Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss

Synopsis:

When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.

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The making of Jaws was almost the undoing of Spielberg. Filmed on and off Martha’s Vineyard, the production was beset by logistical headaches and clashing personalities. Stars Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw hated each other, the weather constantly changed, meaning matching footage and shots was virtually impossible, delays left the budget spiralling out of control, the three mechanical sharks broke down repeatedly and one time they almost lost the Orca to the briny deep, when the boat began sinking for real (with principal cast aboard). Spielberg feared not just being fired but never eating lunch in Hollywood again.

Partly inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, making old salt Quint (Shaw) the film’s Captain Ahab, the political backdrop involving a dishonest politician insisting the beaches stay open for business – even though “a perfect engine, an eating machine” is gobbling up locals – feels like a reaction to Watergate and growing distrust of government. An exciting plot, in which a great white shark terrorises a seaside community heavily dependent on tourist dollars, is also a finely acted and imaginative portrait of class conflict, represented in the drama’s key trio: working-class Quint, middle-class Brody (Roy Scheider) and Ivy Leaguer Hooper (Dreyfuss).

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