Jaws, a Monstrous Success

A brisk, affectionate dive into how one blockbuster rewired pop culture, mixing clip-heavy nostalgia with smart talk about fear and money.

Directed by

Antoine Coursat, Olivier Bonnard

Genres

Documentary

Starring

Nathalie Labarthe, Lorraine Gary, Joe Alves

Overview

In the summer of 1975, the young director Steven Spielberg set new standards for cinema worldwide with an oversized shark bite, a plastic shark fin and an unmistakable two-note main theme composed by John Williams. With the horror from the deep, a man-eating, gigantic great white shark, the film of the same name became a similarly traumatic reference as Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho": it triggered lasting primal fears across generations. On the beaches of the world, there was clearly a "before" and an "after". Steven Spielberg, who was only 28 at the time, not only set new standards for the thriller genre, but also hid his biting criticism of US capitalism in the 1970s behind it.

How it feels

Earnest, light, satirical and warm. Brisk and needs your attention.

About

Media, fate, freedom, ambition

Content

Mild violence, gore, sexual content and language.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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