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1[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jaws_1975_film_poster.jpeg]]
2[[caption-width-right:320: [[AdaptationDisplacement Wait, it was a book?]]]]
3
4->''"There is a creature alive today that has survived millions of years of evolution, without change, without passion, and without logic. It lives to kill; a mindless, eating machine. It will attack and devour anything. It is as if God created the devil and gave him.. [[TitleDrop jaws]]."''
5-->-- '''From the trailer'''
6
7Released in June 1975, ''Jaws'' was Hollywood's [[TropeMaker first]] SummerBlockbuster, soon to be [[TropeCodifier codified]] by ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', and a launchpad for the career of its director, Creator/StevenSpielberg. Along with ''Film/Godzilla1954'' and ''Film/KingKong1933'', it also served as a key inspiration for [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant animal rampage movies]].
8
9When a giant [[ThreateningShark great white shark]] starts attacking swimmers near the New England resort community of Amity Island, the town mayor tries to keep things quiet rather than risk frightening tourists away at the height of the busy summer season. But police chief Martin Brody (Creator/RoyScheider) investigates anyway, eventually gaining the support of two other men: Matt Hooper (Creator/RichardDreyfuss), a marine biologist, and Quint (Creator/RobertShaw), a professional shark hunter.
10
11As the level of terror in the tourist-economy town of Amity – and in the audience – gradually grows to a fever pitch, the shark continues with its attacks, leading Brody, Hooper and Quint to spend the last third of the film completely isolated at sea, hunting the monstrous creature.
12
13The film was [[TheFilmOfTheBook adapted]] from the [[Literature/{{Jaws}} 1974 novel of the same name]] by Creator/PeterBenchley, which it has [[AdaptationDisplacement dwarfed astronomically in terms of public recognition]]. The novel was inspired partly by real shark attacks and partly by ''Literature/MobyDick'', with Quint's dogged pursuit of the shark sharing [[MobySchtick many similarities]] with Captain Ahab's hunt of the great white whale.
14
15''Jaws'' had such a profound impact on the public that beach attendance dropped sharply the summer it was released – it has been said that it filled the cinemas and emptied the beaches.
16
17The film was followed by three sequels:
18
19* ''Film/Jaws2'' (1978)
20* ''Film/Jaws3D'' (1983)
21* ''Film/JawsTheRevenge'' (1987)
22
23It also spawned plenty of merchandise, including trading cards, toys, and four {{licensed game}}s; ''VideoGame/{{Jaws}}'' for the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, ''Jaws: The Computer Game'' for Platform/{{Commodore 64}}, ''VideoGame/JawsUnleashed'' for Platform/PlayStation2 and Platform/{{Xbox}}, and ''Jaws: Ultimate Predator'' for Platform/{{Wii}} and Platform/Nintendo3DS. The Ride/UniversalStudios Theme Parks also had many ''Ride/{{Jaws}}''-inspired rides (though the one in Orlando was deactivated to expand the ''Film/HarryPotter'' area). A [[https://deadline.com/2022/03/jaws-musical-bruce-jarrod-spector-seattle-rep-theater-1234983246/ musical based around the making of the film]], titled ''Bruce'' is also in the works.
24
25Although Scheider, Shaw, and Dreyfuss got top billing, the true star of the movie was a mechanical shark [[ProductionNickname nicknamed Bruce]] ([[IAmNotShazam not Jaws!]]).
26
27----
28!!You're gonna need a bigger trope list:
29
30* AbortedArc: Hooper goes to a lot of trouble to attach a hi-tech beeping device with a blinking light to one of Quint's barrels. Presumably it is some kind of TrackingDevice, but this is never stated on camera. The device is briefly seen again when the shark attacks the ''Orca'' that evening, but otherwise plays no part in the rest of the plot.
31* AchievementsInIgnorance: Two brainless yahoos with a tire and a bit of raw beef manage to hook the shark fishing off the dock, something that a whole posse of fishermen couldn't manage and which even Quint took a long time to do. It didn't do them much good, though, since the shark just pulls down the dock and keeps swimming.
32* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene:
33** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nrvMNf-HEg Quint's legendary monologue]] on the sinking of the USS ''Indianapolis''. Robert Shaw, an accomplished writer himself, made major contributions to the script for that scene. He believed there should be some explanation for his character's antipathy towards sharks. In RealLife, however, more of the sailors on the ''Indianapolis'' died from exposure, dehydration, and wounds suffered in the sinking than from sharks.
34** The scene where Mrs. Kitner confronts Sheriff Brody when the townspeople catch [[RedHerring a shark they think is responsible]]. She slaps Brody, accusing him of indirectly letting her son die by letting the beaches stay open after the first attack. It's what leads Brody into his drinking binge during the middle part of the film, and explains why he tags along with Quint and Hooper to catch/kill the killer shark during the final act.
35* ActuallyIAmHim: Hooper initially goes to Brody in search of the police chief. After a bit of conversation, Brody reveals that he's who Hooper's looking for.
36* AdaptationDistillation:
37** Very much so. It streamlined the plot but remained fairly faithful (for example, in the movie, the ''Orca'' goes out and stays out until the end, while in the book, they make several trips out, returning at the end of each day -- each film encounter with the shark roughly corresponds to a single book encounter, with the ''Orca'' returning to port after losing track of the shark).
38** Another good use of this trope is the elimination of the novel's distracting sub-plots, including one revolving around Brody's wife Ellen having an affair with Hooper and another about Amity's mayor being involved with the Mafia.
39** The film's climax is much more dramatic than the novel's. In the novel, [[spoiler:Hooper gets killed in the shark cage, while Quint merely drowns and the shark bleeds to death]]. In the movie, [[spoiler:Hooper narrowly [[SparedByTheAdaptation escapes getting eaten in the cage]], Quint gets EatenAlive, and the shark is blown to smithereens when Brody shoots the tank in its mouth.]]
40** A very minor one is Quint's "fee." In the movie he demands a $10,000 bounty, whereas in the novel, he just asks for double his daily charter rate, around $400.
41* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: In the novel, the Mayor Vaughn's main reason for keeping the beaches open was his ties to TheMafia, who owned real estate in Amity Island. This subplot was deemed unnecessary for the film and it was dropped, leaving concern for the town's livelihood as his motivation.
42* AdaptationNameChange: Chief Brody's son is named Martin Brody Jr. in the novel, but is called Michael in the film, possibly due to the OneSteveLimit.
43* AdaptationalLocationChange: The original novel locates Amity Island off the coast of Long Island, New York, sharing its name with the Long Island resort town Amityville.[[note]]Which would become associated with another [[Franchise/{{Amityville}} horror franchise]] a few years later.[[/note]] The movie, however, was shot in and near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and thus Amity comes to have a vague New England setting (with stress placed on the New Yorker Brody's outsider status).
44* AdaptationalSympathy: Invoked, as Steven Spielberg has said he found the novel's ostensible heroes so unlikable, he actually wanted the ''shark'' to win.
45** Hooper, who is an arrogant {{Jerkass}} in the novel who likes to flaunt his family's wealth and social status and has a sleazy affair with Brody's wife. In the movie, Hooper is [[AdaptationalNiceGuy much more sympathetic]] and [[SparedByTheAdaptation allowed to survive in the end]].
46** Quint, who gets an expanded backstory and deeper motivations for his actions, chiefly the fact that he was a survivor of the USS ''Indianapolis''. Beyond that, he's more likable and charismatic, and though tense throughout the hunt for the shark, he grows to respect both Brody and Hooper.
47** The adulterous Mrs. Brody herself is a perfectly decent and loving wife and mother in the movie.
48** Mayor Vaughn owes money to TheMafia in the novel, which accounts for his refusal to deal with the shark preying on tourists, but in the movie his motive for refusing to shut down the beaches is mostly due to genuine concern about the town's livelihood and a sincere belief that the shark threat is overblown.
49** Way before suspecting about Hooper and Mrs. Brody having a fling, Brody dislikes Hooper and resents his expertise as a challenge undermining Brody's authority as sheriff. Both men make genuine efforts to put aside their differences and work together to bring down the shark but the antipathy towards each other is always present in the book. In the film however, Brody is grateful to have Hooper around as reinforcement and advise to his own efforts to solve the shark problem.
50* AdaptationalVillainy: Played with. In the novel, local newspaper editor Harry Meadows is friends with Brody and offers him support. [[spoiler: The night before he goes after the shark with Quint and Hooper, the novel version of Meadows actually pens a column condemning the actions of the town leaders while offering support of Brody, stating that Brody has been trying to act in the best interests of the town from the start, and had been overruled, and singles out the fact that he's going out on Quint's boat and risking his life to try and kill the shark, even though it's not his responsibility.]] But the film version of Meadows, as played by Carl Gottlieb, isn't friends with Brody and is fully-aligned with Mayor Vaughn's insistence that the threat of a shark be downplayed, and that it be said the attack was from a barracuda instead of a shark.
51** Also played with, [[spoiler: with Quint. Specifically, Quint's actions in destroying the radio and eventually burning out the motor and leaving them all stranded and at the mercy of the shark. The novel version of Quint has no traumatic PTSD that is shared, and remains professional throughout the hunt, having no problem returning to the dock each day. The film version of Quint takes the hunt extremely personally, leading to bad decisions that force them into a confrontation, where as the novel Quint is only in it for the money.]]
52* AdaptedOut: In the novel, the Brodys have a third son, Billy.
53* AdmiringTheAbomination:
54** Matt Hooper is a more sympathetic example than some. A shark researcher from the oceanographic institute, he knows a lot about sharks and has been fascinated by them since a juvenile thresher destroyed his boat during childhood. He does not try to "protect" the shark, however, recognizing it's a major threat and someone has to exterminate it. It doesn't keep him from experiencing awe about it, though.
55--->'''Hooper:''' ...What we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution.
56** And this shark itself is specifically marveled at by both Hooper and Quint as being a truly unique specimen, with both of them admiring its tenacity, intelligence, and unpredictability. [[BiggerIsBetter And size.]] The first time they (and the audience) get a really good look at the shark, Hooper is snapping pictures and calling it "beautiful."
57* AnAesop:
58** There's a message when it comes to overcoming fear. No matter how terrifying or unstoppable a monster is, you must not lose your nerve because courage can prevail in the end. And if you don't confront your worst fears all you are doing is avoiding the problem... "Until it swims up to bite you in the ass."
59** There is also a somewhat easy-to-miss Aesop about the need to collaborate and trust others instead of acting like your way of thinking is inherently better or smarter than someone else's.
60* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:When the shark, who was only driven by the instinct to eat, is finally blown up to pieces, strangely sad piano music from the soundtrack is playing in the background while the shark's corpse is slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea.]]
61* AmbiguousSyntax: Quint, during his ''Indianapolis'' speech, tells Hooper and Brody that he was the most frightened when a PBY started to pick up the survivors, stating that he was waiting for his turn. It's left deliberately ambiguous if he was referring to rescue or death by shark attack with that last statement.
62* AnimalsNotToScale: Quint estimates the shark to be twenty-five feet long and three tons, which would make it bigger than any of the largest reliably recorded great whites ever (which were around twenty feet and two tons) and equal to the largest unreliably reported great white sharks. He also refers to it as male, but [[AnimalGenderBender only female Great Whites are known to reach 20+ feet long]]. Males run 16-18 feet.
63* ArgumentOfContradictions:
64** After Hooper notes that the shark that was caught was too small to be the killer, he decides to take a boat out and look for proof that the shark is still at large. Brody, who hates water, protests that the wine he's drunk hasn't made him intoxicated enough to handle venturing onto a boat. He and Hooper get into a brief argument about it, consisting mostly of "yes" and "no". Hooper eventually wins.
65** Played with in a later interaction, when Hooper playfully argues with Brody that it doesn't make sense for a man who hates the water to live on an island, only for Brody to playfully, (and drunkenly,) counter that it's only an island if it's looked at while being in the water.
66* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Quint's speech about the ordeal of the USS ''Indianapolis'' crew contains some of it. Possibly justified since Quint, as a common sailor, could have [[LockedOutOfTheLoop no admission to some details]] regarding their mission, which were obscure in 1975, but are easily accessible today.
67** He says that they delivered "Little Boy" atomic bomb (which was later used to nuke Hiroshima) to Tinian island. In reality, USS ''Indianapolis'' delivered nuclear components to both "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" bombs, but none of them in whole.
68** He claims that their mission was "so secret" that no distress call was dispatched when they were sunk and they were not declared overdue for a week. Actually, declassified documents prove that not only the distress call ''was'' sent, but it was even picked up three times by other American units. However, it was deemed as a Japanese hoax and thus completely ignored, partly due to the secret nature of the ship's mission which created confusion. The fact that nobody noticed that ''Indianapolis'' did not reach her port of destination in the scheduled time also had more to do with ordinary neglect and bureaucratic chaos, rather than the secrecy of her mission.
69** Quint declared that "eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, and the sharks took the rest". In reality, most of the ''Indianapolis'' crew died due to dehydration, exposure, and wounds they already suffered at the time of the ship's sinking. The share of sharks in the overall death toll was exaggerated over decades, adding to their unfounded notoriety (and the movie -- and Quint's speech -- certainly did not help). Although it is vague enough to imply that the sharks feasted on the already dead sailors too, which did happen.
70** He also uses the wrong date, claiming the incident occurred on the 29th of June when it was actually the 30th of July. Getting the day wrong might be justified by the fact that it was literally minutes after midnight (as in, it might have been the 29th the last time he checked before the sinking) but getting the ''month'' wrong is a fairly glaring error - though one could perhaps chalk these errors up to the character being drunk enough at the time.
71* ArtisticLicenseMarineBiology: Suffice to say this movie gets quite a bit about Great White sharks wrong. Author Peter Benchley would admit that at the time of writing the source material, he knew absolutely nothing about sharks.
72** Sharks do not usually attack you unless you provoke them or they can smell your blood in the water. But they will be more likely to attack you if you look like a seal or a turtle (this may be a case of Science Marches On, since sharks seem to act the same way towards their natural prey), which the little kids just happen to look like, but they (usually) won't eat you whole -- so that's a relief. Although, it's easy enough to HandWave that this is just a particularly vicious and man-eating shark, which if nothing else is certainly ''bigger'' than the average Great White. It's rare for sharks to attack humans and rarer for them to actually ''target'' humans... but that doesn't mean it's impossible, or unheard of. [[note]] Like in 2010, when the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheik experienced killer shark attacks, they hunted who they thought was the killer shark, declared the beaches safe... only for the shark to ''attack again''.[[/note]]
73** Nearly all attacks in this and subsequent films have a human being grabbed and jerked straight down into the water by the unseen shark who attacks from the bottom. The problem is that sharks can't do this; sharks can't swim backward, making it impossible for them to come up, grab hold of a swimmer's leg, and then drag them straight down. A true shark attack would see the victim bit and dragged sideways or launched into the air by a polaris breach.
