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Despite what some say, ‘Jaws’ is the quintessential Massachusetts movie
“Jaws” may be a New York book, but it’s a Massachusetts movie.
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Friday, June 20, marked the 50th anniversary of “Jaws,” which first hit theaters in 1975. The Steven Spielberg film took over Martha’s Vineyard for six months in 1974, and despite countless setbacks (mostly related to the famously malfunctioning mechanical shark, Bruce), the thriller was a massive success, becoming what is widely known as the first modern blockbuster.
Unfortunately, “Jaws” celebrated its golden anniversary with a loss in our Massachusetts Movie Madness bracket. Though it’s hard to argue with the readers’ choice of “Good Will Hunting,” it’s a rotten birthday present for Spielberg’s creature feature.
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If you’d like to read more about why “Good Will Hunting” thoroughly deserved its crown, I went in-depth on the movie that launched Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s career in this article.
But for this edition of The Queue, I want to address a somewhat controversial issue that arose when our bracket launched. Namely, does “Jaws” even count as a Massachusetts film?
Is “Jaws” a Massachusetts film?
In the kickoff announcement for our Massachusetts movie madness bracket, I set two firm rules for a movie to be included in the competition. One, the film must have shot at least some scenes in Massachusetts, and two, the film must be at least partially set in Massachusetts.
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We know all about how “Jaws” spent months filming on Martha’s Vineyard. But as reader Andrea P. pointed out in an email, the film never explicitly states that Amity Island is actually in Massachusetts.
“Jaws may have been filmed in Massachusetts but its fictional setting wasn’t specifically MA,” she wrote. “Several arguments about the movie state the setting as ‘New England.’ In the book, it was Amity NY (a fictional place on Long Island).”
Andrea is correct. Though Peter Benchley may have written much of his 1974 novel while living on Nantucket, the book explicitly places Amity Island off the coast of Long Island near the Hamptons. And Benchley had an infamous 1964 shark attack off of Long Island on his mind when he wrote the book.
But there are three distinct points that I believe put this issue to bed once and for all, solidifying “Jaws” as a Massachusetts movie. (A hat tip to this Reddit thread for additional insights.)
1. The dialogue
In the very first scene that we meet Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) he has the following exchange with his wife, Ellen (Lorraine Gary) as they watch their kids play.
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Martin: They must be in the backyard.
Ellen: In Amity, you say: yahd.
Martin: There in the yahd, not too fah from the cah. How’s that?
Ellen: Like you’re from New York.
Does that sound like a conversation that would take place in the Hamptons?
2. The little details
There are a number of small bits of information that point to Amity Island as being explicitly in Massachusetts. The most significant of these is the license plate on the Mayor’s car. While you can’t see the word Massachusetts on it, that sure looks like the red license plate the Bay State uses. (There’s a piece of official “Jaws” merchandise where it actually says Massachusetts on the plate, but that’s not in the movie.)
Then there’s the scene where Alex Kintner is killed. Right before the attack, Brody is listening to the radio, where the announcer mentions a ferry schedule for Martha’s Vineyard, Amity and Nantucket Islands.” Why would any other state’s radio broadcast that information?
3. The producer himself says it was Massachusetts
David Brown is the producer at 20th Century Fox who brought “Jaws” into production. In a 2004 book about Brown’s career in Hollywood, he discussed the filming of “Jaws.” Brown talked about how Benchley’s novel was changed significantly, and said that he ruled out the book’s Long Island setting as “too grand” for the movie he and Spielberg wanted to make.
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“We needed a vacation spot that was lower middle class enough so that an appearance of a shark would destroy the tourist business,” Brown told author Steven Priggé. “In Southampton, they would pay you to have a shark to keep the tourists out. So that was not going to be the spot.”
The unassailable conclusion? “Jaws” may be a New York book, but it’s a Massachusetts movie.
Play or Skip
In honor of this bracket’s conclusion, here’s where you can watch some of readers’ favorite Massachusetts movies on streaming. (To see a full list of how to watch all 32 movies in our bracket, check out this article.)
Press play on these Mass. movie classics.
“Jaws” (1975): It took six months of shooting, reshooting, and cutting around the malfunctioning mechanical shark, but Steven Spielberg ultimately produced one of the most suspenseful movies of all time and gave birth to the modern blockbuster. (Peacock)
“The Town” (2010): The scene in which Ben Affleck’s gang of Charlestown bank robbers enter Fenway Park may be the best action setpiece ever filmed in this city. (Netflix)
“Good Will Hunting” (1997): Matt Damon had to fight this movie’s original studio to film in Boston instead of Canada, saying that he and co-writer Ben Affleck saw the city as another character in the movie. Thank goodness they did. (Paramount+ and Pluto TV)
But you can go ahead and skip this one:
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“Jaws: The Revenge” (1987): Don’t be fooled by Sir Michael Caine’s name in the credits: “Jaws: The Revenge,” the fourth film in the franchise, is the bottom of the barrel. But don’t take our word for it — here’s what Caine said about the film: “I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.’’ (Peacock)
End Credits
That’s a wrap on this edition of The Queue. Thank you so much for playing along with my movie bracket – I hope you had as much fun voting as I did making it!
Also, despite what Seth Meyers said on his late-night show, I would like to state for the record that we received zero write-in votes for “your mother’s sex tape.”
I’m on vacation next week, but if you’re a fan, please consider recommending this newsletter to your friends.
Until next time, good stream hunting, everyone!
— Kevin
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