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Remember the first time you watched ‘Jaws’? Share your memories.
Whether you saw the film when it premiered in 1975, or years later, we want to know your favorite “Jaws” memories.
This year, “Jaws” celebrates its 50th anniversary, a gargantuan milestone for the beloved summer blockbuster that rivals its equally gargantuan aquatic villain.
Steven Spielberg’s thriller, which premiered on June 20, 1975, was a landmark film for its time and has continued to enrapture audiences with its pulse-quickening score, twisty plotline, and nostalgic New England summer vibes.
The film, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, was filmed in Martha’s Vineyard and was the first in cinematic history to be shot on the ocean. Filming occurred over the course of 159 days, more than 100 days over its expected 55-day wrap. As a result of the delay, Spielberg assumed his career as a filmmaker was sunk.
“I thought my career as a filmmaker was over,” Spielberg told the Roanoke Times in 2005, thirty years after the film premiered. “I heard rumors … that I would never work again because no one had ever taken a film 100 days over schedule.”
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Despite the challenges, the film was a triumph. It was not just a box-office success, but a box-office record breaker. At the time, it was the highest grossing movie in history (until “Star Wars” hit theaters two years later). It also helped give Martha’s Vineyard a deserving spot in the limelight – to the delight of many New Englanders.
“Unquestionably ‘Jaws’ is going to be the summer’s blockbuster. It’s a terrifying experience and much of its horror lingers in your head long after you’ve seen it,” Kevin Kelly, the Globe’s theater critic, wrote in a 1975 article on the film’s premiere.
Kelly’s words ring true, as the film and the memories around watching it continue to terrify audiences 50 years later.
We want to know about your favorite – and most fearsome – “Jaws” memories.
What do you remember about the first time you watched it? What memories do you most associate with the film and what keeps you coming back to it?
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Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.
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