74** The shark is said to be 25 feet in length. Great Whites don't grow more than 20 feet, and even that is extremely rare (10-17 feet is the average for a full-grown specimen). Although it's noted to be an unusually massive (and violent) shark, so it appears to be an aberration InUniverse.
75** During the ''Indianapolis'' speech, Quint mentions that a shark rolls its eyes into its head when it bites. This is true, but at no point is the shark shown doing this.
76** The shark can be heard growling, particularly when the barrels are tied to the stern. This is impossible, as sharks don't have vocal cords.
77* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: While talking on the radio with Mrs. Brody, Quint (a former U.S. Navy sailor) ends the call by saying "over and out". "Over" and "Out" are never used at the same time; "Over" expects an immediate response, and "Out" marks the end of a transmission with no answer required.
78* ArtisticLicenseMusic: In a deleted scene, Quint goes to a music store to buy piano wire for his fishing. The clerk is shown getting a reed for a boy with a clarinet, saying that the #3 reed should be softer than the #2. Reeds actually increase in hardness from 1 to 5.
79* ArtisticLicensePhysics: As proven when ''[[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters MythBusters]]'' tested it, shooting a compressed oxygen tank won't cause it to explode like a bomb. Rather, it would turn into something like a rocket as the air is forced out the bullet hole. It would still almost certainly kill the shark, though, so long as the canister rocketed through the shark's body.
80* AsideGlance: After the first chase when the shark has submerged and disappeared, Hooper gives the camera a very annoyed glare.
81* AttackOfTheTownFestival: While it wasn't a festival, the town officials tried to deny that there was a shark near the town, as closing the beach would ruin the town's tourist business over the Fourth of July weekend.
82* BarrierBustingBlow: After [[spoiler:Quint is eaten]], the lone Brody ducks into the cabin of the sinking ''Orca'' to regroup. The shark suddenly bursts through the wall face first, biting away, hoping to catch the chief within its jaws. [[spoiler:It's this moment where Brody gets the plan to finish the shark and forces the compressed air tank into its mouth.]]
83* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: "I'll never wear a life jacket again." So says Quint, who would rather drown than be eaten by a shark. [[spoiler:He doesn't get a choice.]]
84* BitchSlap: The grieving Mrs. Kintner gives Brody a stinging slap when she learns that the beaches were left open despite the authorities knowing there was a man-eating shark in the area, resulting in her son's death. Even though Brody had actually been overruled by his superiors, he says nothing and accepts the blame.
85* BittersweetEnding: The shark is killed, but a bunch of people have been eaten by the shark, a child included, and due to the shark attacking out in the open during a profitable day, the town is basically doomed to going on welfare since it scared away the customers needed for the money.
86* BlatantLies: Mrs. Brody calls to check in with her husband right as the trio has seen the shark for the first time. Brody and Hooper are distracted as it circles the boat, so Quint picks up the radio and rattles off a made-up story completely contrary to what's going on, without even bothering to deviate in tone or try to sound like he's telling the truth.
87-->'''Quint:''' Your husband's all right, Mrs. Brody. He's fishin'. He's just caught a couple of stripers. We'll bring `em home for dinner, we won't be long, we ain't see anything yet, over and out!
88* BloodFromTheMouth: [[spoiler:Quint]] as he's being chowed down on.
89* BloodIsSquickerInWater: It helps the movie barely uses any red - the color mostly appears in the background, in clothing, American flags, and upholstery, among other things - so the crimson sea becomes even more disgusting/scary. This was a deliberate choice on Spielberg's part; he insisted on avoiding anything red in the costumes and scenery so that the sight of blood would be more of a shock to the audience.
90* {{Bowdlerization}}: The closed captions render Quint singing "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, 15 men on a dead man's chest"; his actual words are "15 men on a dead woman's bum" (slang for "butt").
91* BriefAccentImitation: Brody's first scene has his wife encourage him to talk more like the locals. He busts out "They're out in the yahd, not too fah from the cah," and she replies that he sounds like a New Yorker.
92* BurningTheShips: In the climax, Quint destroys the radio when Brody tries to call for help, and later appears to deliberately burn out his engine so they can't escape their final confrontation with the shark.
93* CasualDangerDialogue: Quint doesn't even bat an eye when the shark attacks the boat the first time and it knocks a lantern over on the deck. Although, it appears that Quint may have knocked the lantern over himself, to distract Brody from trying the radio again to call for help.
94-->'''Quint:''' Chief, put out the fire, will ya?
95* ChekhovsGun
96** Brody's accident with the scuba tank early on at sea. One loose tank ends up being responsible for both [[spoiler: Quint's and the shark's]] demise.
97** Quint shooting at the shark with a rifle that Brody uses later.
98** Bit of a subversion/bait and switch example: the camera lingers on the machete Quint buries in to the Orca's rail after the cleats are pulled off. It is there for him to grab during his desperate struggle later (and he gets in a few stabs) but it really doesn't affect the outcome in the slightest.
99** Subverted: A big deal is made out of Hooper delaying tying up the first barrel while he attaches a blinking homing beacon thing. The audience could expect it to play some role in tracking the shark, but it's seemingly forgotten even by Hooper. (All three men getting drunk might have something to do with it.)
100* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: The local authorities try to write the death that opens the movie as a "probable boating accident" instead of a shark attack. Hooper is furious when he has a chance to examine the body, as (to him) the signs of a shark attack seem obvious.
101* CreatorCameo:
102** Peter Benchley playing a reporter.
103--->"In recent days, a cloud has appeared on the horizon of this beautiful resort community -- a cloud in the shape of a killer shark."
104** Steven Spielberg is also the voice on the radio asking for an update.
105** Screenwriter Creator/CarlGottlieb appears as newspaper editor Harry Meadows, who assures Brody that there never have been shark problems in local waters.
106* CrisisCatchAndCarry: On the Fourth of July, Chief Brody's son Michael and his friends are boating in the estuary when the shark attacks. Michael goes into shock and his friends have to pull him out of the water.
107* CrowdPanic: On the Fourth of July, this happens with both the fake one and the real one. In the case of the latter, everyone gathers on the docks to watch as the shark kills and eats a boater, with children in the water.
108* CryingWolf: Subverted. [[spoiler: After the first sighting of the "shark" in the water during the Fourth of July turns out to be two kids with a cardboard fin, when another person starts screaming she saw the shark head into the estuary, Brody's initial reaction is this. It's only after Ellen reminds him Michael is in the estuary that he starts moving, and as more and more beachgoers seemingly confirm the sighting, he's in an all out sprint with a large number of beachgoers trailing him to save his son.]]
109* CurseCutShort:
110** "Smile, you son of a ''[rifle firing]''" ''[BLAM!]'' Only in the 5.1 and Atmos remixes though. The original mono mix has "bitch" intact and still audible over the sound of the rifleshot.
111** Network TV airings edited Brody's "Come down here and chum some of this shit!" by having the sound of the shark surfacing drown out the last word.
112* TheDayTheMusicLied: A pair of locals, Charlie and Dernherder, very unwisely try to catch the gigantic killer shark by fishing off the dock with a pot roast. They actually succeed...only for the shark to yank the dock loose and pull part of it out to sea with Charlie on it. When he tries to swim back, the shark goes after him. After a few very tense moments, [[ThemeMusicPowerUp punctuated by the infamous theme]], Charlie manages to get back to safety.
113* DeadHandShot: All we can see of Chrissie's remains is her hand.
114* DeathOfAChild: A little boy and an apparently young dog, too. To top it off, the incidents in question happen within seconds of each other.
115* DeathlyDiesIrae: The iconic ThreateningShark motif sometimes gains an additional note to become "dies irae," prominently heard in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqr6GzgmvNU The Pier Incident]], usually when the shark is closing in on its intended victims. Death is coming.
116* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: While Spielberg read the book, he found the characters so annoying that he started rooting for the shark. So in the movie, he cut some subplots and developed the main characters better so it would not fit this trope.
117* DiagonalBilling: For Scheider, Shaw, and Dreyfuss.
118* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the novel, Quint drowns and the shark bleeds to death. Neither of these were deemed satisfactory enough for a film, so [[spoiler:Quint gets eaten by the shark, which is blown to pieces by Brody.]]
119* DirtyCoward: During the false alarm preceding the attack in the estuary, a man pushes ''two little children'' off their air mattress, and then ''proceeds to climb onto it to save his own ass.''
120* DiscreetDrinkDisposal: Brody does not enjoy Quint's home brew.
121* DissonantSerenity:
122** Quint's ''Indianapolis'' tale of watching his Navy mates eaten by sharks is horrific enough. But the sly grin playing around his face for most of the story makes it ten times more disturbing.
123** Played for laughs a few minutes later, when the shark is attacking the boat and knocks an oil lamp to the floor, starting a fire. Brody and Hooper are rushing around frantically, while Quint says, in a ''very'' calm voice, "Chief. Put out the fire, would you?". His tone of voice is the same one you'd expect from him saying "Chief. Pour me a cup of coffee, would you?" However, Quint appears to have possibly knocked the lamp over himself, in order to distract Brody from using the radio, which may account for Quint's nonchalant attitude.
124* DoomedPredecessor: Ben Gardner is the first fisherman to set out after the shark. Soon after, Chief Brody and Dr. Hooper find Gardner's boat wrecked with several holes in it. Hooper finds a shark tooth in the wreckage, along with what little is left of Gardner himself.
125* DoubleEntendre:
126** A pretty obvious one, when Hooper is playing solitaire on the deck:
127--->'''Quint:''' Stop playin' with yourself, Hooper.
128** Quint makes an even more obvious one earlier when seeing Brody (who is wearing a poncho and galoshes at the time) before they launch hug his wife says to him "I see you got your rubbers with you" and then cackles to himself.
129* DoubleTake: Brody has one after [[spoiler:the shark breaches the water right behind him while he's slopping chum overboard]]. The shock sends him reeling upward into the dead center of the frame, his cigarette trembling in his lips.
130* TheDrunkenSailor: Quint is no stranger to a bottle, and all three lead characters get drunk one night at sea.
131* DrunkenSong: "Show Me the Way to Go Home" (which Spielberg said became the SurvivalMantra for the crew during the Troubled Production, and they cried as the scene of the three heroes singing it was shot).
132* DudeNotFunny:
133** Mrs. Taft's reaction during the town meeting when Denherder jokes if the reward money for the shark's capture comes in cash or check.
134** The mayor's reaction to the shark fin some prankster added to the "Welcome to Amity" billboard.
135** Brody has another when his deputy flippantly describes the aftermath of Denherder and Charlie's shark fishing attempt on the dock.
136* EatenAlive: While every one of the shark's victims are this, [[spoiler:Quint]] is the only one explicitly shown.
137* EmptyEyes: Quint's legendary quote about sharks' eyes.
138--> '''Quint:''' Thing about a shark is, it's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes, like a doll's eyes. It doesn't seem to be living, until it bites ya, then those black eyes roll over white, and then, ah then [[ThreateningShark you hear the high pitched screamin',]] [[BloodIsSquickerInWater the ocean turns red,]] [[EatenAlive despite all the poundin' and hollerin', they come, and rip you to pieces.]]
139* EveryScarHasAStory: Quint and Hooper show off their scars and explain how they received them. This leads to Quint telling the story of the USS ''Indianapolis''. Meanwhile, Brody surreptitiously checks his appendectomy scar, but remains quiet and sort of embarrassed, as he can't compete with the seasoned seamen. He does appear to have a few bullet-wound scars, suggesting why a New York policeman who hates being on the water might have moved to a quiet little town like Amity, but he doesn't remark on those either.
140* EyeScream: One of the most famous (postmortem) examples in film history. When Hooper is swimming through the wreckage of the fisherman's boat, he finds evidence that the shark has been there...and [[JumpScare out pops]] [[PeekABooCorpse Ben Gardner's severed head]], with one eye missing and the other floating loosely in its socket.
141* TheFilmOfTheBook: In fact, the film overshadowed the book.
142* {{Fingore}}: What leads to [[spoiler:Quint]]'s death; an oxygen tank falls on his hand, causing him to lose his grip on the now sinking ''Orca''.
143* FiveSecondForeshadowing: We see Pippet's owner calling for him, and the stick that he was tossing to him floating on the water, unretrieved. Immediately afterwards, the theme music kicks in and we get MurdererPOV as the shark swoops in on Alex Kitner.
144* ForDoomTheBellTolls: Chrissie grabs onto a buoy, causing the bell to ring--her death knell.
145* {{Foreshadowing}}:
146** In his first speech, Quint forecasts [[spoiler:his own demise.]]
147---> This shark, swallow you whole. Little shakin', little tenderizin', an' down you go.
148** Early in the film, Brody is flipping through a book about sharks. One of the pics shows a great white with an oxygen tank in its mouth. [[spoiler:That's how he kills the shark in the end.]]
149** Ellen Brody comes across an illustration of a shark attacking and damaging a small wooden boat. This foreshadows the shark attacking and damaging the ''Orca'', and later returning to finish the job.
150** We later find the remains of Ben Gardner's boat, torn to pieces, the crew all dead, and bites taken out of the boat itself. The same thing happens to the ''Orca.''
151** A lot of what Quint said foreshadows [[spoiler:his own death]]. When he sings Farewell and Adieu to You Ladies of Spain the first time, it's in response to seeing Hooper's anti-shark cage, and he ends it after the second stanza, where the lyrics mention never seeing you again. The last time Quint sees Hooper is as he's being lowered into the water in the shark cage.
152** Hooper is warned twice that his shark-proof cage is no match for this shark, first by Quint when they are preparing to leave Amity:
153--->'''Quint:''' Anti-shark cage? You go inside the cage? ''[Hooper nods]'' Cage goes in water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark? Farewell and adieu...
154** Then by Brody, right before preparing the cage:
155--->'''Brody:''' That shark will rip that cage to pieces!\
156'''Hooper:''' You got any better suggestions!?
157** When frantically telling the others to untie the roped shark from the boat's stern cleats, Quint exclaims, "He'll pull out the transom!" Soon the shark will smash the whole transom when it lunges onto the stern.
158** The film makes a point of showing how hard it is to secure the oxygen tanks, mostly due to their bulk and weight, and that they tend to shift during an unexpected movement of the ship. [[spoiler: Sure enough, during the climax the oxygen tank rolls onto Quint's hand, crushing it and forcing him to let go of his handhold at the worst possible moment.]]
159** The mayor mentions yelling "shark" on a crowded beach would just lead to a panic. He's only trying to cover up the shark attacks, but [[JerkassHasAPoint he's proven right.]] Two boys play a prank with a fake shark fin that scares everyone out of the water [[spoiler:and distracts everyone from the real shark sneaking into the estuary.]]
