When thinking of the name Steven Spielberg, among the titles of his filmography that immediately come to mind there can only be “Jaws”. The 1975 masterpiece, based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, is still a pillar in the history of the seventh art: with its debut it marked the beginning of the New Hollywood and gave birth to the era of the summer blockbuster. In addition to this, the film is remembered as the first big-budget production shot on the open sea, as well as for having innovated the cinematic language in the way of telling tension, thanks to the see-through effect of the editing and the suggestions of the unforgettable soundtrack composed by John Williams.

Remembered as the highest-grossing film of all time before the release of “Star Wars,” “Jaws” was met with surprising critical acclaim, winning Academy Awards for Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Original Score. To this day, the film holds a prominent place on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest American films of all time, and is regularly studied and analyzed by generations of aspiring filmmakers for its profound historical and cultural impact.

Last April, the film officially celebrated its 50th anniversary. For the occasion, Empire Magazine decided to pay homage to it with two special covers and a series of exceptional contributions. To clearly describe its importance, director Leigh Whannell - an expert in the horror-thriller genre, as demonstrated by his “The Invisible Man” and “Wolf Man” - declared: “Jaws is a B-movie made with an A-level technical level. It should not have been so successful”.

On the anniversary, Steven Spielberg gave an interview for a documentary produced by National Geographic, in which he revealed numerous behind-the-scenes details related to the film. The director first admitted that he was very disappointed at the time for not receiving an Oscar nomination for best film, considering the effort and stress invested in bringing the project to life: "When a film is in the running for awards, it's not so much what you want, but what everyone says is going to happen for you. So I just thought: well, I guess I'll be nominated! When I wasn't, I was surprised. And disappointed. Because I was believing the hype, and instead you shouldn't do it."

What many may not know is that the making of “Jaws” was a real undertaking, both for Spielberg and the crew: from the shooting, which lasted from 55 to 159 days, to the production costs, which tripled compared to the initial budget. On this point, he explained: “In most cases, Summer on the Vineyard is a dream. But when you go over budget and over schedule and when you are overwhelmed by events, that summer of 1974 was a nightmare before it was a lifelong dream.”

Speaking further about the content of National Geographic’s “Jaws@50: The Definitive Inside Story,” during a video conference call with a Martha’s Vineyard audience for the documentary’s world premiere, Spielberg added: “It details how young and unprepared we all were for the challenges of filming in the Atlantic Ocean with a mechanical shark who was more temperamental than any movie star I’ve worked with since, and how, because we went over budget and on schedule, I truly believed that Jaws would be the last film I would ever direct.”

What saved his future as a filmmaker was the extraordinary reception from the world audience, along with the famous notes by John Williams, still today a universal symbol of horror and growing tension: “Fifty years after its release, the making of Jaws remains a fundamental experience for each of us, and five decades have not dimmed the memories of what remains one of the most overwhelming, thrilling, terrifying and rewarding experiences of my entire career”.

John Scanu

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