Adaptation Displacement: The novel, which was written before the film, was a colossal worldwide bestseller (approx. 20 million copies sold up to 2021), which was the primary reason why Universal was willing to greenlight the movie. Despite this, the movie is arguably much more well known through popular culture, being a unique and highly quotable colossal worldwide blockbuster.
Alternate Character Interpretation: As Quint sabotages the Orca towards the end of the novel by pushing his boat's engines to the breaking point is he doing it because his pride can't allow the shark to die from drowning in the shallow water, is he genuinely oblivious to his boat because he believes it to be unsinkable or is he actually afraid the shark is gonna kill them all making him extra anxious to get back to Amity Island? Or perhaps, some combination of the three?
Hilarious in Hindsight: The novel contains the line "In a way, sharks are like tornadoes". While this is obviously meant to compare the animal's unpredictable behaviour to a natural disaster, it's much more amusing to modern readers due to bringing to mind the infamous Sharknado franchise, which went viral in 2013 for taking the concept literally.
Romantic Plot Tumor: The illicit love affair, lasting one afternoon, between Matt Hooper and Ellen Brody. The subplot doesn't go anywhere because Hooper is killed by the shark. But beyond that, Hooper, in a fit of anger, hints that he and Ellen slept together, then lies he was with someone else when Brody moves to clean his clock. After Hooper is killed, when Brody makes it to shore, he does pick up the phone, considering calling the woman Hooper said he was with to confirm his story, but decides against it. His final thought on the matter is if something was there, it's over now.
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The protagonists are so unlikable, selfish, and hypocritical that they make the shark look decent by comparison. In fact, Steven Spielberg confessed to rooting for the shark when he read the book.
Trapped by Mountain Lions: The adultery and organized crime subplots, neither which have much bearing on the hunt after the shark.
The film:
Accidental Innuendo: Right as Chrissie is being eaten by the shark in the first scene, the guy she took with her to the deserted beach is almost passed out drunk on the sand, breathing heavily and whispering, "I'm coming... I'm coming..."
Don't go swimming at night in murky water. There are many creatures you can't see who can attack you for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, more than sharks. This is Truth in Television; people are advised to not swim at dusk, because that is when nocturnal predators come out.
What is worse, a low-funded economy or risking people's safety which will not help the economy?
The film is an excellent parable about the danger of ignoring experts in favor of monetary interests.
Adorkable: Hooper can be a smartass at times, but his enthusiasm about sharks and eagerness to prove himself to Quint makes him quite a lovable dork.
Aluminum Christmas Trees: Quint crushing his beer can doesn't look too impressive now that they're made of aluminum, and a kid can do it. But at the time, they were made of tin, and it really was quite a show of strength to crush one, which makes Hooper crushing his paper cup in retaliation so much funnier.
And You Thought It Would Fail: The film was initially picked up as a script treatment by Universal Pictures, but ran into problems almost immediately. A rookie director who only had one other feature film — that bombed in theatres — to his name was chosen to direct the film. An actor who believed he was now box-office poison because of his prior work signed up as one of the main characters. Another actor was a belligerent drunk, and he would feud constantly with the aforementioned box-office poison actor, and his drinking would ruin takes to boot. Filming ran overbudget and overtime, with executives denying funding for key reshoots (which then had to be paid out of pocket). There were accusations that the practical effects were cheap and laughable, forcing the filmmaker to improvise by keeping it offscreen for most of the runtime. Yet, contrary to Steven Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss' beliefs, Jaws became the first film to see wide-release distribution, became one of the highest-grossing films of all time, and ushered in a new wave in American filmmaking.
Steven Spielberg himself was disappointed when he wasn't nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards, as seen here. He keeps his complaining playful and lets his friends do most of it for him. Until he's then informed that the film only got four nominations, and then frankly points out that his film suffered from commercial backlash. "Everybody loves a winner, but nobody loves a WINNER".
Robert Shaw not getting a nomination for Best Supporting Actor has been known to enrage more than a few cinephiles, with many believing his portrayal should've won the award easily. That year's winner was George Burns for The Sunshine Boys, certainly a worthy winner but not as well-remembered as Shaw's performance here.
While it's overshadowed by Shaw's snub, neither Roy Scheider or Richard Dreyfuss were nominated for Best Actor despite their excellent work.
