50 years ago last month, the world of film was changed forever when Steven Spielberg released Jaws. The movie was not only the biggest movie of 1975, but it was the first summer blockbuster, and had the distinction of being the box office king for a few years until Star Wars came along. If you’re a fan of the movie, you know all about its plot and why so much of it works. For example, we’ve all heard the story about how Bruce the mechanical shark broke down so often that Spielberg was forced to hide the shark and lean on John Williams‘ iconic score. Not showing the monster only made Jaws that much more terrifying, but there are so many more stories that happened behind the scenes of a movie so fraught with issues that Spielberg thought he was going to be fired. In fact, the director hated the experience so much that he refused to do a sequel.
Such a chaotic filming process for a movie that ended up being perfect on screen requires its own movie. There have been other Jaws documentaries in the past, such as 2012’s The Shark Is Still Working, but National Geographic’s Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story lives up to its presumptuous title, telling the complete story of Jaws, from how Peter Benchley came up with the title for his novel, to why it terrified moviegoers on the big screen. Jaws @ 50 never has a dull moment, as we not only get the story from the likes of Steven Spielberg and the residents of Martha’s Vineyard who became movie stars, but learn more about how it shaped Hollywood creative icons like Jordan Peele and Steven Soderbergh.
What Is “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story’ About?
Jaws @ 50 is directed and co-produced by documentarian Laurent Bouzereau, who, just last year, helmed the documentary Music by John Williams. It has a tighter structure and narrative that makes it more of a collection of interviews. Jaws @ 50 is not only about what Jaws means to society, which is important enough on its own, but about the fraught months spent making a movie that went way over time and budget on its way to becoming a classic. While not many people are calling for any more Jaws sequels to be made (we haven’t had one since the disastrous Jaws: The Revenge in 1987), many fans have hoped to see a feature film about the making of the original. That may never happen, but if it doesn’t, Jaws @ 50 is more than enough.
Jaws @ 50 aims and succeeds at telling the full circle story of Jaws, leaving nothing out, but not feeling rushed in its 90-minute runtime either. We start with old interviews with author Peter Benchley (who sadly passed in 2006) and his family today, where the novel is discussed, including the origin of the title. It was a treat to see the piece of paper where Benchley kept dozens of title ideas, some so bad that they would’ve sunk the book if it had gone out that way.
The film makes sure to give Benchley the respect he deserves, because without him, none of this would have ever been. Much of the focus on Jaws @ 50 lies on the actual making of the movie, with nothing going right, and straight into the seemingly impossible and staggering success for a director who’d only made two movies beforehand and was still in his 20s. Although many people are interviewed for the film, Steve Spielberg is, of course, who we hear the most from. The documentary works because of his enduring passion, as he still talks about movies with such joy, lighting up when talking about the film that almost ruined him. Spielberg has done countless interviews about Jaws over the last half century, but in Jaws @ 50, he speaks about it happily, as if it were the first time anyone had ever asked his thoughts.
‘Jaws @ 50’ Digs Deeper Than Most Documentaries
Jaws @ 50 is such a stellar documentary because it’s not content to stay at surface level. Instead, it dives deep under the waves to the parts of the movie most fans have never seen. Steven Spielberg may get most of the glory, but Jaws was a collective effort of hundreds of people. Not only is Richard Dreyfuss interviewed, who talks about his rivalry and love for co-star Robert Shaw, but we get to hear from screenwriter Carl Gottlieb (who also had a bit part in the film), and Joe Alves, the production designer who created the shark (we’ll forgive him for later directing Jaws 3-D). Although many people who helped create Jaws, like stars Robert Shaw and Roy Scheider, along with producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown, are no longer with us, we’re lucky that Jaws was made by such a young group of upstarts and unknowns that many are still with us today to help tell the story.
If you’re a Jaws junkie, you’ll be sucked in by the fascinating minutiae, such as Spielberg talking about how he chose the size of his great white monster (he was actually offered the chance to make it bigger!), but this is more than a retelling of how a mechanical monster kept breaking down. Spielberg calls Jaws a movie about people, and so is Jaws @ 50, because it treats those people as being equal to the director himself. There were only seven trained actors in Jaws. Everyone else was a resident of Martha’s Vineyard, where it was filmed. Jaws @ 50 speaks to several of them, such as Jeffrey Kramer, who played Deputy Hicks (he even returned for Jaws 2), and Jeffrey Voorhees, the actor who played poor Alex Kintner. Both men are forever changed by what happened to them in 1975, and it’s fascinating listening to Voorhees dissect his death scene and how it was created, but both remain humble as well. They’re fans, just like us.
The Cultural Impact of ‘Jaws’ Lives On
They’re not the only fans interviewed, however, because Jaws @ 50 takes a look at the cultural impact of Jaws by speaking to some of today’s Hollywood heavyweights who were influenced by Spielberg’s vision. Interviews are conducted with Jordan Peele (you can see the plot devices of Jaws in Nope), James Cameron, George Lucas, Guillermo del Toro, and Steven Soderbergh, among others. It’s easy to tell that the visionary filmmakers of today owe a debt of gratitude to this simple monster movie.
Jaws @ 50 is a celebration, one that’s about overcoming the odds, of being determined and never giving up, and of how fate can change your life, no matter if you’re an up-and-coming director or just some guy who answered a casting call in your hometown. It’s a love letter to an era gone by and never to return (but can we please get a mechanical shark movie again?!), and a tribute to a town full of colorful people who helped make the dream come true when some Hollywood underdogs came for a visit. If you grew up with Jaws, it’ll take you back, wrapping you up like a warm blanket, but if you’re younger or haven’t experienced Jaws before, it’ll transport you to a time before green screens and CGI when films were made on location, no matter the cost or time. Who knew that a documentary about a killer shark movie could be so joyful and inspiring?
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story premieres July 10 on Nat Geo before streaming on Hulu on July 11.
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
Just like the movie it’s about, ‘Jaws @ 50’ is about people and what they’re capable of when the odds are stacked against them.
- Release Date
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June 20, 2025
- Director
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Laurent Bouzereau
- Producers
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Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Wendy Benchley, Markus Keith
- Steven Spielberg is as lively and excited as ever talking about ‘Jaws’.
- The documentary takes a deep dive into all aspects of the film’s journey to being made.
- It’s a joy to see the residents of Martha’s Vineyard celebrated like they’re big movie stars.