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The Jaws Franchise


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You’re going to need a bigger boat.”

 

 

Jaws is an American natural horror film series that started with a 1975 film that expanded into three sequels, a theme park ride, and other tie-in merchandise, based on a 1974 novel. The main subject of the saga is a great white shark, and its attacks on people in specific areas of the United States. The Brody family is featured in all of the films as the primary antithesis to the shark. The original film was based on a novel written by Peter Benchley, which itself was inspired by the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. Benchley adapted his novel, along with help from Carl Gottlieb and Howard Sackler, into the 1975 film Jaws, which was directed by Steven Spielberg. Although Gottlieb went on to pen two of the three sequels, neither Benchley nor Spielberg returned to the film series in any capacity.

The first film was regarded as a watershed film in motion picture history; it became the father of the summer blockbuster movies and one of the first "high-concept" films.[1][2] The film is also known for the introduction of John Williams' famous theme music, which was a simple alternating pattern of the E and F notes of a piano. Williams' theme won an Academy Award. The film won other Academy Awards, and was nominated for Best Picture.

The success of Jaws led to three sequels, and the four films together have earned nearly $800 million worldwide in box office gross. The franchise has also seen the release of various soundtrack albums, additional novelizations based on the sequels, trading cards, inspired theme park rides at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Japan, multiple video games, and a musical that premiered in 2004. Although the first film was popular with critics when it was originally released, Jaws 2 received generally mixed reception, and the third and fourth films were critically panned. This reception has spread to the merchandise, with video games seen as poor imitations of the original concept. Nevertheless, the original 1975 film has generally been regarded as one of the greatest films ever, and frequently appears in the top 100 of various American Film Institute rankings.

 

THE FILMS:

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Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name. In the story, a giant man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers on Amity Island, a fictional New Englandsummer resort town, prompting the local police chief to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter. The film stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint, Richard Dreyfuss as oceanographer Matt Hooper, Murray Hamilton as Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity Island, and Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen. The screenplay is credited to both Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography.

Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean. As a result, the film had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule. As the art department's mechanical sharks suffered many malfunctions, Spielberg decided to mostly suggest the animal's presence, employing an ominous, minimalistic theme created by composer John Williams to indicate the shark's impending appearances. Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of classic thriller director Alfred Hitchcock. Universal Pictures gave the film what was then an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture, over 450 screens, accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise.

Now considered one of the greatest films ever made, Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster, with its release regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history. Jaws became the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of Star Wars (1977). It won several awards for its music and editing. Along with Star Wars, Jaws was pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model, which revolves around high box-office returns from action and adventure pictures with simple "high-concept" premises that are released during the summer in thousands of theaters and supported by heavy advertising. It was followed by three sequels, none with the participation of Spielberg or Benchley, and many imitative thrillers. In 2001, Jaws was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

 

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Jaws 2 is a 1978 American thriller film, the first sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), and the second installment in the Jaws franchise. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc, it stars Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody, with Lorraine Garyand Murray Hamilton reprising their respective roles as Martin's wife Ellen Brody and mayor Larry Vaughn. The film also stars Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer, Collin Wilcox, Ann Dusenberry, Mark Gruner, Susan French, Barry Coe, Donna Wilkes, and Gary Springer.

In the film, Chief Brody suspects another great white shark is terrorizing the fictional sea side resort of Amity Island following a series of incidents and disappearances. However, few believe him.

Like the first film, the production of Jaws 2 was troubled. The original director, John D. Hancock, proved to be unsuitable for an action film and was replaced by Szwarc. Scheider, who only reprised his role to end a contractual issue with Universal, was also unhappy during production and had several heated exchanges with Szwarc.

Jaws 2 was briefly the highest-grossing sequel in history until Rocky II was released in 1979. The film's tagline, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...," has become one of the most famous in film history and has been parodied and homaged several times. Jaws 2 is generally considered to be the best of the three Jaws sequels.

 

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Jaws 3-D (also known as Jaws 3 or Jaws III) is a 1983 American thriller film directed by Joe Alves and starring Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Lea Thompson, and Louis Gossett, Jr. It is the second sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws and the third installment in the Jaws franchise. The film follows the Brody children from the previous films at SeaWorld, a Florida marine park with underwater tunnels and lagoons. As the park prepares for opening, a young great white shark infiltrates the park from the sea, seemingly attacking and killing the park's employees. Once the shark is captured, it becomes apparent that it was a second, much larger shark who also entered the park, that was the real culprit.

The film is notable for making use of 3D film during the revived interest in the technology in the 1980s, amongst other horror films such as Friday the 13th Part III and Amityville 3D. Cinema audiences could wear disposable cardboard polarized 3D glasses to create the illusion that elements penetrate the screen. Several shots and sequences were designed to utilise the effect, such as the shark's destruction. Since 3D was ineffective in home viewing until the advent of 3D televisionsin the late 2000s, the alternative title Jaws III is used for television broadcasts, VHS and DVD

 

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Jaws: The Revenge is a 1987 American horror thriller film. It was the final theatrical film to be directed by Joseph Sargent. It is the third sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws and the fourth and final installment in the Jaws franchise.

The film focuses on a now-widowed Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary) and her convictions that a great white shark is seeking revenge on her family, particularly when it kills her son and follows her to the Bahamas. Jaws: The Revenge was shot on location in New England and in the Bahamas, and completed on the Universal lot. Like the first two films, Martha's Vineyard was the location of the fictional Amity Island for the opening scenes. Although preceded by Jaws 3-D, The Revengeignores plot elements introduced in that film.

Jaws: The Revenge received negative reviews from film critics. While production of the other three films in the series took around two years for each film, Jaws: The Revenge was made in less than nine months. According to associate producer and production manager Frank Baur during the sequel's filming, "This (Revenge) will be the fastest I have ever seen a major film planned and executed in all of my 35 years as a production manager." The film was nominated for seven Golden Raspberry Awards.

 

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3 hours ago, papergangster said:

I would love to see another jaws movie made now. 

As long as it doesn't cast a bunch of comedians, doesn't overly rely on CGI, then I agree. Its been too long. 

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