Jaws at 50

50 years ago, Jaws, the granddaddy of summer blockbusters, was unleashed in cinemas, becoming a pop culture sensation.

Director Steven Spielberg's shark story, adapted from Peter Benchley’s bestselling book, is regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. Such was the phenomenal success of Jaws that shark species were hunted to near extinction due to a moral panic. Thankfully, lessons were learned, myths dispelled, and shark conservation has prevailed on Shark Awareness Day.

While I was too young to see Jaws during its original theatrical run, it caught my childhood imagination courtesy of Ideal's The Game of Jaws and John Williams' Oscar-winning soundtrack as I flicked through the pages of a neighbour friend’s shark book before asking them countless questions about the movie - their patience was limitless.

When Jaws was first shown on television in 1981, I wasn't disappointed (traumatised, more like).

Alien and Jaws have the distinction of being the stuff of childhood nightmare fuel in the early eighties. For the next two hours, I didn't move from the edge of my seat. For context, not for the first time, I had my legs in plaster casts as part of rehabilitation following a life-changing injury.

My nerves were as frayed as the carpet beneath my feet, but I couldn't avert my eyes from the horror unfolding before me and that fella from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Richard Dreyfuss (Matt Hooper). The real villain of Jaws isn’t the great white shark; it’s capitalism as the greedy mayor, played by Murray Hamilton, tries to keep the Amity Island beaches open for the 4th of July.

In the wake of seeing Jaws on ITV, I created an effigy of the shark's head using papier-mâché for a middle school art project. It hung in my parents' garage for decades.

In an era of second screens and artificial intelligence (AI), Jaws remains a masterclass in cinematic storytelling filled with compelling characters we care about. Bruce, the mechanical shark, may have infamously broken down on set, forcing Spielberg to shoot around the titular beast. Yet, Jaws broke box office records, spawned sequels and countless imitators, but never bettered. And generations of movie fans (myself included) can't visit the seaside without hearing Williams' iconic main theme.

What are your memories of watching Jaws? Let me know in the comments below.

Music By John Williams on Disney+

John Williams needs no introduction. The Oscar-winning Star Wars composer's stellar career is explored in a new documentary on Disney+.



"It’s no exaggeration to say that John Williams is the greatest film composer of all time," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy says. "His music has transcended cinema and become a part of our global culture, touching the hearts of billions, both young and old. John’s music has done as much to keep classical music alive as it has to shape the world of film."

Williams' soundtracks are synonymous with the movies of George Lucas (Star Wars) and Steven Spielberg (Jaws). His scores have been the beating heart from Jaws to E.T. and Jurassic Park to The Fabelmans. Then, there are sensational soundtracks for the Star Wars saga, Superman, Harry Potter, and many more.

Williams had a profound impact on my childhood in the wake of a life-changing trauma in 1977. His music, played in isolation, inspired in times of tribulation - years of rehabilitation were my Jedi trials.

Music By John Williams is streaming on 1st November on Disney+.

Are you looking forward to Music By John Williams on Disney+? Do you have a favourite movie or television soundtrack? Let me know in the comments below.

You're gonna need a bigger shelf for LEGO Ideas Jaws

Happy 4th of July to all our US-based readers! Today the LEGO Group announced the LEGO Ideas Jaws set based on Steven Spielberg's seminal blockbuster movie featuring John Williams' unforgettable soundtrack.

Speaking about how he approached the design for the set, fan designer Johnny Campbell, reveals: "JAWS is my favourite movie of all-time, so I really wanted to recreate it in LEGO bricks. LEGO building has always been a part of my life in some shape or form but in order to get all of the finer details, I actually freeze-framed JAWS as I watched it so that I could catch a glimpse of the finer details taking notes as I went along. It is just mind-blowing that my design is now an official LEGO set. I can't wait to stand in a LEGO shop looking at the shelves and seeing a set that I have been involved with and watching someone buying it. It’s every LEGO fan’s dream!”

LEGO Ideas Jaws is available from LEGO AU, CA, UK and US (affiliate links).

Will you be adding LEGO Ideas Jaws to your collection? Let me know in the comments below.

Jurassic Park at 30

30 years ago, director Steven Spielberg (Jaws) unleashed Jurassic Park! Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero didn’t stand a chance against a T-Rex.

Jaws for Generation X!

Jurassic Park was adapted from Michael Crichton’s bestselling book about a malfunctioning theme park. A theme Crichton previously explored in his influential sci-fi movie: Westworld.

Spielberg’s dino blockbuster franchise (with an assist from George Lucas (Star Wars)) captured the imagination of cinemagoers worldwide and conquered toy aisles - I have Kenner’s electronic stomping T-Rex and an assortment of memorabilia including collectable drinking cups from McDonald’s in the attic!

JP (as it was fashionably known) is a groundbreaking theatrical experience my friend Professor Michael Williams and I will never forget! We still talk about it (over tea and cake).

