‘Jaws’ 50th Anniversary Documentary Release Date

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, “Jaws” is circling the boat yet again. In honor of the legendary blockbuster’s 50th anniversary, National Geographic is premiering “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story” in July. From “Faye” and “Music by John Williams” filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau, the documentary will explore the notoriously troubled shoot, its groundbreaking release, and the ripple effects the movie had on the industry and beach culture.

“Jaws @ 50” will air at 9 p.m. ET on July 10 on National Geographic and then stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. Spielberg, along with production designer Joe Alves, actors Jonathan Filley, Lorriane Gary, Carl Gottieb, Jeffrey Kramer, Jeffrey Voorhees, and composer John Williams are all interviewed. The documentary will also feature insight from high-profile fans and filmmakers, including Jordan Peele, Steven Soderbergh, James Cameron, Cameron Crowe, Emily Blunt, Greg Nicotero, J.J. Abrams, George Lucas, and Guillermo del Toro.

Soderbergh told IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast in January that he was working on an “inside baseball” book, intended just for filmmakers, on the “Jaws” production.

“After they’ve done all the land shooting, and they get out into the ocean … it starts to go bad,” Soderbergh said. “As a filmmaker, reading these logs and these descriptions, it’s excruciating, it’s painful. I know what it’s like to have things not happening [right], but this is on a level that is just mind-blowing.”

The chaotic “Jaws” history is perhaps best known for its malfunctioning shark. During a 1995 documentary interview, Richard Dreyfuss recalled the months-long location shoot in Martha’s Vineyard.

“There were all these radio mics all over the island … so wherever you were on the island, you could hear the radio mics, and they were always saying, ‘The shark is not working. The shark is not working. Repeat, the shark is not working.’ No matter where you were and for months,” Dreyfuss recalled.

“Jaws @ 50” is the latest in a string of celebrations for the classic, which will culminate in the unveiling of the Academy Museum of Motion Picture’s ambitious “Jaws: The Exhibition” on September 14. In addition to “Bruce the Shark,” the 25-foot-long full-scale shark model from the movie that has been on display since the museum’s opening in 2021, “Jaws: The Exhibition” will include numerous artifacts and rare documents related to the film, many of which come directly from Spielberg himself.

“Jaws” cost less than $9 million to produce, but it grossed over $470 million worldwide, beating out a crowded 1975 slate that also included “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Shampoo” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

“Jaws @ 50” premieres July 10 on National Geographic, and July 11 on Disney+ and Hulu. Watch the trailer below: