What movie scared you the most? I’ve never been interested in the horror-slasher type movies- I have found them more laughable than scary. The movies over the years that would put a scare in me were ones that seemed realistic. On June 20, 1975 Jaws was released. To me Jaws is the all-time summer classic. I was fourteen at the time and my parents took me and my younger brother and sister to see it a few days after it opened.
Jaws was the first big blockbuster that was directed by Stephen Spielberg. It was based on the 1974 book by Peter Benchley of the same name. Universal which made the movie spent 1.8 million marketing the movie and $700,000 on national television spot advertising which was crazy money at the time. It cost $9 million dollars to make. The movie was shot mostly in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
There were no big stars in the movie. I think this helped make the movie more believable. Jaws starred Roy Scheider as Chief Martin Brody, Robert Shaw as Quint, Richard Dreyfess as Matt Hooper- the movie revolved around those three characters. Robert Duvall was offered the role of Chief Brody but he was only interested in the Quint character. Quint was offered to Lee Marvin. Having seen this movie countless times over the past 45 years I think the final casting couldn’t have been better. The movie opened in 409 theaters in the United States and was an immediate blockbuster it ended up making $470 million at the box office- again this was 1975 dollars. It was the highest grossing movie of all time until Star Wars came along in 1977.
The scene that made me just out of my seat- the scene when Hooper finds Ben Gardner’s boat.
A couple weeks after seeing Jaws- we went to Ocean City, Maryland on vacation. My dad was the only one who went in the water. As I recall I didn’t even put my toe into the ocean on that vacation.
I have watched “Jaws” many times over the years and I think it holds up remarkably well. My #1 ever summer movie.
slicethelife 
Scared the most? Without a doubt – The Exorcist – at the time of its release – an acid trip of horror – still is.
Agreed. Jaws is a touchstone of of our generation and the one before it. It was a phenomenon.
Wonderful post.
–Pam
Thanks….. I forget how many sequels there were but after Jaws 2- they should have just quit. The original though……
Yeah. I saw Jaws 2. Not too bad. I saw Jaws 3. Whew! I’m holding my nose right now! That was bad…
I remember liking 2 alright 3 was a stinker and that is where I quit. I think there was on more but I didn’t want to waste me time. It’s a wonder that someone hasn’t thought- it’s been 30 plus years since the last one lets re-do it… [i hope i am not giving out any ideas to anyone! lol. }
One of the best movies of all time.
Yes, that is such a great movie. I have seen all of them, and every summer I still play them, but the first one is the best. I also liked number two, and the last one they made – Jaws, the revenge. There was one in between that was horrible, not with the same actors. I lived near the beach as a kid, and we went into the water but we were watching all the time. I remember our little town got the Jaws fever and some people got t-shirts made and went in boats to look for a shark that was roaming around. I don’t think there was a dangerous shark around, although there has always been smaller sharks that don’t bother anyone. I think they were just acting the movie.
Thanks for the story. Growing up near the beach had to be interesting.
Really good flick and Like you said, still stands up. Roy and Robert were perfect casting. Richard was also pretty good. The shark was great. American Graffiti is up there as a good summer flick.from those days.
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