very box office record at the time, it broke ground in visual effects, constructing a mechanical, remote-controlled replica of a great white shark. Steven reflects back on 1975 during the shooting of Jaws, it was the loneliest time of my life. Jaws exacerbates the loneliness by the sheer size of the Atlantic Ocean and the challenge of shooting a complete motion picture on the water (Corliss 78). Gary Arnold wrote of Jaws, There has never been an adventure-thriller quite as terrifying yet enjoyable as Jaws, and it should set the standard in its field for many years to come (Graham 529). And that it did. The film would set the standard in the thriller genre with films like John Carpenters 1978 slasher Halloween. Replace the seaside community with Haddenfield, Illinois and the shark with Michael Myers and you have a prime example of the Jaws influence. Not only influencing the genre, the film had a lasting affect on ordinary moviegoers alike. Betty Martinelle, your average film fan recalls at the time, although it probably didnt keep most people out of the water that summer, theres hardly a person around that didnt at least take a good glance at the water before going in (Martinelle). Aside from establishing himself as Hollywoods director to watch out for, Jaws marked his first time collaborating with composer and former head of the Boston Pops, John Williams. He created the now famous two-note theme to the movie as well as doing the scores for everyone of Stevens films to come afterward. Grossing well over 200 million dollars, Jaws created the concept of the summer movie blockbuster.Coming off the phenomenal success of Jaws, Steven went back to his passion for science fiction with 1977s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The film, which Steven both wrote and directed, focuses on an alien-obsessed family man played by Richard Dreyfuss and his fascination with alien spaceships. Its a movie for people who like to use their imag...
