Jawnts: 'Jaws,' 40 years later

Summer moviegoers have been presented with the usual smorgasbord of spectacle: killer dinosaurs, killer robots, killer chrome-crazed barbarians. For those looking hard enough, there's also the killer shark that began the summer blockbuster trend 40 years ago.

Before Jaws, summertime was a dead zone for Hollywood, serving the same purpose that February and March do today, a dumping ground for the studios' weird and worrisome films. After the movie made Universal $470 million (or $2.2 billion in today's dollars) on a $9 million investment, the executives saw the potential of heavily hyped wide-release summer features.

It's a wonder Universal considered Jaws worthy. It was only Steven Spielberg's third feature, and the previous two hadn't brought him, or the studios, much fame or fortune. The script was constantly being revised, and one of the stars, Robert Shaw, was known to indulge in spirituous liquors. His first attempt at the justly famous USS Indianapolis speech, which Shaw helped write, was scotched because he was black-out drunk.

Watching Jaws on the big screen all these years later still makes for a hugely enjoyable seasonal experience. The first hour is all Sinclair Lewis by the shore, middle-class mores and small-minded profit motives confronted with primordial terror. The second half, on the open ocean, is successfully animated by three characters we actually care about. They are skillfully embodied by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Shaw, whose performance seems to awe even his costars. (Look at Dreyfuss, slack-jawed with wonder, during the Indianapolis speech - an accomplishment rendered all the more impressive by the fact that Shaw, who delivered it the day after his initial effort, must have been suffering a blinding hangover.)

Heavy use of special effects can quickly age a movie - it is doubtful Jurassic World will look very good in five years - and Jaws profits immensely from an animatronic shark that still looks real enough during its brief appearances. Spielberg's sparingly used monster was the result of the persistent malfunctioning of its motors, but that's to the movie's advantage: Horror is most effective when the threat remains largely offscreen. The first glimpse of the shark is still chilling. It's seen from far above, blurrily visible through the water as it closes in on a hapless sailing instructor.

In celebration of the film's 40th anniversary, Jaws has been shown periodically throughout the region this summer. This week, it will be shown outdoors on the big screen at La Peg Brasserie, 140 N. Columbus Blvd., at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.