When Spielberg learned of his film's low nomination count, the first thing he asks about is whether Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb's screenplay got nominated. It wasn't.
Common Knowledge: There is a common notion that the book and film have contributed to making sharks an endangered species; instilling such fear and hate on to them by mislabeling them as vicious killing machines. This is a bit more complicated than it might seem.
That said however, whilst it can be said the film didn't start the notions, it did absolutely throw gas on the proverbial fire. Promotions for the first and second film especially propagated dispelled myths about shark behavior and promoted them as unthinking, merciless killing machines which butchered without thought to hunger. Multiple conservation groups have noted the image of sharks presented by Jaws is very much alive in the cultural zeitgeist and makes protections for endangered species much more difficult for the public.
Creepy Awesome: The shark is huge, powerful, intelligent, tenacious and even shows some sadistic qualities that separate it from actual sharks. All of these things are why it is widely regarded as a timeless villain in cinema despite it being an unspeaking animal.
Fan Nickname: Due to the first shark's Production Nickname, the later sharks are usually called "Bruce (sequel number)" or something along those lines. The baby shark in the third movie also tends to be called Bruce Jr. to distinguish it from its parent.
Fanon Discontinuity: Many fans choose to ignore some or all of the sequels due to their poor critical reception.
First Installment Wins: Not only for its own franchise, but some consider Jaws to be the only good shark movie ever made - only Open Water and The Shallows have (somewhat) gotten the same reaction (and both of which take a fairly different approach to the overall "shark attack" story). Many also consider it the best "man vs beast" movie ever.
The movie uses plenty of Artistic License to depict the shark in the interest of Rule of Scary, but it results in a highly effective horror film. The sequels, however, went overboard with this, culminating in the "shark with a vendetta" from Jaws: The Revenge that was impossible to take seriously.
Along with Star Wars, Jaws is listed as the moment that showed The Blockbuster Age of Hollywood was starting to overtake the New Hollywood. It was a far contrast to the counterculture "us vs. them \ The Man" by going with the apolitical "man vs. beast", yet pulling off the simple story with the same artistry of fellow "film school geeks" like Coppola and Bogdanovich, elevating them into classic tales that still garner the respect of those who watch them. Yet then the studios decided that they'd get quick profits with similar big budget High Concept movies, and decades later Spielberg himself was among those disillusioned with the trends that his films had kicked off.
Genius Bonus: Quint's boat is named the Orca, after the killer whale. Orca whales hunt great white sharks
Genre Turning Point: Before Jaws, wide releases were mostly for movies of questionable quality to get more money upfront before negative word of mouth ensured a downfall. High interest by theater owners made Universal try the "saturation booking" and allow hundreds of cinemas to get the movie simultaneously, opening in 400 screens. The success made that number more than double two months later. Other studios followed this for rolling out their new big releases, with the number of nationwide screens being by the thousands once the 80s arrived.
Richard Dreyfuss stated that the screams of the opening sequence were all dubbed, and they were recorded by having Spielberg dunk Susan Backlinie's head into a water bucket — that's classed as torture today.
In 2010, when the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheik experienced killer shark attacks, it used the plot of Jaws as its guide, including denying the problem, resisting closing the beaches, reluctantly closing them after a near-shore attack, killing the wrong shark and declaring it the right one despite clear evidence to the contrary, re-opening the beaches with a fanfare declaring them safe, then having more attacks take place. After that, the shark simply left on its own accord, perhaps because it knew what came next in the film.
When Quint is telling the story of how he was serving on the USS Indianapolis, he says that no distress signal was sent and that he blames the captain for what happened. However, it has been revealed that a signal WAS sent. Captain McVay was unjustly blamed and punished for the sinking of the Indianapolis by The Navy and the surviving crew members of the Indianapolis still hold him in high regard for doing whatever he could during his service.
One of the proposed introductory scenes for Quint had him laughing out loud at Moby-Dick, displeasing everyone else. The remake of Cape Fear actually featured such a scene.
One of the three-note xylophone bits from the score to Chrissie's death scene sounds an awful lot like the kind of audio-chime a laptop might play to show it's booting up a peripheral.