It was the first mainstream movie with a DTS soundtrack, which was an issue for theatres that didn’t support the upstart competitor to Dolby. The dialogue kept ‘clipping’, but we were soon swept away by the lush live-action/CGI vistas and John Williams’ soaring soundtrack (available on Apple Music, etc).

For budgetary reasons and to build anticipation, Spielberg deftly kept the dinosaurs off-screen for almost an hour. This would probably be met with derision in an era of streaming and instant gratification - a theme director Colin Trevorrow explores in Jurassic World - with folks taking to social media with their instant hot takes.

The reveal of a herd of Brachiosaurs heralded a seismic change in cinema, and the T-Rex attack cemented it - the audience (myself included) collectively gasped much like when the shark struck in Spielberg’s Jaws almost two decades before.

“I hate computers!”

CGI had come of age and would pave the way for the Star Wars prequels. Decades later, AI-generated content is a thing and not without controversy.

Jurassic Park inspired the BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs documentary series in the late nineties, and Prehistoric Planet continues the tradition on Apple TV+.

Visual effects and how we view and consume media may have radically changed from when dinosaurs ruled the box office in 1993. However, Jurassic Park remains a seminal moment in pop culture history.

A billion-dollar blockbuster forever preserved in amber…

This originally appeared on Stellar Scribes.

LEGO Ideas Jaws

The summer blockbuster season began with director Steven Spielberg's Jaws in 1975.

Jaws fans (myself included) will be delighted that the awesome LEGO Ideas Jaws set featuring Brody, Hooper, Quint and the titular great white shark (Bruce), created by Fan Designer Jonny Campbell AKA Diving Faces, will be released in the future by LEGO.

Jonny Campbell writes: "I built this model because JAWS is my favourite movie. I have a great passion for both LEGO and this movie and I wanted to create my own JAWS set. We reached 10k before, and hopefully we can do it again. We need a JAWS set!"

You can read more about the LEGO Ideas Jaws set here.

In the wake of a global pandemic, adults (myself included) have turned to LEGO for nostalgia and mindfulness. It's worth reiterating LEGO was instrumental in my recovery from a life-changing brain injury in childhood.

What do you think of the LEGO Ideas Jaws building set? Let me know in the comments below.

Steven Spielberg on Desert Island Discs

Steven Spielberg, director of award-winning blockbusters from Jaws to Schindler's List, is a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

Along with George Lucas (Star Wars), Spielberg is the defining film director of my life. Seeing Close Encounters of the Third Kind soon after Star Wars was a seminal experience. The music of John Williams is inextricably linked to both Hollywood auteurs.

Spielberg speaks of his regret regarding shark hunting in the wake of Jaws' success.

You can listen to Lauren Laverne's interview with Spielberg on BBC Sounds.

What's your favourite Steven Spielberg movie? Let me know in the comments below.

John Williams’ classic film scores in Dolby Atmos

Hollywood composer John Williams, who celebrated his 88th birthday in February, is known to generations of film fans for his Oscar-winning soundtracks from Jaws to Star Wars. I can't listen to Adventures on Earth (From E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) without breaking down in tears such are the bittersweet memories it evokes - amplified by my late mum's birthday being in the month of August.

Fans (myself included) can enjoy a brand new recording of the maestro's work, performed with gusto by Wiener Philharmoniker and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and conducted by the composer himself, in Dolby Atmos on Amazon Music HD or Blu-ray. Incidentally, Dolby has a storied history with the Star Wars franchise for which Williams' music is synonymous.

3D audio is no stranger to the company, says Clemens Trautmann, President of Deutsche Grammophon. “As the label that was founded by the inventor of the Gramophone, Deutsche Grammophon has always embraced technological innovation. Building on the long tradition of our engineers, who produced multi-track and quadraphonic recordings in the 1970s and 1980s, Deutsche Grammophon was the first label to create Dolby Atmos mixes of entire symphony cycles starting in 2017. There are so many wonderful details and spatial effects in classical music that are lost in the standard stereo mix, but which are brought to life through the Dolby Atmos technology, adding another dimension to the listening experience. The ‘John Williams in Vienna’ album is a perfect showcase for that: the world’s most renowned film music composer with one of the top orchestras in the fabled acoustics of Musikverein.”

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was released in cinemas 40 years ago and the Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) received top treatment. “It was honestly one of the best presentations of that March I’ve ever heard,” Williams said of the performance. “They played it as though they owned it.”



“Performing at such a prestigious venue as the Musikverein with the magnificent Wiener Philharmoniker and the incomparable Anne-Sophie Mutter was a very great privilege indeed,” recalls Williams. “I’m delighted that listeners will be able to share that experience through the special technology of Dolby Atmos.”

