Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is one of the most significant horror flicks that still gives chills to beachgoers. The iconic 1975 shark movie played a vital role in establishing the filmmaker as one of the biggest Hollywood names. But at one point, Jaws became too much to handle for a young Spielberg. The film’s production is so infamous that it even gave PTSD to the E.T. fame.
As witnessed in Spielberg’s projects, the Jurassic Park filmmaker always flaunts a distinct style and a grand vision in his projects. Despite being the third project of his career, Steven Spielberg wanted to give his best to Jaws and planned to shoot the entire film in the ocean.
While the difficult plan immensely contributed to the film’s worldwide success, the troubles that followed offscreen also had their toll on the filmmaker.
How did Jaws’ filming traumatize Steven Spielberg?
Jaws focuses on the story of a police chief and marine biologist’s hunt for a ferocious great white shark, attacking the beachgoers of Amity Island. The 1975 film grossed $477 Million (via Box Office Mojo) and took home 3 Oscars for its technical departments. Besides its financial and critical reception, Steven Spielberg‘s movie is also famous for presenting one of the best horror movie villains in the form of the man-eating shark.
However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly (via Screen Rant), Steven Spielberg admitted that the arduous filming process gave him major trauma. Jaws was plagued with numerous production issues that almost led Spielberg to think his career would end after the film.
The pressure to complete the grand project took its toll on Steven Spielberg and led him to face recurrent nightmares during Jaws production. The 77-year-old director revealed that he used to sit in the boat in the Universal Studios lot for hours with his hands shaking to process the trauma caused by the filming.
I used to come out for a couple of years after I made the movie to get over my PTSD. I would work through my own trauma because it was traumatic. I would just sit in that boat alone for hours, just working through, and I would shake. My hands would shake.
People added that the three-time Oscar winner also had a massive panic attack after the filming of Jaws concluded. However, there is also a positive side to the story as Spielberg stated that the experience gave him complete creative freedom for the rest of his career and catapulted his stardom to a global level.
What were the issues with Jaws?
It must be remembered that Jaws was a first-of-its-kind film in Hollywood due to some unique aspects. While the entire filming schedule in the ocean already raised immense trouble for the film’s crew, the animatronics used to create the ferocious man-eating creature in the film also had their fair share of troubles.
Big-budget Hollywood ventures set against the backdrop of oceans, were often filmed in large tanks or shallower water bodies. But Steven Spielberg, being the visionary director he is, chose to shoot the entirety of the film on a real ocean. This led the crew to face several calamities, including an instance where the boat Orca almost sank with all the crew on it (via Collider).
While most people only focus on Jaws‘ critical and commercial success, it also played a vital part in training Steven Spielberg as an efficient filmmaker. When the animatronics of the shark repeatedly malfunctioned, the filmmaker cleverly took a Hitchcockian approach and presented the foe as an unseen and unknown face of dread and horror. John Williams’ memorable background score also contributed significantly to it.
Despite going over budget and exceeding its original production schedule, Steven Spielberg was eventually successful in presenting the perfect summer blockbuster. Jaws was the highest-grossing film for a long time until it was overtaken by George Lucas’ Star Wars in 1977.
Jaws can be streamed on Peacock.
