2025 marks the 50 year anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. It was the director’s first commercial film and would end up changing cinema. You might be familiar with the term “New Hollywood”. It’s a term thrown around to talk about the up-and-coming filmmakers of the 1960s and early 1970s. Jaws might just be the culmination of that movement. It’s the film that changed when and how we see movies. Jaws brought an emphasis to who was telling the story, a marriage of old tradition and new ideas, and became the blueprint for how to create a lasting impact.

“A Steven Spielberg Film”

Prior to New Hollywood, the studios consistently put out new films emphasizing star power. It’s why comedy duos like Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were making multiple films a year and every film they did was presented as “Abbott and Costello in”. Rarely were the writers and directors highlighted. (Hitchcock might be the exception.) That changed in the 1960s. Beyond the end of the Hays code and how studios changed, there was a new emphasis on directors as storytellers. All of a sudden we had Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Warren Beatty. Films began presenting as “A Film By Director”. That still persists today. (Ever heard of A Spike Lee Joint?) In fact, I’d say that a major reason many of us go to theaters is because it’s a movie by Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, or Greta Gerwig.

Despite people not knowing his name, Spielberg’s Jaws became an avenue through which people remembered who directed the film. Yes, it had stars. Richard Dreyfuss was and still is a big deal, but Spielberg is the one who became a star thanks to his 1975 feature. (Fun fact, if you look up Jaws on Google, a picture of Spielberg pops up above Sean Brody’s name, despite Spielberg not playing the character.)

Jaws as Homage

Thanks to the Hays code being done away with for good in 1968, film censorship changed and directors like De Palma and Coppola were pushing the boundaries with blood, violence, and sex. Midnight Cowboy is an X-rated 1969 film about a wanna-be male prostitute doing drugs in New York and it won Best Picture at the Oscars. That’s where we were by the early 1970s, but Spielberg wasn’t interested in pushing boundaries. He saw the appeal in what Hollywood had done. Cast a wide net and appeal to as many people as possible.

Spielberg relied on Hollywood traditions. Jaws is really a story about Martin Brody protecting his town. That is a classic Western motif. The enemy at hand is a frightening monster who goes unseen for the majority of the runtime. It’s a classic horror film. Are there women at the beach in bikinis? Sure, but they aren’t stripping down naked. Is the film scary? It can be, but it’s more about building tension than trying to scare its audience away. The stories that Quint, Brody, and Hooper tell each other feel like stories you’d hear in classic dramas like The Best Years of Our Lives. What makes Jaws feel new isn’t its story or how it’s told. Instead, it’s how it was released.

The Summer Blockbuster

Prior to the New Hollywood, movies weren’t given a wide release. Most theaters had a singular screen since the AMC-style cineplex had yet to be built. Instead of a movie starting its run on a singular date at as many theaters as possible, movies would begin small and expand if there was demand. Some films even went on tour, playing in certain theaters on certain dates. The advertising for Jaws was so popular that it was opened in as many theaters as possible and would become the first “summer blockbuster”. A box office smash, Jaws is seen as one of two films (the other is Star Wars) that changed how films were seen and what types of movies Hollywood was going to greenlight.

While New Hollywood began with films that were gritty and realistic, (Bonnie and Clyde or The French Connection) what became of Hollywood by the end of the 1970s was high-concept, big-budget films. Jaws and Star Wars would prove that people were interested in big, bombastic stories that were thrilling. It’s why the major films of the 1980s feel less personal and more like a flying DeLorean on its way to fight The Terminator with Tom Cruise flying a plane right behind it.

Why You Should Watch Jaws

Jaws will always be remembered as the first blockbuster movie for both the good and bad qualities that came with it. Merchandising, copycat films, an emphasis on action rather than story, etc… For better or worse, Jaws changed American cinema. 50 years later, we are still seeing its impact. 

The summer months are filled with thrilling action movies appealing to wide audiences. It’s not difficult to spot the toys and tee-shirts made to garner extra cash from a film’s success. (Do you want new Jaws merch?) After the success of Home Alone in the 90s, we saw a ton of “kids outsmarting adults with traps” movies. Marvel’s superhero movies just won’t end and there are several other companies trying to make superhero films to compete.

Spielberg went on to create other films and changed cinema in a variety of ways, but nothing will be bigger than the impact Jaws had and 50 years later, it still might be one of Spielberg’s best films. For just over 2 hours, it’s a sensational film that’s full of heart, scares, and thrills. That’s why you should still watch Jaws.

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