Jaws. 1975. USA. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb, based on the novel “Jaws” by Peter Benchley. With Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw. 35mm. 124 min.
Steven Spielberg famously faced a host of production obstacles bringing his vision of Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel to the screen, from the mundane (weather) to the remarkable (a recalcitrant mechanical shark). His creative problem-solving hid cinema’s most famous shark until deep into the film’s second act, foregrounded the human element to the story, and created the world’s first summer blockbuster. Assisted by a superb cast led by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, not to mention John Williams’s magnificent score, Spielberg created a genuine “can’t miss” cinematic event.