160* FreudianTrio: Quint is the Id, being a zealous, over-the-top and emotional ColdHam who takes charge of the situation. Hooper is the Superego, being a nerdy oceanographer who knows all the technical facts about sharks but doesn't have Quint's years of shark-hunting experience, so he and Quint butt heads frequently since Quint sees Hooper as an overly logical UpperClassTwit who's in over his head. Chief Brody is the Ego, being a cop with the least nautical experience who does what both of them tell him to do, but ultimately rises up to the situation and uses a combination of both Quint and Hooper's skillsets([[spoiler:Quint's Garand and Hooper's oxygen tank]]) to save the day.
161* AFriendInNeed: Michael's friends save him when he goes into shock after the shark eats the boater. They really are good guys.
162* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Brody hands Hooper the glass of Quint's [[GargleBlaster homebrew]], warning "Don't drink that," Hooper immediately downs it. He practically chokes his next line.
163* GargleBlaster: Quint's home brew hooch, judging from Brody's reaction to tasting it. He also warns Hooper against trying some a second later. Hooper ignores him and chokes on it.
164* GonnaNeedMoreX: Perhaps the most famous example of someone suddenly realizing they need more of something as a situation gets out of hand. When the shark surprises Brody while he's chumming, he drops this iconic quote after taking in the sheer size of the huge fish for a second:
165-->'''Brody:''' You're gonna need a bigger boat.
166* GoryDiscretionShot:
167** Hooper's narration of Chrissie's body is a classic, letting our minds do all the work as we never see the body. It also applies when Chrissie's remains are first discovered on the beach. We only see her hand with scavenging crabs at it, but what Hendricks, Cassidy, and Brody see is enough to make them all [[VomitChainReaction dry heave]]. During Hooper's autopsy he's visibly disgusted as well.
168** The actual attack on Chrissie counts. As horrific as the scene is, it takes place at dusk and is filmed entirely from above the water, sparing us from seeing any dismemberment and blood in the water.
169** A stick floating on the water, unretrieved, is the only thing that tells us of poor Pippet the dog's fate.
170* HalfEmptyTwoShot: Our first good look at the shark comes as Brody is chumming the waters behind the boat, with the shark popping up out of the water behind him.
171* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe:
172** During his recollection of events from the sinking of the USS ''Indianapolis'', Quint notes how one morning he found his friend missing everything from the waist down.
173** There isn't much left of poor Chrissie, either.
174* HarpoonGun: How else they're gonna attach those barrels on the shark?
175* HazardousWater: There's a killer shark. And the last third is in deep sea to make it more dangerous.
176* HeelRealization:
177** After being slapped by Mrs. Kintner, Brody realizes that she is right, and that he's partly responsible for her son's death after he failed to get the beaches closed.
178--->'''Mayor Vaughn:''' I'm sorry, Martin. She's wrong. \
179'''Brody:''' No, she's not .
180** Mayor Vaughn eventually has one when he realizes that he endangered his own kids by insisting that the beaches stay open.
181* HeroicBystander: The actions of numerous ordinary people who keep their heads and courage during a crisis prevent the shark from adding additional people to its death toll.
182** During the second shark attack, all of the parents start pulling their kids and any other swimmers out of the water. As a result, Alex and Pippet are the only casualties.
183** The same happens when the shark attacks on the Fourth of July. One woman shouts in alarm and points at the fin heading towards in the pond, notifying Brody to act when he realizes Michael and his friends are there. One boater yells at the boys to reel in their boat, before the shark attacks him. He probably saved their lives with the warning. People get out of the water and [[CrisisCatchAndCarry drag anyone else who's in shock with them to safety]]. Brody takes charge, but it's his sons' friends who ultimately get Michael out of the water. They could have left him behind but instead got him out.
184* HollywoodDarkness:
185** Denherder's and Charlie's attempt to capture the shark.
186** Chrissie's SkinnyDipping scene during the beginning was filmed at day, and a blue filter was added to make it look like dusk.
187* HollywoodNewEngland: Changed from Long Island, New York in the novel. Location shooting was done on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
188* HopeSpot:
189** As Chrissie thrashes around, she manages to grab onto a buoy. Judging from her evident relief, the shark apparently lets go of her at this point -- only to immediately grab hold of her again and finish her off.
190** During Quint's ''Indianapolis'' speech, he mentions being the most frightened when the survivors started getting picked up.
191** When they have the shark snagged with two barrels and are dragging it back to shore, it looks as if they have the upper hand... until the shark starts pulling loose the railing the lines are tied to.
192* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: ''Jaws'' is set around the Fourth of July. It actually becomes a plot point because the town council refuse to close the beaches after the first attack because of the revenue generated by summer tourists, leading to further deaths and the hunt for the shark.
193* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: Provides a perfect example as Brody, Hooper and Quint set out together to hunt down the killer shark...only for the tables to turn when they don't have the means to beat this shark that defies everything they throw at it as it changes the hunt into a quest to survive.
194* ImprobableAimingSkills: [[invoked]] Initially averted when Brody tries to shoot the shark with his service revolver in a genuinely realistic depiction of just how hard it is to hit a moving target with a handgun, and one he can't see or hit properly due to being mostly underwater at that, but later played straight when he hits the gas canister in the shark's mouth from a not-inconsiderable distance. Arguably, an easier shot due to him using a rifle this time, but [[WordOfGod the director]] admits he [[RuleOfCool wasn't exactly aiming for realism]] with this one. Although, to be fair, in the latter case it ''did'' take him 6 shots to hit the scuba tank. Plus, the shark was coming straight at him, and getting closer all the time.
195* InCameraEffects: The [[VertigoEffect Tracking Zoom]] is made by having a camera on a dolly zoom in while the dolly moves away. The subject, Sheriff Brody's face, stays in the same place but the perspective of everything around it changes, generating a distorting zoom-in.
196* InconvenientlyVanishingExoneratingEvidence: When Ben Gardener's head pops out of the wreckage, Hooper accidentally drops the shark tooth that would have proven the existence of the Great White to the mayor.
197* IndignantSlap: Mrs. Kintner famously delivers one to Sheriff Brody upon learning that he kept the beaches open after discovering that a young woman had already been killed in a shark attack, leading to her son Alex's death.
198-->'''Mrs. Kintner:''' "I just found out, that a girl got killed here last week, and you knew it! You knew there was a shark out there! You knew it was dangerous! But you let people go swimming anyway? You knew all those things! But still my boy is dead now. And there's nothing you can do about it. My boy is dead. I wanted you to know that."
199* InstantWinCondition: Part of the suspense during the final duel between the shark and [[spoiler:Brody]] is that it's an automatic win for the shark as soon as [[spoiler:the ''Orca'' completely sinks; Brody nails the shot on the scuba tank just in time]].
200* {{Irony}}: After the shark leaps onto the stern of the ''Orca'', [[spoiler:Quint loses his grip and slides to his death]] when a scuba tank rolls onto his hand. The same scuba tank that Brody then uses to kill the shark.
201* IronicName: Quint's boat is named the ''Orca'', after the species of whale known for being the only real predator of great whites, yet this particular great white ends up being too much for the boat and sinks it.
202* JawsFirstPersonPerspective: The TropeNamer.
203* {{Jerkass}}: The ones in charge of Amity come across as such. Mayor Vaughn and the local business owners especially, they are clearly more concerned about loosing money/business than people's lives and they attempt to ignore and cover up the attacks rather than risk bad publicity.
204* JumpScare: Spielberg already had one when the shark suddenly appears behind Brody, and he decided to add another when Hooper finds Ben Gardner's body. It worked so much the original had less of an impact.
205* KillTheLights: During the shark's night time attack on the boat the power supply goes off, leaving the crew in darkness.
206-->'''Hooper:''' ''He ate the light.''
