A real tragedy that occurred on the New Jersey coast in 1916 would become, decades later, the inspiration for one of the most iconic films in the horror and suspense genre:Shark.
From the death of four bathers, attacked by an almost three-meter long white shark, which devastated the east coast of the United States, for two weeks Steven Spielberg has created the most threatening sea creature in the history of cinema. jaws (in the original), It was first presented in 1975, based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley.
In the film, the fictional beaches of Amity Island were the scene of the killing and subsequent shark hunt, carried out by local police, a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter, played by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, along with Lorraine Garyas wife of the police chief.
A young director, who has remained in history
Steven Spielberg, who he was not yet 30 when he started generating this project, one of the most ambitious of the genre to date, chose the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, as the setting for his filming. The director wanted a real ocean to shoot the scenes and, despite the difficulties, it happened.
The killer shark made famous on the big screen it was actually a mechanical replica. To highlight the presence of the fearsome predatory fish, the director made use of some unmistakable chords composed by John Williams which, even today, serve to illustrate soundly the disturbing idea of imminent danger.
Although the shooting was quite erratic because the mechanical replica of the shark didn’t always work as expected, delaying production three months longer than expected and triple the budget, the film was a blockbuster and the director’s first major success. The difficulties paid off and with a vengeance: it cost 9 million and raised more than 500.
The film that opened the era of merchandising
With the backlash of the film, the great era of merchandising also begins: T-shirts, towels, objects and games based on the terrifying soul proliferatedthe image of its jaws in the foreground, multiplied all over the world.
Filming involved constant negotiation between Steven Spielberg and the film’s producers, worried about the delay and everything became more expensive each time the mechanical shark dived into the sea and came out faded, for example, which forced one to repeat the scene over and over again. And to repaint it, of course.
The difficulties of shooting Shark they stopped filming and even, the film ran the risk of being truncated.
The mechanical problems of the fictional shark, created especially for the big screen, have been added the extreme fatigue of the technical team that resumes at sea, with unfavorable conditions which included frequent dizziness, sunstroke and similar problems that do not occur on the ground. Many times they had to suspend shooting for a technician or assistant who was not in physical condition.
Spielberg sees it from afar
“I was pretty naive about the ocean and mother nature. It was the arrogance of a director who thinks he can conquer the elements and was reckless, ”Steven Spielberg said years later about the difficult experience of making his first iconic film.
“The difference between shooting in the Atlantic Ocean and not in a giant tank in a Hollywood studio was the only way the audience could feel these three men being thrown adrift into the sea with a great white shark looking for. to hunt them down. “he stated why he was so specific with wanting shoot the film in real places.
While for the producers the technical problems with the mechanical shark were a headache, for Spielberg it ended up being a creative incentive: “Everything on land was normal and whatthat the shark didn’t work was a godsend. When I didn’t have control over the mechanical shark, I could rewrite the script. “
A Hitchcock-style cameo, but in the audio
Happy with his idea brought to the screen, Steven Spielberg was delighted to appear in a cameo in the film. The director’s voice is heard through a radio message received from one of the characters while he is hunting on the high seas. At the time, of course, no one knew, except the director and his team.
For movie fans,Shark is a twist on one of the classics of universal literature such as Moby Dick (versioned several times in the cinema) although in the novel by Herman Melville the sea monster was represented by a whale.
Winner of three Oscars (best editing, best soundtrack and best sound), with SharkSteven Spielberg gave shape, sound and color to the nightmare of facing the danger of the unknown for a moment of peace while swimming in the sea. She managed to make the film one of the 100 best in the history of cinema.
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Source: Clarin
