Jaws

(Paperback, 2nd edition)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Steven Spielberg's second feature, released in 1975, was an adaptation of Peter Benchley's best-selling novel about a killer shark terrorising a New England tourist town. Under extreme pressure on a catastrophic location shoot, Universal's 27 year-old prodigy crafted a thriller so effective that for some time Jaws was the highest-grossing film of all time. It was also instrumental in establishing the concepts of the event movie and the summer blockbuster.
Jaws exerts an extraordinary power over audiences. Apparently simplistic and manipulative, it is a film that divided critics into two broad camps: those who dismissed it as infantile and sensational - and those who saw the shark as freighted with complex political and psychosexual meanings. Antonia Quirke, in an impressionistic response, argues that both interpretations obscure the film's success simply as a work of art. In Jaws, Spielberg's ability to blend genres combined with his precocious technical skill to create a genuine masterpiece, which is underrated by many, including its director. Indeed, Quirke argues, it may be his finest work.
In her foreword to this new edition, Antonia Quirke looks back on Jaws, its compelling power and its contemporary resonances fifty years after its release.

Author Bio

Antonia Quirke is a writer and critic. She has reviewed films for the Independent on Sunday, the
Evening Standard, and GMTV, and is the author of a memoir of life as a star-crazed
movie fan, Madame Depardieu and the Beautiful Strangers (2007). She is a regular
presenter on BBC Radio 4s The Film Programme and Pick of the Week and BBC
Ones The Film Show and The One Show. She writes a weekly column on radio for the
New Statesman.