A DEEP DIVE INTO JAWS

A BROKEN SHARK! A FRAZZLED SPIELBERG! INSIDERS SHARE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO MAKE THE ORIGINAL SUMMER THRILLER

- JEN JUNEAU

Jaws left an entire generation petrified to set foot in the ocean when it premiered 50 years ago on June 20, 1975. The story of a great white shark that made snacks of swimmers on fictional Amity Island “was tapping into a fear that we all have of the unknown,” says Laurent Bouzereau, director of the new NatGeo documentary Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story. To mark the movie’s milestone, we're looking back on the making of the fan-favorite film and its lasting impact on pop culture.

Director Steven Spielberg was in over his head.

The complications of filming on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard bloated the budget and extended the filming schedule by weeks. “We're not sailors, we were filmmakers,” says Spielberg in