207* {{Leitmotif}}:
208** The Shark Theme... ''[[HellIsThatNoise Dun dun, dun dun]]''...
209** In the extras on the DVD, Spielberg talks about getting an excited call from Music/JohnWilliams, wanting to demonstrate said Leitmotif. Cue John Williams playing that incredibly basic two-note ''dun dun... dun dun...'' on his piano. The director remarks wryly, "Johnny always had a great sense of humor. I thought he was joking." It apparently took some time before it really sank in that yes, just those two notes would do it.
210** Quint sings "Ladies of Spain", and the tune repeats in the background as his stubborn insanity drives them further into peril. The first two times Quint sings it are after talking about shark attacks (mocking Hooper about the cage and the story about the ''Indianapolis''). The third time he sings it is as he speeds the boat to shore in a desperate attempt to drown the shark, knowing that the engine will most likely burn out before that and leave them stranded and helpless on a sinking boat. It is heard a fourth time, incorporated into the soundtrack, played after the ''Orca'' is immobilized and Quint goes below to inspect the damage. It ends on a sour note when his eyes rest on a pair of soaked life preservers hanging on their hooks.
211* LetsGetDangerous: Hooper spends most of his time on the ''Orca'' dealing with Quint's abuse, driving the ship, and trying to study the shark in between tying knots and playing Solitaire. But when the chips are down and his poison injector appears to be their only remaining option, he immediately acquiesces to going down into the cage, even though Brody insists the shark will tear it to pieces.
212-->'''Hooper:''' You got any better suggestions!?
213* LookingAMiffedAnimalInTheMouth: The famous scene where a bored, mildly annoyed Chief Brody is tossing chum into the ocean, only for the shark to leap up from the water, mouth open.
214* MeaningfulName:
215** Quint's vessel, the ''Orca''. Orcas, a.k.a. killer whales, are the only natural predators of great white sharks in the wild, and substantial documentary evidence can confirm that orcas occasionally go shark hunting themselves. And they do it in packs, just like the three humans on Quint's boat.
216** Quint is [[spoiler:the shark's fifth victim]].
217* MobySchtick: Of course, with Quint as an Ahab stand-in, though less so than his book counterpart.
218* MoodWhiplash: Between comedy and horror, done expertly.
219** Chrissie's grisly death scene is intercut with shots of the guy she was going to go skinny-dipping with acting clumsy and then falling asleep on the shore.
220** Back and forth after Quint's SuddenMorbidMonologue. To lighten the mood, Hooper starts singing "Show Me the Way to Go Home," and soon all three are in a drunken, hand-banging singalong. Then the barrel breaches the surface again, and ominous thumps start sounding in the ''Orca'' and parts of the hull start bowing in. . .
221** A classic example when we get our first good look at the shark. Brody is muttering to himself while irritably tossing chum overboard, not expecting anything to happen... then '''BAM''', there's the shark. Especially effective because every previous shark attack has been heralded by the iconic [[MusicalSpoiler theme music]], this one pops up with no warning whatsoever.
222--->'''Brody:''' ''[under his breath]'' "Slow ahead." I can go slow ahead! Come down and chum some of this shit! ''[the shark [[JumpScare suddenly appears]] over Brody's shoulder, smack dab in the middle of the frame]''
223* MusicalPastiche: "Ladies of Spain" for Quint. It's the iconic sea shanty he sings, so a little variation of it plays when he's the only one on screen.
224* MusicalSpoiler: The shark's theme (i.e. the one that got caught has no music). At times it's subverted, with the shark appearing without any musical indication.
225* NailsOnABlackboard: Quint, making his [[IncomingHam legendary entrance]]. As the townsfolk get caught up arguing with Brody's decision to close the beaches(and the mayor desperately tries to save face by claiming it's only for 24 hours), Quint draws their attention by scraping on the blackboard opposite Brody and showing off a doodle of a man-eating shark he made while obscured by the crowd. He then delivers his introductory ColdHam monologue, explaining how he's the only one who is able to kill the shark.
226* NeverMyFault: When two hoaxers with a fake shark fin are surrounded by the heavily-armed anti-shark patrol, one immediately points at the other and blubbers, "He talked me into it!"
227* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Hooper and Brody realize that ''the'' shark is still in the water, Hooper takes a protesting Brody to find it on his boat. They find the remains of Ben Gardner's fishing boat, and Brody [[StatingTheSimpleSolution points out they could just tow it in and examine it on the safety of land for proof]]. Hooper insists on diving under to find evidence of the shark; he finds a Great White tooth lodged in the remains. Unfortunately, seeing Ben Gardner's corpse makes him drop it as well as his flashlight and the Mayor is skeptical when they tell him the next day. If he had listened to Brody, the tooth would have remained in the boat[[note]]though the flow of the water could easily have knocked the tooth loose during a tow[[/note]].
228* NightSwimEqualsDeath: The SkinnyDipping in the opening scene may be the TropeCodifier. A young woman wanders away from a nighttime beach party with a boy and is taken by the shark after being [[CruelAndUnusualDeath wildly thrashed around quite a bit first]] when she decides to go swimming
229* NonIndicativeTitle: To the point that when Spielberg saw the unfinished book, he imagined if it was about dentists. Many countries went for "Shark" or some variations instead (''Tiburón'', ''Tubarão'', ''Lo Squalo'', "The White Shark" in German, "[[BreadEggsBreadedEggs The Jaws of the Shark]]" in Greek), if not a Completely Different Title: in French it's ''Les Dents de la mer'', "The Teeth of the Sea". Amusingly enough, in Finnish it's ''Tappajahai'', literally: "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Killer Shark]]".
230* NoodleIncident: It's not clear whether Brody's fear of the ocean is based on a specific incident. He brusquely responds to his wife's attempt to name his condition with "Drowning!"
231* NothingIsScarier:
232** Spielberg despised how phony the shark prop looked, so he shot it from awkward angles, beneath the water, for only moments at a time; anything to keep the audience from getting a good look at it. It also kept breaking down, which resulted in lots of shots in the movie that ''imply'' the presence of the shark, without showing so much as a fin. Spielberg later said that much of the credit for this goes to the film's editor, Verna Fields. They would fight in the editing room (Fields' pool house) over whether to use this trope (her preference) or to use a shot of the shark that Spielberg had spent a day capturing.
233** The aforementioned dog scene. We [[UncertainDoom never actually get any clarification]] over what happened to Pippet; all we see is his owner calling frantically for him and the stick he was fetching floating in the water. It's strongly implied that Pippet was an appetizer for the shark shortly before it attacked the little boy. This is especially horrifying for animal lovers.
234* NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: The town hall meeting about the shark problem quickly degrades into bickering motivated, cut short by Quint stealing the floor with his [[NailsOnABlackBoard entrance]].
235* ObscuredSpecialEffects: The mechanical shark was used sparingly, not so much because it was unconvincing, but because it was malfunctioning all the time. Therefore, Spielberg cut out the parts where the shark was constantly malfunctioning. This decision helped rack up the suspense, making the film all the more effective.
236* OffscreenVillainy: The shark attacks on Ben Gardner never appear on screen.
237* OhCrap:
238** Hooper, when he realizes his "bite radius" theory is about to get his ass kicked by the surly Amity fishermen.
239** "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
240** Hooper in the cage after the shark has slammed into it once and is coming back a second time. Despite being underwater with a respirator in his mouth, you can hear him scream in terror.
241** Quint has a mild version of this after the shark submerges with three barrels on at once, followed by a much stronger version a few hours later when he walks into his water-logged cabin and realizes that he's on a sinking boat with a burned-out engine.