I Am Not Shazam: No, "Jaws" is not the name of the shark. It had no name, unless you count Bruce. On official merchandise or film articles, it is usually referred to as "The shark from Jaws" or occasionally "The Great White Menace from Jaws". Peter Benchley's name for the creature was "The Great Fish" or simply "The Fish." Averted in the 1987 NES game, which actually does call the shark "Jaws".
Jerkass Woobie: Quint might be a brash, unpleasant guy. But the monologue scene shows the reason why he's that way as going to the war, seeing your ship get sunk, and then sharks attacking the survivors would traumatize and change anyone. Making it even more traumatizing is the fact that Quint was one of those survivors and could have been killed by a shark at any time. The situation has such a profound effect on him that he bluntly tells Brody and Hooper if he's sinking in shark-infested waters, he won't wear a life jacket, so he can drown. And he makes good on his statement. When the Orca is dead in the water and foundering, he passes life jackets to Brody and Hooper, but makes no attempt to wear one himself.
Just Here for Godzilla: People often forget there's more to the first half than just a shark killing everyone.
The image of a shark's head rising from the depths has been reused many a time, notably in The Road to El Dorado.
Mentioning the Mayor keeping the Amity beaches open is often referred to in response to officials ignoring or downplaying a major disaster because of Skewed Priorities (such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which indeed involved keeping beaches open despite the danger).
When Mrs. Kintner confronts Brody and calls him out on allowing people to go to the beach despite knowing of a shark in the water. Her overenunciated delivery of the line "My boy is dead; I wanted you to know that" has induced chuckles in more than a few moviegoers.
The infamous scene where Hooper explains to some fishermen that the shark they caught is a tiger shark. The one fisherman's deadpan response "a whaaatt?" has gotten laughs out of a lot of audiences, not for the reasons intended. As Pete Davidson said: "Did Spielberg just get his uncle to do that part?"
Susan Backlinie's Chrissie only shows up for the very first scene, but her death is so horrifying it's usually the first thing that comes to mind when people mention the movie.
The movie has a wealth of these, thanks to the makers' practice of finding colorful-looking locals for background roles. For many of these, this was their only (uncredited) film role, making them "One Scene In Their Whole Career Wonders." Examples include Donald Poole (Harbormaster Frank Silva), Steven Potter (Pipit's owner), Wally Hooper ("That's Some Bad Hat" Harry), and Carla Hogendyk ("Artist," a.k.a. the girl who shouts "Shark!" when it goes into the pond).
Ms. Kintner when she slaps Chief Brody. Technically, she's in two scenes (she makes a brief appearance on the beach), but her confrontation with Brody is unforgettable.
Only the Creator Does It Right: Spielberg only directed the original movie, and the sequels are generally believed to get progressively worse.
Paranoia Fuel: Beach attendance noticeably dropped in 1975 because of this movie. Some people were even afraid of swimming pools. And ever since then, promotional materials have billed it as "The film that made you afraid of the water."
Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Hooper is a total Jerkass in the original book who sleeps with Brody's wife in a subplot that's boring and pointless. In the film, he's a much more likable, selfless, and funny character embodied by an excellent performance from Richard Dreyfuss.
Rooting for the Empire: Sometimes happens with the shark. Mostly due to Rule of Cool. The fact that humans annually kill more sharks in real life than the other way around could also have something to do with it, though this one was far more aggressive.
Sacred Cow: Good luck finding someone who thinks that this film isn't a timeless masterpiece.
Signature Line: Brody's summary of the situation after his first sight of the shark ("You're gonna need a bigger boat") is one of the film's most referenced lines and the Trope Maker (or at least one of them) for Gonna Need More X.
Signature Scene: If there is any scene that encompasses Jaws as a whole, it's the death of Chrissie in the opening scene. Nearly every poster and cover of Jaws has the shark rising beneath the unsuspected Chrissie and the scene itself is used to exemplified the Nothing Is Scarier element by film critics and scholars alike, setting the tone for the rest of the movie. Jaws parodies will always use this opening scene first before spoofing the rest of movie's other iconic scenes. It's even spoofed in one of Spielberg's later films, 1941 (1979), with the same actress, Susan Backlinie.
Special Effect Failure: Part of the reason the first film uses suspense and doesn't often show the shark is precisely because of this trope — Spielberg thought that the animatronic shark that they had was too unconvincing... That, and it kept breaking down during filming, especially when they were out on the water.
The shark's appearance in the "you're gonna need a bigger boat" scene has not aged well since the film's release. To modern audiences with any eye for visuals/art, it looks almost intolerably fake, something lampshaded as early as the eighties in Back to the Future Part II.
The scene with Hooper in the shark cage intercuts footage of a real shark (as mentioned above) with close-ups of "Bruce." It's very easy to tell the difference.
When the shark jumps out of the water and on to the boat in the beginning of the scene where Quint gets devoured, you can clearly see the wire attached to the shark's fin.
As the shark drags the fourth victim (the man in the pond) under, its mouth is still wide open.
Spiritual Adaptation: Of Moby-Dick, despite Jaws being itself based off of a different book of the same name. Comparisons are further emphasized in one of the original intro scenes for Quint that was cut, where he's laughing out loud while watching the 1956 film in a theater and causing a ruckus which annoys everybody else.
Strawman Has a Point: The mayor isn't completely wrong that news of a shark could ruin the town – all "summer tourist" towns are extremely dependent on seasonal income. Also, his refusal to cut open the shark, possibly spilling the remains of its latest victim (a young child), is fairly sensible, especially with the victim's mother possibly in the area. Why they couldn't both agree to wait until everyone left and cut it open late at night (what Brody and Hooper do anyway) is anyone's guess. On the other hand, he did let the killing of one shark erupt into a media frenzy and declare mission accomplished without making sure it was even the right shark in the first place, which is why Brody and Hooper even wanted to cut the shark open.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: For the film's 25th anniversary DVD release in 2000, a new 5.1 stereo sound mix was done. However, this new mix changed several sound effects from the original mono (such as gunshots, and the sound of the shark bursting through the Orca's window after eating Quint), causing complaints from audio purists and original fans. Thankfully, later DVD and Blu-Ray releases added the mono option back. (Unfortunately, like so many remastered films, the volume of the music tracks has been remixed to the point that even the iconic opening theme is barely audible. This is presumably because someone felt that the dialogue was getting drowned out in the original.)
Too Cool to Live: Captain Quint is an experienced seaman, a hardened survivor of the historic Indianapolis sinking, and a dedicated shark hunter. Naturally, he's the only one of the main trio to bite it.
Vindicated by History: An odd trope for one of the most financially and critically successful films of all time, but if you grew up in The '80s, the mantra of "the shark looks fake!" would have rung continuously through your ears to the point that you could only agree. Except now, a slew of Gen Z Youtube reactors seeing the film for the first time, their minds keyed to decades of cheap CGI sharks, have been genuinely impressed by the practical effects used to create it.
Woolseyism: In the Latin American Spanish dub of the first film produced by ESM, and also overlapping with Bowdlerise, the Smile, you son of a bitch was changed with the simpler but still effective line of ¡Escualo miserable! ("You miserable shark!" but it also means, context-wise, as "You goddamned shark!"), the fact Brody's voice actor, Víctor Mares, says that line with a really enraged tone helps a lot. On the other hand, during the flashback scene of the fourth film, it was translated as simply ¡Sonrie, maldito! ("Smile, you bastard!" translated context-wise.)
The NES video game:
It's Short, So It Sucks!: The game can be completed in under an hour, which is remarkably short by NES standards.
So Okay, It's Average: It's perfectly functional, and the idea of the shark being an opponent you face throughout the entire game and have to level up to properly kill is a fairly innovative and novel idea for the time. But the core gameplay is very unengaging and it's ultimately too short and repetitive to be much fun. Overall, it's one of LJN's better games.
The Problem with Licensed Games: The game mostly consists of swimming around harpooning innocent and harmless sea creatures. The fact that it's also based on what many agree to be the worst of the Jaws movies doesn't help matters.
The ride:
Ham and Cheese: Some of the skippers that have poor acting skills can fall under this.
Opinion Myopia: The ride, while extremely beloved by fans, received merely average attendance levels from everyday guests.
". While this is obviously meant to compare the animal's unpredictable behaviour to a natural disaster, it's much more amusing to modern readers due to bringing to mind the infamous Sharknado franchise, which went viral in 2013 for taking the concept literally.