John Couling, Senior Vice President, Commercial Partnerships, Dolby Laboratories added: “John Williams is undoubtedly one of the greatest film composers of all time and for him to have performed with the world-renowned Wiener Philharmoniker at what many consider the home of classical music is an unmissable spectacle. We’re thrilled to present this once-in-a-lifetime concert in Dolby Atmos for fans around the world, ensuring they can enjoy it as though they are sitting in the best seat in the house, any time they like.”

You can subscribe to Amazon Music HD (affiliate link) or buy the Blu-ray (affiliate link).

Jaws back in cinemas this summer

Jaws, the original seventies blockbuster from Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg, returns to UK cinema screens this summer.

Spielberg's shark story is regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made, and caught my imagination at a very young age courtesy of John Williams' iconic soundtrack serenading Star Wars action figure adventures.



The classic blockbuster film will be screening at selected cinemas across the UK from 12th July, including Cineworld, Vue, Picturehouse, Showcase and selected independent cinemas, as well as in selected international territories.

For further details visit Park Circus.

What are your memories of watching Jaws? Let me know in the comments below.

"We're gonna need a bigger chopper."

SyFy's Sharknado, a cult monster movie and social media phenomenon, premieres on UK television this Wednesday.

Unlike Steven Spielberg's seminal blockbuster Jaws. This shark tale is best viewed with copious amounts of alcohol and fast food.

"Underwater, no one can hear you scream."

Nerd alert!

Spent a pleasant afternoon basking in the sunshine on Exmouth seafront and envisaging Transformers Seacons, an aquatic team of Decepticons that combined to form Piranacon (known as King Poseidon in Japan), harassing swimmers, jet skiers and kite surfers! Old habits die hard, blame Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) and the recent media moral panic surrounding alleged Great White shark sightings off of the Cornish coast!

A monolithic menace. The diabolical combination of the five Seacons who comprise him. Master at undersea warfare. Few Autobots can outdistance him or escape his evil clutches. Destroys everything in his path with ghoulish glee. A troublemaker and malcontent. Rarely follows orders. Fellow Decepticons are unable to control him. Capable of creating colossal tidal waves over 300 feet high. Because of his incredible size, Piranacon's reflexes are impaired out of water. Armed with the Seacons' entire arsenal of firepower.

This evening I've been analysing site search statistics. And the top two search terms for this blog are:

1). Jennifer Love Hewitt
2). Scarlett Johansson

Hmm...

Bad Dreams

After playing MacPlay's port of Aliens vs Predator Gold for a few hours and becoming seriously spooked. Thought I would list the ten most nightmarish movies (in no particular order):

*Alien
*Jaws
*John Carpenter's The Thing
*Aliens
*The Fog
*Halloween
*Invasion of the Body Snatchers
*Day of the Dead
*Rabid
*The Fly

I'll leave the closing comment to Newt (Aliens): We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly.

You're going to need a bigger boat

With the premiere of Troy at Cannes, the season of the blockbuster is underway! There appears to be considerable hubbub surrounding the press junket Lollapalooza for DreamWorks Pictures' Shark Tale! Apparently the press are excluded from previews of the unfinished movie!

It will take more than a Finding Nemo clone and Shrek 2 to dislodge PIXAR's crown IMHO! Watch the new trailer from Disney/PIXAR The Incredibles in iTunes 4.5 (available for Mac and PC).

To set the mood, I watched Spielberg's seminal Jaws and Bay/Bruckheimer bombast Bad Boys. Bad Boys is a great demonstration disc and a timely reminder of Bay's skill before the bloated efforts of Armageddon and Pearl Harbour!

Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow promises an antidote to the flag waving of ID4, and clones The Poseidon Adventure albeit on a global scale! You can read Empire magazine's online review at your leisure/peril!

Of all the big budget summer movies, Spider-Man 2 is the one to watch! The first sequel to Spider-Man (2002) promises further character development, improved CGI and Doctor Octopus.

Whether or not James Cameron's Spider-Man treatment (ultimately mired in litigation) would have surpassed Sam Raimi's is now a moot point. Raimi can tell a compelling story (A Simple Plan and The Gift) even if the action scenes, like in the first Spider-Man, are serviceable!

I'm currently debating which new edition of the Spider-Man DVD to purchase? Do I go for the 'triple disc' pack or the Superbit release? I'm more interested in the quality of the movie, and therefore most likely will buy the latter as it includes DTS audio, which I consider superior to Dolby Digital! Panic Room (David Fincher) also receives the three disc treatment from Columbia TriStar later this summer.

If you're a regular reader of IMDb. Read my comments page for film reviews and showbiz ramblings!

In the wake of the MP3Concept Trojan and Mac OS X security fears/moral panic/hype. Mac Users may want to download this new freeware utility from The Iconfactory! Prevention is better than cure! According to various Mac rumour sites, it appears that the release of Mac OS X 10.3.4 is imminent.

Sony Style, one of my favourite sites, is sporting a new look.