242** Brody and Quint when they crank up Hooper's crushed empty shark cage. Not only are they upset by his (falsely presumed) death, they're also thinking that Hooper's poisonous "shark dart" syringe was their last plausible chance at killing the shark before the boat sinks.
243** Mayor Vaughn gets an understated one after Brody's son is endangered, being right next to the shark attack in the estuary. He points out to the Chief that "My kids were on that beach, too," then takes a long, shakey drag on his cigarette when he realizes the implications.
244** The two kids with the fake fin when they turn around to see roughly two dozen guns being aimed at them and realise how close they came to getting shot due to their little prank.
245* OneWordTitle:
246** ''Jaws''
247** In Brazil and Mexico the title is ''Shark''.
248* PartingWordsRegret:
249** The last thing that Chrissie's suitor says to her is, "I'm coming, I'm coming," being too drunk to respond to her cries for help. When he's called later to identify her body, he has a horrified, grieving expression on his face that he wasn't able to pull her out of the water.
250** Defied on the fourth of July; Sean tells Michael, his older brother, that he hates him when Michael refuses to let him come on the sailboat with his friends. Then the shark goes into the pond, where Michael gets knocked into the water. While his friends get Michael out, Sean is sobbing TearsOfRemorse on the beach.
251* PeekABooCorpse: When Hooper searches under the wrecked boat for Ben Gardner, his severed head (which is [[EyeScream missing an eye]]) [[JumpScare suddenly shows up]], terrifying the audience and Hooper, who drops the Great White tooth he was going to use as evidence in his panic.
252* PlotDrivenBreakdown: Quint has his boat on overdrive causing the engine to blow up and leaving the three main characters at the mercy of the shark on the open sea.
253* PrecisionFStrike:
254** As Brody and Hooper try to convince Mayor Vaughn of the need to close the beaches:
255--->'''Vaughn:''' I don't think that you're familiar with our problems.\
256'''Hooper:''' I think that I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore ''this'' particular problem until it swims up and ''bites you on the ass''!
257** Brody, right before we get a good look at the shark for the first time: "'Slow ahead.' I can go slow ahead. Come on down here and chum some of this shit."
258* {{Premiseville}}: Amity Island, which is peaceful and friendly enough when sharks aren't lurking.
259* PreMortemOneLiner: ''"Smile, you son of a bitch!"'' Also doubles as a literal PrecisionFStrike, as Brody fires the killing shot the moment he says "bitch".
260* TheRadioDiesFirst: Quint sabotages the radio when Brody tries to contact Amity for help.
261* RatedMForManly: Specially the third act, which is about three manly guys hunting a deadly beast, while also doing other manly things such as drinking and comparing scars.
262* RealLifeWritesThePlot:
263** The constant problems with the mechanical shark props resulted in using the barrel floats to indicate the presence of the underwater shark instead, since otherwise a lot of expensive production time would have gone to waste waiting around. As Spielberg later admitted, the "barrels=shark" gimmick actually proved more effective, since it gave the shark's appearances that much more impact, and NothingIsScarier...
264** A minor example is the town of Martha's Vineyard's constant nagging of the production company, to the point they almost weren't allowed to build the set for Quint's house. This resulted in one of his demands to Brody:
265--->'''Quint:''' And get the Mayor off my back, [[TakeThat I don't want any more of this zoning crap!]]
266* RecurringExtra: Quint is often accompanied by a silent, shorter man with a checkered jacket, orange hat and a dog on the leash, who helps load up the Orca but doesn't accompany its voyage.
267* RoomFullOfCrazy: Quint's shack is a rare heroic version: The walls are lined with [[BattleTrophy the jaws]] of the countless sharks he has killed. Doubling as a TrophyRoom, the shack displays Quint's obsessive insanity and lust for vengeance against all sharks.
268* RRatedOpening: Chrissie's skinny dipping opening. Spielberg said they barely avoided an ''X'' rated opening, since they shot her completely nude ''from below''.
269* RuleOfScary:
270** The shark does some things against the boat that would in actuality compromise itself, but the sheer shock of a 25 foot shark jumping into the back of the boat was enough to overlook that logic.
271** Richard Dreyfuss recalls that he first heard about ''Jaws'' at a party, overhearing someone (possibly Spielberg) talking about how to achieve that exact shot. He also recalls thinking something along the lines of "Good luck with that!" Spielberg has said that the last few minutes of the movie were a case of "If they've come this far with me, they'll go the last mile."
272* ScareChord:
273** A classic example. The score spikes with a horrific shriek when Hooper's flashlight picks up Ben Gardner's [[EyeScream one-eyed]] floating head.
274** And also brilliantly subverted when we get our first good view of the shark. Throughout the whole film, the audience has been conditioned to only expect a shark attack when we hear the [[MusicalSpoiler classic, ominous music.]] So when the shark appears, completely un-[[ObscuredSpecialEffects obscured]], smack dab in the middle of the frame, in road spanking daylight with [[JumpScare no warning whatsoever]], unconditioned audience members may feel the need to [[BringMyBrownPants reach for the brown trousers.]]
275* SelfPlagiarism: When the [[spoiler:shark's mangled corpse]] sinks to the seafloor, it is accompanied by the same roar featured during the destruction of the semi in Spielberg's previous movie, ''Film/{{Duel}}''.
276* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Brody snaps when Quint [[TheRadioDiesFirst destroys the radio]] before they can call for help. Smashing the baseball bat on the destroyed radio he condemns Quint for being "certifiable" rather than calling him a more common term such as "crazy" or "insane."
277* SexyDiscretionShot: Chrissie goes swimming naked, but it's hard to see the naughty bits because of how dark it is.
278* SharkFinOfDoom:
279** While the armed men are patrolling the beach watching for the shark, a fin appears in the water, and people panic and flee the water. When the men in the boats approach the fin, it turns out to be kids with a fake fin pretending to be a shark.
280** At other times in the movie, the real shark's presence is revealed by its fin appearing, such as when it attacks the boats in the estuary/pond and while Brody, Hooper and Quint are out on the ocean hunting it.
281* ShootTheFuelTank: The air tank would not blow up when shot, but Spielberg [[EnforcedTrope insisted on this]] as he felt a "big rousing ending" was necessary.
282* ShoutOut:
283** At one point, Hooper does brief [[Film/TreasureIsland1950 Robert Newton]] and Creator/WCFields imitations.
284** A subtle homage to ''Film/TheSearchers'': Deputy Hendricks digging in the sand with his knife after finding Chrissy's remains.
285** Multiple shots are very similar to ones found in ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'', such as the underwater monster viewpoint of a woman swimming on the surface of the water, as well as the fact that early on in both films we barely glimpse the monster at all.
286** "Farewell Spanish Ladies" is also sung in ''Literature/MobyDick'', just as the crew have found out that they're hunting the white whale.
287* SignatureLine: This film has at least two:
288** The oft-misquoted "You're gonna need a bigger boat..." when the shark is first visible.
289** Almost everyone knows the famous PreMortemOneLiner: "Smile, you son of a B'''[BANG]'''CH!"
290* SkewedPriorities:
291** After the Fourth of July attack, Brody sees the mayor muttering about saving August for the tourists. He calls out Vaughn for caring more about the tourist revenue than about getting rid of the shark. This backfires on Vaughn and he eventually agrees without protest to hire Quint.
292** When the shark makes its appearance near the ''Orca'', Hooper frantically yells at Brody to get closer to the bucking and exposed prow of the ship -- so that he can be used for scale in the photos of the shark that Hooper is taking. (Not surprisingly, Brody refuses once Hooper explains this.)
