
‘Jaws’ changed movies forever, but Hollywood could still learn from it
Fifty years after “Jaws” sunk its teeth into us, we’re still admiring the bite mark. Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film, his second feature, left such a imprint on culture and Hollywood that barely any trip to the movies, let alone to the beach, hasn’t been the same since. “Jaws” established — and still in many ways defines — the summer movie. And yet the “Jaws” legacy is so much more than being Hollywood’s prototype blockbuster. It’s not possible to, 50 years later, watch Spielberg’s film and see nothing but the beginning of a box-office bonanza, or the paler fish it’s inspired. It’s just too good a movie — and too much unlike so many wannabes since –— to be merely groundbreaking.