‘Jaws’ at 50: How ‘perfect film’ drove public fascination with sharks and still makes us afraid to swim

As Steven Spielberg’s "Jaws" celebrates its 50th anniversary on Friday, Hollywood film experts and those closest to the movie are reflecting on the "perfect film" that still inspires love and fear for the ocean and sharks half a century later.

"When ‘Jaws’ hit the world, there is just no doubt that it caused a lot of fear and excitement, but it also got people really interested in the ocean and in sharks," Wendy Benchley, the wife of late "Jaws" author Peter Benchley, told Fox News Digital.

Benchley, an ocean conservationist and former New Jersey councilwoman, recently partnered with Spielberg’s company, Amblin Documentaries, to help produce "JAWS @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story." 

The documentary, which will premiere July 10 on National Geographic, looks under the hood of the classic adventure-horror movie that is perhaps the definitive summer blockbuster. It features archival footage, some taken from Benchley’s own collection, as well as interviews with Spielberg, the cast and crew, shark experts, and ocean conservationists.

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"Jaws" came out 50 years ago, on June 20, 1975. Steven Spielberg and National Geographic are premiering a new documentary celebrating the classic film's anniversary.

Weeks ahead of the documentary’s premiere, Benchley spoke to Fox about the enormous impact the film has had on American culture since its debut in 1975. Adapted from her late husband’s novel of the same name with a screenplay co-written by him, it not only changed Hollywood and pop culture forever but altered many people’s views of sharks and the ocean at large.

"I do think it's true that Jaws, the book, and the movie created this astonishing phenomenon, and sharks became – people feared them, but they also were excited – people were interested in them, and it jump-started research," Benchley said.

"It definitely jump-started interest in the oceans and in sharks," she declared.

Benchley mentioned the excitement she’s personally encountered over the years thanks to her husband and Spielberg’s film. "Just hundreds and hundreds of people, every time I give a speech, they all come up and say, ‘When I was a child… I just loved sharks, I was so fascinated in them, and now my children and grandchildren are the same.’"

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Wife of the late "Jaws" author Peter Benchley, Wendy Benchley, spoke to Fox News Digital this month about the fim adaptation's enduring legacy.  (Gabriel Hays for Fox News Digital)

Benchley also talked about some of the initial stigma that Spielberg’s terrifying film generated about sharks in general, saying she was disturbed by that effect.

"But there was this fear that came, and there was an uptick in the number of shark tournaments. And people seemed to take this fiction, this novel, as some kind of license to kill sharks. So that just horrified Peter and me," she said.

However, Benchley mentioned that this fear of sharks inspired her and her husband to dedicate their lives to educating people about the importance of sharks and our ocean environments. 

"We worked for years, and we worked along with hundreds of other people who were scientists and doing expeditions and creating the knowledge that we now have to know where the sharks are and the really positive influence they have on the ocean," she said.

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The new documentary "Jaws @ 50" will premiere July 10 at 9/8c on National Geographic, as well as on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.

As far as why she believes "Jaws" is such a beloved film to this day, the ocean conservationist told Fox that it’s the combination of good "monster" and a "powerful story." 

"I think it's a good story and a powerful story. And I do think that we love our monsters, as E.O. Wilson said," Benchley said, quoting the famous American sociobiologist.

"You have a creature that could hurt you and harm you, and you don't know how to control it, or you don't know how to get rid of it," Benchley continued. "And so that was the power, that was the tension of the movie."

With an all-star cast led by Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw and Roy Scheider, and an unforgettable villain in the little-seen great white shark terrorizing a northeastern beach community, "Jaws" was a box office smash that launched Spielberg to directing stardom.

Hollywood film critic Christian Toto told Fox News Digital that"Jaws" is a "perfect film."

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(GERMANY OUT) Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, Mexico, Pacific ocean, Guadalupe  (Photo by Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images) (Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Mentioning some of the famous onset issues that plagued the production, including an often-faulty great white prop, he continued, "Yes, Bruce the Shark malfunctioned and lacks the ‘wow’ factor that modern special effects teams can muster. The film remains an unparalleled treat, and the limited time we actually see the shark makes it even more thrilling."

He praised the film’s classic cast and director, stating, "The trio of Chief Brody, Quint and Hooper represent the male spectrum - from Alpha Male to the refined intellectual. That adds an extra layer to the thrills. A young Steven Spielberg showed a maturity behind the camera that belied his years."

"The ending is iconic, and even the tiny moments matter. What could be more human than Richard Dreyfuss' Hooper saying, ‘I've got no spit,’ as he prepares to meet the shark face-to-face?" Toto continued, also making sure not to forget the film’s memorable soundtrack.

"That John Williams score ... perfection."

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Toto said today’s fare doesn’t measure up to "Jaws." 

"‘Jaws’ would thrive in any era. Great movies stand the test of time. Modern blockbusters may offer more razzle dazzle, but it's near impossible to replicate the greatness in ‘Jaws.’ Fifty years later, some of us are still afraid to go into the water, and we can thank ‘Jaws’ for that," he said.

Ross Williams at "The Daily Jaws," a website dedicated to news, history and trivia about the classic film, said the movie is still so culturally relevant because "it taps into something primal—and it never lets go."

"At its core, Jaws is about fear: the fear of the unknown, of nature’s raw power, and of losing control. Spielberg didn’t just make a shark movie—he made a myth. That fin breaking the surface is now as iconic as Dracula’s cape or the lightsaber’s hum," Williams said.

When asked why "Jaws" is still better than many of the summer blockbusters that followed it, he said, "In an age where modern blockbusters often bombard the senses, Jaws pulls you in by what it doesn’t show. The shark barely appears in the first half—but the tension is unbearable. Spielberg used limitations as fuel for suspense, letting imagination do half the work. And that makes it timeless."

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