293* SomberBackstoryRevelation: Quint after a night of drinking together and comparing scars with Hooper, sobers everyone up quickly, by revealing to Brody and Hooper that he was a survivor of the ''U.S.S. Indianapolis'', and explaining why he hates sharks and will never again wear a life preserver.
294* SortingAlgorithmOfMortality: [[AvertedTrope Ground up and fed to the shark.]] Part of what makes the film so scary, even compared to films that have double or triple the body count, is how utterly ''merciless'' the shark's kills are not just in how many people it kills, but in ''who'' it kills. Hardened horror fans can watch this movie for the first time and be completely wrong about who's going to die and how. The very first victims are, in order, [[MenAreTheExpendableGender a beautiful lady]], [[KickTheDog a dog]], and [[DeathOfAChild a child.]] Twenty minutes into the movie, the audience knows that [[AnyoneCanDie absolutely all bets are off]] when it comes to who's going to get eaten. [[spoiler:While the hardened shark hunter [[TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled does die]], he's the very last victim, and the [[EvilMayor slimy town mayor]] survives.]]
295* SkinnyDipping: The first victim of the Shark is a woman named Chrissy Watkins who is skinny dipping. There's a boy with her who tries to follow, but he's too drunk to reach the water.
296* SoundtrackDissonance: When the shark's mangled remains sink to the bottom, the soundtrack momentarily turns from triumphant to gentle and somber, almost mournful.
297* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Matt Hooper dies in the cage in the novel; however, after one of the sharks being filmed]][[note]]unlike every other scene, parts of the underwater sequence were shot off the coast of Australia with real sharks, with a scaled-down cage and little person BodyDouble being used to make the standard-size (14 feet) shark appear abnormally large[[/note]] [[spoiler:destroyed the prop cage before that scene was to be shot, Spielberg and crew decide to use the footage and allow Hooper to live.]]
298* SpeakOfTheDevil: The Mayor, believing "it's all psychological", goes out of his way to avoid even mentioning the word "shark". He even goes so far as to tell a television interviewer that "a large predator" was killed in the area, just so people won't hear "shark".
299* StaggeredZoom: An interesting use of this trope right before Alex Kintner gets eaten. Roy Scheider is framed in a medium shot. Twice passersby obscure the camera, and each time Scheider is closer when the camera reveals him again. This is done not for any dramatic effect -- that comes with the famous VertigoEffect a couple minutes later -- but to demonstrate Martin's feeling of unease as he watches the beach.
300* StealthPun: Dressed for her son's funeral, Mrs. Kintner comes to Brody with her grievance (about how unjust it was for him to let the people swim knowing the killer shark was out there).
301* SuddenlySober:
302** Hooper, right after Quint mentions the ''Indianapolis''.
303** All three of them once they realize the shark is attacking the boat.
304* SuddenMorbidMonologue: Hooper and Quint go from laughing and comparing scars to Quint's tale about the ''Indianapolis.'' Hooper takes a second to realize that the mood has changed, and then the smile disappears from his face.
305* SummerBlockbuster: The first, with ''Film/ANewHope'' defining it two years later. Not counting for inflation, in which case it would go to ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'', ''Jaws'' was the first film to break the $100 million mark at the box office.
306* {{Tagline}}: "Don't go in the water."
307* TakeMyHand: Charlie drags Denherder from the water onto the dock this way when the shark is about to snatch the latter.
308* TakeThat: To the town of Martha's Vineyard, which, in the name of preserving its value as a tourist spot, insisted that the production not make a single change that wasn't taken down by the end of the day (for instance, the "Welcome to Amity" billboard had to be built, all the filming done, and then immediately torn down again). The producers had to put up a bond ensuring the set for Quint's house would be taken down, and furthermore get a variance because part of it would be built below the mean water line. Thus, Quint's line while haggling with Brody:
309-->'''Quint:''' And get the Mayor off my back, I don't want any more of this zoning crap!
310* TemptingFate: Complaining about a job being boring turns out to ''not'' be so boring.
311-->'''Brody:''' "Slow ahead." I can go slow ahead. Come on down here and chum some of this shit. ''[cue shark]''
312* ThoseTwoGuys:
313** Felix and Pratt, the two yo-yos who catch the tiger shark. Their actors, Henry Carreiro and Dick Young, were almost as funny as their characters; Young stated that a local reporter said to casting director Shari Rhodes that she had an Creator/AbbottAndCostello pair, and she replied, "No, I just have two Costellos."
314** Charlie and Denherder, the two men who try to catch the shark off a dock using a pot roast as bait.
315* TongueOutInsult: Hooper does this to Quint after the latter dismisses the Ph. D. candidate as a "wealthy college boy". He is smart enough to wait until Quint turns his back on him.
316* TourismDerailingEvent: The mayor of the town works hard to downplay the first shark attack, apparently strong-arming the coroner to change the cause of death to a "boating accident" and convincing the sheriff to go along. He does it because, as he explains to the sheriff, if someone yells "Barracuda!", no one will care. If someone yells "Shark!", then the beaches will be empty and the town will suffer.
317* {{Tuckerization}}: The mechanical shark used in the film was nicknamed "Bruce" after Steven Spielberg's lawyer Bruce Ramer.
318* TwoActStructure: The first half of the movie takes place on Amity Island as it's being terrorized by the shark's attacks; the second half is three characters: Brody, Hooper and Quint going out to sea to hunt the shark on Quint's boat, the "Orca".
319* VertigoEffect: Chief Brody's reaction to seeing the Kintner boy being attacked by the shark. Hitchcock might have invented it, but Spielberg's flawless use of the technique here is why everyone recognizes it today.
320* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: A series of shark attacks along the New Jersey shore in 1916 along with an anecdote to the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII wartime sinking]] of the USS ''Indianapolis''.
321* WhamLine:
322** "Michael's in the pond." Brody was prepared to ignore a woman screaming there's a shark in the pond until his wife reminds him that their son is in there. Then Brody goes OhCrap and starts running.
323** In-universe, the realization that Quint was on the Indianapolis forces Hooper to completely re-evaluate him.
324** After the shark has gone under with three barrels ([[ThisCannotBe which Quint insisted it couldn't do]]), the three men just stand about for a few moments on deck, obviously unsure what to do next. Then Quint, who has spent nearly the entire movie trash talking 'the college kid' and ignoring his advice, walks quietly over to Hooper's equipment and picks it up.
325--->'''Quint:''' Hooper, what exactly can you do with these things of yours?
326* WhamShot: The chumming scene is the first clear shot of the shark.
327-->'''Brody:''' ... you're gonna need a bigger boat.
328* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Ben Gardner has a mate with him during the shark hunting scene. It's unknown if [[spoiler:the man was aboard his ship when the shark sunk it and killed Gardner, although Brody and Hopper's claim that the shark has killed two people in a week -namely Alex and Gardner- likely means either the mate survived or they NeverFoundTheBody]].
329* WidowsWeeds: Mrs. Kitner is wearing a black veil to show she is in mourning for her son.
330* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: [[spoiler:Quint]] has the most experience hunting sharks and surviving their attacks, but he's the shark hunter who dies. [[spoiler:Hooper]], an oceanographer, is the next-most knowledgeable, and he was originally scripted to die as well.
331* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler: How the shark meets its end, with the ruptured air tank in its mouth exploding and blowing its head (and a fair amount of its upper body) apart]].
332----
333->'''Brody:''' I used to hate the water.\
334'''Hooper:''' Heh. I can't imagine why.

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