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Jaws — Description
Although it’s considered one of the best films ever made, you might want to skip it if you’re going to be visiting a New England beach anytime soon. “Jaws” takes place in the fictional town of Amity Island, where a great white shark terrorizes locals and feeds off swimmers who stray a little too far from the coast. After several attacks, the mayor reluctantly shuts the beach down and hires oceanographer Matt Hooper, shark hunter Quint, and Police Chief Martin Brody to climb aboard the Orca and put an end to the shark once and for all.

Despite the film’s success, its production was wrought with issues. The shoot was supposed to last only 55 days but ended up lasting a surprising 159 days instead, and it was projected to cost them only $4 million to produce but ended up costing the studio upwards of $9 million to finish.

While some of the problems were the result of poor weather conditions and the general complications that come from filming in the Atlantic, the majority came from the mechanical shark used in the movie. It broke down, got stuck in seaweed, and rusted. It was such a hassle that Spielberg filmed as many shots as possible without the shark, relying instead on the idea of the animal’s presence to heighten tension. Pair this constantly looming monster with John Williams’ iconic score, and you’ve got yourself a horror classic.

“Jaws” also helped create the current release model of most Hollywood films: they employed massive advertising campaigns, showed the movie in hundreds of cinemas at the same time, and rounded the whole thing out with some intense merchandising to create not just one of the most famous horror movies of all time, but also a true phenomenon.