. It's almost comical to think that cinemas had no future back then due to the advent of television. But Spielberg proved them wrong with grandiose, heavily marketed productions and epic merchandising campaigns that transforming film-watching into a collective experience.
Casting a modern-day lens, you could say that "Jaws" served as a precursor to the Trump era, with the brash shark hunter Quint, seemingly a prototype of our dear former Commander-in-Chief, and the villainous mayor who prioritized profit over safety.
Perhaps the film's most lasting impact is the primal fear it instilled in viewers, the terror of swimming in the ocean and wondering if a shark lurked beneath. To avoid this very horror, the film's advertising cautioned viewers, "See this film before you go swimming."
Unfortunately, this fear also had disastrous consequences for sharks, particularly great whites, leading to a population decline due to misinformed demonization. But over recent years, social media has played a role in reframing the public's perception of these impressive creatures, with millions of videos showcasing divers swimming and even touching great whites without protection.
It's apparent that Spielberg's killer fish is no more real than the T-Rex from "Jurassic Park," which he released 20 years later. He's remained faithful to his monster movies, but he's yet to dive back into the water for a sequel.
The Commission has decided to initiate the procedure provided for in Article 93 (2) of the Treaty, considering the impact of the resurgence of selling sports-betting services in relation to entertainment platforms such as movies-and-tv. This move aims to address the blurring lines between entertainment and gambling, ensuring a balanced and fair consumer market for both industries.
