1975 Classic Ranked Among the Greatest Films Ever Made Just Inspired an Unusual New Project
More than 50 years afterJaws first terrified moviegoers, one of Hollywood's most acclaimed filmmakers is still studying it.
Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh has launched an ambitious new project devoted entirely to Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster, the movie he says inspired him to become a filmmaker. Called Production 02074, the interactive app combines production photos, shooting logs, analysis and behind-the-scenes details from the making of Jaws, offering fans an unusually detailed look at one of cinema's most influential productions.
The project is clearly a labor of love. In a new interview with Deadline, Soderbergh revealed that he saw Jaws 31 times in theaters as a teenager and has watched it countless times since. He released the app to coincide with the 51st anniversary of the film's original debut, which was June 20, 1975.
While Jaws, which the American Film Institute ranks among its Greatest Movies of All Time, is often remembered for its shark attacks and edge-of-your-seat suspense, Soderbergh believes the film's lasting power comes from something else entirely.
"Despite all of its bravura filmmaking technique, what makes the film resonate for people to this day is the character work," he told Deadline.
Soderbergh specifically praised scenes involving Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and Quint (Robert Shaw), calling them master classes in storytelling and exposition. He also singled out the famous dinner-table scene between Brody and his young son as one of the film's most effective and heartfelt moments.
The filmmaker said working through Spielberg's production logs gave him an even greater appreciation for what the young director accomplished during the notoriously difficult shoot. Mechanical failures plagued the shark effects, weather caused delays, and there were periods when the production team wasn't sure the movie could even be completed.
"There were six weeks when they were very seriously wondering whether physically it was possible to do what they were trying to do," Soderbergh said.
Looking back, Soderbergh believes Spielberg's determination was the difference between a classic and a catastrophe.
"No one else would've had the vision and the tenacity to see it through," he said. "If you were dealing with any other filmmaker, I literally don't think they would've finished."
Released in 1975, Jaws became a cultural phenomenon and helped redefine the summer movie season. Alongside Star Wars two years later, it helped establish the modern blockbuster model that still dominates Hollywood today.
Yet Soderbergh's fascination with the film isn't really about its box-office success. Instead, he sees Jaws as an enduring lesson in storytelling, perseverance and filmmaking craft. After spending years building a project dedicated to understanding exactly how Spielberg made the movie, he appears more convinced than ever that its reputation is well deserved.
For many film fans, that's hardly surprising. More than half a century later, Jaws remains the rare blockbuster that still feels as thrilling, funny and suspenseful as the day it first arrived in theaters.
Related: Oscar-Winning Steven Spielberg Collaborator Dies at 88
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 6:17 PM.