Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (2025)

Wait...what happened to Jaws 5-49?

A retrospective on the original summer blockbuster that started it all, in commemoration of its 50th anniversary. It explores the film's rushed and infamously troubled production, as it was optioned back in 1973 and quickly came together over the summer of '74 when the studio took a chance on a promising young filmmaker that paid off in spades. It's a bit rudimentary and uneven, balancing behind-the-scenes footage with newly filmed interviews from Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron (et al) and the family of Peter Benchley, interspersed with facts demystifying the great white shark (courtesy of National Geographic), as well as the legacy it still holds today.

2½ mechanical failures out of 5

Note: For an even more in-depth and comprehensive look back at the film, check out The Making of Jaws (1995), a two-hour documentary featured on all the LaserDisc/DVD/Blu-Ray/4K releases, also directed by Laurent Bouzereau.