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I watched Jaws — 50 Years On, This is Why It Still Packs The Cinema
Fifty years after its release, Jaws continues to pack theaters and terrify audiences not despite its troubled production, but perhaps because of it.
“F — — the actors, save the sound department!” John R. Carter yelled, clutching his Nagra recorder above his head, as Steven Spielberg urgently called for lifeboats to rescue the actors from the rapidly sinking Orca during the chaotic filming of Jaws.
The Chaotic Birth of a Masterpiece
The production of Jaws was nothing short of a disaster in the making. What was supposed to be a straightforward 55-day shoot stretched into a grueling 159-day ordeal that pushed cast, crew, and budget to their breaking points. The mechanical sharks — nicknamed “Bruce” after Spielberg’s lawyer (The naming was partly a tongue-in-cheek joke, reflecting a common humorous Hollywood practice of giving animatronics or props personal or ironic names).
Bruce was malfunctioning constantly in the salt water, sinking, refusing to surface, or breaking down mid-take. The Orca, the film’s iconic fishing vessel, became as temperamental as its mechanical co-star, requiring constant repairs and, in one memorable instance…
