The Jaws Shark Broke on the First Day in the Ocean

By The Backlot

@backlotfriends

Three men on the weathered stern of a fishing boat at sea, one standing on the cabin roof and another gripping a large yellow barrel on deck, with choppy blue water and clouds behind them.

The mechanical shark built for Jaws was called Bruce. It cost $150,000 to build, took months to engineer, and sank the first time it entered the ocean.

Steven Spielberg was 26 when he started shooting. The salt water corroded the hydraulic systems. Three shark models existed and none of them worked reliably. The 55-day shoot stretched to 159.

Spielberg had to suggest the shark instead of show it. He cut to ripples in the water, to screaming swimmers, to a barrel being dragged by something unseen. John Williams gave him two notes.

The shark you imagine is scarier than the shark you see. Spielberg knew it. The broken prop forced him to figure that out.

Jaws opened in June 1975. It became the first film to earn $100 million in a summer release and invented the modern wide release. The shark was the problem that made it work.

Quick Facts

The Jaws Shark Broke on the First Day in the Ocean

DirectorSteven Spielberg

CastRoy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

GenreThriller, Horror, Adventure

Release1975-06-20

Runtime124 min

Rated7.7

Instagram caption

The mechanical shark in Jaws kept breaking in saltwater. Spielberg had to suggest it instead of show it. The result was scarier for it. #Jaws #Backlot

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The mechanical shark in Jaws kept breaking in saltwater. Spielberg had to suggest it instead of show it. The result was scarier. #Jaws #Backlot

The mechanical shark built for Jaws was called Bruce. It cost $150,000 to build, took months to engineer, and sank the first time it entered the ocean.

Steven Spielberg was 26 when he started shooting. The salt water corroded the hydraulic systems. Three shark models existed and none of them worked reliably. The 55-day shoot stretched to 159.

Spielberg had to suggest the shark instead of show it. He cut to ripples in the water, to screaming swimmers, to a barrel being dragged by something unseen. John Williams gave him two notes.

The shark you imagine is scarier than the shark you see. Spielberg knew it. The broken prop forced him to figure that out.

Jaws opened in June 1975. It became the first film to earn $100 million in a summer release and invented the modern wide release. The shark was the problem that made it work.