It鈥檚 actually kind of hard to overstate what a big deal 鈥溾�� was when it came out in June 1975, and what a big deal it鈥檚 been in the history of cinema ever since.
It was the first modern blockbuster. It was the first summer blockbuster. And it became .
Across 黑瓜吃料网, theaters, museums and other cultural institutions are finding ways to celebrate the movie鈥檚 50th anniversary. And it鈥檚 giving people a chance to discuss the enduring appeal and importance of 鈥淛aws.鈥�
James Hanley, who co-founded the movie theater on the Trinity College campus in Hartford, remembers the first time he saw the movie.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those films that hit a chord at a time,鈥� he said. 鈥淪omehow it captured the audience, and you could feel the tension in the theater.鈥�
According to Hanley, 鈥淛aws鈥� turned into something even bigger than just a popular movie.
鈥淚t became a phenomenon, where everybody had to see it, and everybody was talking about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t drove the market into a new place.鈥�
鈥淛aws鈥� is the rare blockbuster that still requires investigation and discussion and dissection all these decades later, said Mark Shanahan, the artistic director at Westport Country Playhouse.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the great, perfect films in its construction, in its acting, in its writing, in its music, in the way it鈥檚 shot,鈥� Shanahan said. 鈥淓verything about it is worth going back to over and over again and figuring out why it works so well.鈥�
The Playhouse showed 鈥淛aws鈥� on June 2 as the first of a couple of events celebrating the movie鈥檚 anniversary. Shanahan thinks there鈥檚 no better way to watch 鈥淛aws鈥� than in a room full of other people.
鈥淭here鈥檚 usually a big scream at a certain moment, followed by the audience laughing at themselves,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd all these years later, the movie still works like gangbusters.鈥�
One especially fitting place you鈥檒l be able to see 鈥淛aws鈥� this summer, on a big screen with an audience, is at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such a beloved movie, especially in the maritime culture,鈥� said Allison Smith, the museum鈥檚 public programs manager.
The movie had a real impact on people鈥檚 relationship with the water, she said.
鈥淪omething that we always want to try and inspire in people is their connection to the water,鈥� Smith said.
On Fourth of July weekend, Mystic Seaport will put on a day-long , with shark-themed crafts and a discussion on shark conservation and a pre-premiere screening of
鈥淲e have the great opportunity to bring up that conversation about shark conservation education while coupling it with those fun activities,鈥� Smith said.
There will be other special anniversary screenings of 鈥淛aws鈥� in 黑瓜吃料网 this summer at places like the , the , and the in New London.
And for something a little different, on June 9, Westport Country Playhouse will put on a script-in-hand production of a play about the making of the movie.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a few actors on stage with music stands and the scripts and five hours of rehearsal beforehand,鈥� Shanahan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really bare bones; it鈥檚 simple.鈥�
As a script-in-hand reading, there are no costumes, no props, no fancy set.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a radio play,鈥� Shanahan said. 鈥淭he audience always sort of fills in with their imaginations 鈥� the lighting, the costumes, the sound, the set, and everything.鈥�
The play, called 鈥�,鈥� ran in the West End in London and on Broadway. It tells the story of the three main stars of 鈥淛aws鈥� 鈥� Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw 鈥� and their time on Martha鈥檚 Vineyard making the movie.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about friendship and how they fight with each other [and] the weather and also battle against this mechanical shark that never seems to be working,鈥� Shanahan said.
From showing 鈥淛aws鈥� in his theater to putting on a play about it, Shanahan just wants to get people discussing this great, classic, now-50-year-old movie.
鈥淭here are so many different angles from which people study this picture that you can sort of endlessly take it apart and get in conversation about it,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd yet the next time you see it, it will still scare you half to death while you鈥檙e watching it.鈥�
