Steven Spielberg on ‘Jaws’ and the turning point of his career
As one of Hollywood’s greatest modern directors, Steven Spielberg has some of America’s most popular classic features under his belt. The director began his career in the 1970s with the original horror Duel, going on to direct the pop culture phenomenons Jaws, Jurassic Park and E.T., becoming the most commercially successful director of all time.
As one of the most influential people in film and culture, Spielberg’s works have been referenced and paid tribute to in several other forms of media, including iconic film shots or thrilling soundtracks. The director has stakes in many ‘greatest film’ lists, specifying either decade or genre, causing his name to become synonymous with the blockbuster and American cinema.
With several revolutionary features in his filmography, fans wonder what Spielberg’s personal favourite contribution to his craft is. Spielberg hesitated to answer when The Sunday Post approached the director with this question in a 2016 interview to celebrate his 70th birthday.
“That’s the toughest question to answer,” the legendary director eventually replies. “And the cliche answer is the true answer because cliche and truth go hand in hand. I have seven children, I have no favourites — they’re all my favourites.”
However, Spielberg can share the film that served as a watershed in his artistry, one that harmonises genres and provides a thrilling and timeless watch. “The turning point in my career was Jaws,” Spielberg confirms, discussing the 1975 classic that introduced Americans to the summer blockbuster and the modern Hollywood business model. Jaws follows a small seaside town being terrorised by a great white shark, leading a group to take the sea to hunt the predator down before it can kill again.
As the highest-grossing film of all time until Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope followed two years later, Jaws is a beloved staple in American film through its exhilarating music and editing. The former’s theme is an alternating E and F notes, composed by John Williams, which have become some of cinema’s most iconic sounds. The opening scene is marked as one of the greatest in horror, building up the appropriate tone and image the director envisioned. Spielberg recieved a nomination for Best Director at the People’s Choice Award, although he had his heart set on the Academy Award, which he was upset to have missed.
“I was a director-for-hire before Jaws, and because it was such a big hit, I could do any movie I wanted, and Hollywood just wrote me a cheque,” the director explains. “I’d wanted to make this movie about flying saucers, but people thought it was a crazy idea. I was telling them: ‘This big mothership comes down at the end, the guy goes into the ship, you’re going to love it!’ but they wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
These flying saucer movies include Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., sci-fi classics which Speilberg later got the opportunity to work on.
He adds: “But the second Jaws was a hit, everybody said: ‘What about that flying saucer movie you had? Do you still want to make that?’ So, Jaws really was the turning point.”
Spielberg has been objective in his reflection on the film, acknowledging its less ideal influences since its release. He then went on to direct the Indiana Jones trilogy to dominate ’80s filmmaking and his latest feature, The Fablemans, is a semi-autobiographical exploration of the director’s childhood and his journey with his love for film, earning the director several more award nominations. However, its clear Jaws will always be a treasured work to the director.
