<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $9 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $470.7 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name . In the story, a giant man - eating great white shark attacks beachgoers on Amity Island, a fictional New England summer resort town, prompting the local police chief to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter . The film stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint, Richard Dreyfuss as oceanographer Matt Hooper, Murray Hamilton as Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity Island, and Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen . The screenplay is credited to both Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor - writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography . </P> <P> Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean . As a result, the film had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule . As the art department's mechanical sharks suffered many malfunctions, Spielberg decided to mostly suggest the animal's presence, employing an ominous, minimalistic theme created by composer John Williams to indicate the shark's impending appearances . Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of classic thriller director Alfred Hitchcock . Universal Pictures gave the film what was then an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture, over 450 screens, accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie - in merchandise . </P>

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