Somehow, five decades have passed since Steven Spielberg’s Jaws chewed up the big screen. Turning the big Five-Oh is a big deal, so it’s time to celebrate. The iconic movie, based on Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name, took style notes from Hitchcock and the grindhouse movies of the era and became the first-ever summer blockbuster.
Jaws isn’t a complicated movie: It tells the story of a vengeful shark and the tourist beach town of Amity Island, which it decided to terrorize.
The movie starred Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw as police chief Martin Brody, oceanographer Matt Hooper and grizzled shark hunter Quint, respectively. This core trio of men became the only thing standing between the dastardly great white and the unsuspecting folks on the beach. Jaws chomped its way into the pop culture lexicon thanks to John Williams’ iconic theme music and Spielberg’s less-is-more approach (mainly because that shark kept malfunctioning).
I remember seeing Jaws as a kid at the local theater. I’m almost exactly one year younger than the movie, but there was this delightful trend in the ’80s where cinemas would revisit these incredible movies year after year so fans, young and old, could relive the glory. I was immediately hooked on the scope, soundtrack and cinematic terror of the whole thing. Soon after, a ride on the tram at Universal Studios through the Amity Island set cemented my newfound fear/fascination with great white sharks. Five decades later, the legacy of Jaws has endured.
I have this tradition where I do a Jaws marathon just before the summer season. It’s like my own personal Shark Week ahead of the official one that happens each year on The Discovery Channel. Of course, the first is still the best but there’s something comforting about seeing Brody return for Jaws 2 to battle another shark threat. As for Jaws: 3-D and Jaws: The Revenge, there’s certainly a place for them here, even if the plotlines don’t connect as well as the original film. Sometimes you just want to see a revenge-hungry shark pick off unsuspecting people, one by one.
That banana boat rider never had a chance.
Read more: Peacock Review: Few Originals, but Cheap Access to Network TV, Movies May Grab You
How to watch ‘Jaws’ parts 1-4
Beginning today, Sunday, June 15, you can watch every installment in the Jaws franchise on Peacock. This includes the 1975 classic, Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987). The movies will be available to stream on the platform until July 14.
NBC will air a special three-hour telecast of Jaws on Friday, June 20, at 8 p.m. ET/PT to celebrate the movie’s 50th anniversary. It will open with a special introduction from Spielberg himself.
If you want to get in on all the shark streaming action, you’ll need a Peacock subscription. The streamer has two subscription tiers to choose from: Premium (with ads) costs $8 a month or $80 a year and Premium Plus costs $14 a month or $140 per year. With Premium Plus, you’ll have the perk of being able to download titles for offline viewing and access to your local NBC channel.
Students and customers of Xfinity Internet and Instacart Plus can get some cool discounts. It may seem like a lot in the long term but if you choose to pay for the entire year of Premium or Premium Plus, you’ll pay less compared to the streamer’s monthly cost. For more information, head on over to our review.
Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw go shark-hunting in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws.
How to watch all the Jaws movies with a VPN
If you’re traveling abroad and want to keep up with your favorite shows while away from home, a VPN can help enhance your privacy and security when streaming. It encrypts your traffic and prevents your internet service provider from throttling your speeds and can also be helpful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks while traveling, adding an extra layer of protection for your devices and logins.
VPNs are legal in many countries, including the US and Canada, and can be used for legitimate purposes such as improving online privacy and security. However, some streaming services may have policies restricting VPN use to access region-specific content. If you’re considering a VPN for streaming, check the platform’s terms of service to ensure compliance.
If you choose to use a VPN, follow the provider’s installation instructions, ensuring you’re connected securely and in compliance with applicable laws and service agreements. Some streaming platforms may block access when a VPN is detected so verifying if your streaming subscription allows VPN use is crucial.
ExpressVPN is our current pick for the most secure and reliable VPN service. It’s fast, works across multiple devices and offers stable streams. ExpressVPN is normally $13 a month but you can save money with an annual plan. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our review of ExpressVPN.
