Jaws (movie) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jaws
The official Jaws logo
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Produced by	David Brown Richard D. Zanuck
Written by	Novel: Peter Benchley Screenplay: Peter Benchley Carl Gottlieb Uncredited: Howard Sackler
Starring	Roy Scheider Richard Dreyfuss Robert Shaw Lorraine Gary Murray Hamilton
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	Bill Butler
Editing by	Verna Fields
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	June 20, 1975 (ltd) July 25 (wide)
Running time	Theatrical cut: 124 minutes TV cut: 130 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7 million
Money made	$470,653,000

Jaws is a famous thriller film from 1975, directed by Steven Spielberg. It is based on a book by Peter Benchley called Jaws. The movie is about a huge great white shark that attacks people swimming at the beaches of Amity Island. This island is a made-up summer town in New England.

To stop the shark, the local police chief, Martin Brody, teams up with a marine biologist named Matt Hooper and a shark hunter named Quint. Roy Scheider plays Chief Brody, Robert Shaw plays Quint, and Richard Dreyfuss plays Hooper. The mayor of Amity Island, Larry Vaughn, is played by Murray Hamilton, and Brody's wife, Ellen, is played by Lorraine Gary.

The movie's script was written by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Gottlieb actually rewrote parts of the script while the movie was being filmed.

Making the Movie

Filming Jaws was quite a challenge! Most of the movie was shot on location in Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. The production went over budget and took longer than planned.

The Tricky Mechanical Shark

The team used mechanical sharks for the movie, but they often broke down. Because of these problems, Steven Spielberg decided to show the shark less often. Instead, he used the famous music by John Williams to let the audience know the shark was coming. This made the movie even scarier because you couldn't always see the danger.

Movie's Big Impact

Jaws is considered one of the greatest films ever made. It was the first "summer blockbuster" movie. This means it was a huge hit that made a lot of money, especially during the summer.

A Box Office Sensation

When it came out, Jaws became the highest-grossing film of all time. It held this record until Star Wars was released in 1977.

Jaws helped change how movies are made and sold in Hollywood. It showed that action and adventure movies with simple, exciting ideas could make a lot of money. These types of movies are often released in many theaters during the summer with lots of advertising.

Sequels and Influence

After Jaws, three more movies were made in the series. However, Steven Spielberg and Peter Benchley were not involved in these sequels. Jaws also inspired many other thriller movies about dangerous animals.

Awards and Recognition

Jaws won several important awards, especially for its music and editing.

Academy Awards

The movie won three Academy Awards, also known as Oscars:

• Best Film Editing
• Best Original Dramatic Score (for John Williams's music)
• Best Sound

It was also nominated for the biggest award, Best Picture.

Other Major Awards

John Williams's amazing music for Jaws also won other big awards, like the Grammy Award, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and the Golden Globe Award.

Jaws was voted "Favorite Movie" at the People's Choice Awards. It also received nominations at the 29th British Academy Film Awards and the 33rd Golden Globe Awards.

Historical Importance

In 2001, the United States Library of Congress chose Jaws to be part of the National Film Registry. This means it is considered an important movie that should be saved for future generations. In 2006, its screenplay was ranked as the 63rd best of all time by the Writers Guild of America.

Images for kids

• 

  The fishing village of Menemsha, Martha's Vineyard, was the primary location.

• 

  The mechanical shark, attached to the tower

See also

In Spanish: Tiburón (película) para niños