Jaws Movie Comparison

The film, Jaws, was the first of its kind. As we learned this week, around the time Jaws was released in theaters, the film industry was changing into what we know it as today. As the film industry finally began to discover its identity, more commercialized movies started emerging in box offices everywhere.

In the 1960s, there was a crisis in the studio system. Most movies that were being produced were failures and flopping in theaters. For example, Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, was a highly anticipated movie of the time. Funded by a production company, it was projected to make a large profit, however, the film was a huge bust. Although, this was not the case for every film. Psycho, the horror/thriller starring Anthony Perkins, fared very well in the box offices. The difference between the two films is that Psycho was funded by the director. He used his own money for the production of his movie because he didn’t want a

Being the first movie to make more than 100 million in the box office, the thrill of sharks drew audience members from all over to the theaters to see what the excitement was all about. Movies like Jaws can be termed as a high concept film. By definition, high concept is a type of artistic work that can easily be pitched with a concisely stated premise. High concept movies have specific characteristics, all of which can be found in Jaws. First, high concept films can be summed up and sold in a single sentence. Second, the plot of the film is the main focus, instead of character recognition. Lastly, the premise of high concept films are usually original and unique with high key visual images. In the case of Jaws, it mastered all three concepts making it a major success. Jaws can be summed up as a movie about a shark that terrorizes a New England tourist town. While there is character development throughout the movie, the main focus is the plot and the visuals of sharks