10 Ways To Geek Out on Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ Right Now

On Saturday June 20, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws — well regarded as the film that helped give birth to the Summer Blockbuster Season — will turn 40 years old. So Happy Birthday, Jaws!

A couple of years back we dedicated an entire week to the iconic shark movie, with several stories about the film, how it was made, and the wild merchandising frenzy that followed its release. To celebrate Jaws‘s 40th, we pulled out our 10 favorite pieces from “Jaws Week” to share with you again now.

Because now is always the right time to nerd out on a little Jaws action. Dig in below and enjoy!

1. 10 Cinematic Sea Monsters We Want to See Jaws Battle

Blurb: We’re devoting an entire week to Jaws, the movie monster that made millions of people afraid to go in the ocean, but he’s far from the only aquatic terror to sniff blood in the water. Given some of the wild battles we’ve seen play out in films like the classic Godzilla vs. King Kong and the so-bad-it’s-almost-good Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, we wondered which of Hollywood’s sea monsters would provide the toughest matchup for the the iconic great white.

Blurb: Steven Spielberg’s film is one of the scariest of all time for two reasons. One is that it’s filled with suspense. Jaws deals with a monster that is very easily concealed and so not even a wide shot provides us with safety from the possibilty of attack. Well, unless it’s a scene on land, of course. The other reason is that it involves a very real threat.

3. The Best ‘Jaws’ Memorabilia: You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat to Haul Away All This Awesome

Blurb: There was an ocean’s worth of merchandise available in the wake of Jaws’ success – everything from T-shirts to jewelry to rip-off movies. George Lucas might have made the merchandising tie-in an artform with the release of Star Wars a few years later, but Jawscertainly laid the groundwork.

4. How a 13-Year-Old Sees ‘Jaws’ Today

Blurb: I have to admit that classic “dah-dum… dah-dum” was back in my head, making me feel nervous again. I was worried about Jaws, but for a completely different reason; I was going to have my 13-year-old nephew, Cole, watch the film for the first time.

5. ‘Jaws’ Blu-ray Review: One of the Most Impressive HD Restorations We’ve Seen

Blurb: Jaws has one of the most impressive Blu-ray transfers I’ve ever seen. Don’t confuse that with me claiming it to be of utter HD perfection, as you’re bound to already have a few other Blus in your collection with even finer picture quality, rather that the actual work that went into giving this 37-year-old film is frankly miraculous.

6. 10 Things You Might Not Know About ‘Jaws’

Blurb: … author Peter Benchley talked at length about how he struggled to come up with a title for the book. He had multiple options – including The Stillness in the Water, Leviathan Rising, The Jaws of Death, and The Jaws of Leviathan – but he wisely rejected them all as being too “pretentious, melodramatic or just weird.”

7. Learn About the Real-Life Shark Attacks that Inspired ‘Jaws’

Blurb: Writer Peter Benchley was inspired to write Jaws not long after Long Island fisherman Frank Mundus caught a 4,500-pound great white shark off of Montauk back in 1964, but that wasn’t his only inspiration for the story of the rogue man-eater. He was also influenced by a series of shark attacks that terrified the Jersey shore back in 1916.

8. When Can I Watch ‘Jaws’ with My Kids?

Blurb: You’ve decided its time to screen Jaws for your kids. Maybe your family’s summer beach vacation was a nightmare, and you’re hoping to scare the children off the ocean for good. Perhaps you’re simply sick and tired of your kids sleeping soundly through the night.  

9. Watch: Exclusive Clips from ‘Inside Jaws’ Reveal Rare Footage from the Film’s Ending

Blurb: We’re big fans of Jamie Benning’s “filmumentaries” here at Movies.com because he puts so much time and attention toward digging up all of the best behind-the-scenes tidbits for these running commentaries that it’s practically impossible for you not to get immediately hooked on his presentation. First he tackled the three original-trilogy Star Wars movies, then he moved on to Raiders of the Lost Ark (for Raiding the Lost Ark), and now he’s piecing together a filmumentary on Jaws called Inside Jaws.

10. How Steven Spielberg Got the ‘Jaws’ Gig Only to Almost Walk Away

Blurb: For a film so firmly associated with the director credited with launching the “summer blockbuster,” Steven Spielberg wasn’t actually Universal Studios’ first choice as director for their highly anticipated Jaws. He was coming off an impressive, well-received theatrical debut in 1974’s Sugarland Express, after 1971’s critically acclaimed TV suspense film Duel, but the wunderkind Spielberg was only 27 at the time shooting started on Jaws and certainly no sure thing.