Template:POTD/2025-06-20
Jaws is an American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. Released on June 20, 1975, it stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, who, with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw), hunts a man-eating great white shark that attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town. Regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history, Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster and won several awards for its music and editing. It was the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of Star Wars two years later; both films were pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model, which pursues high box-office returns from action and adventure films with simple high-concept premises, released during the summer in thousands of theaters and advertised heavily.Illustration credit: Roger Kastel; courtesy of the Everett Collection; retouched by Crisco 1492