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Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is more than just a film. It’s a cinematic milestone that changed Hollywood forever. Often credited as the first-ever summer blockbuster, the movie not only terrified audiences worldwide but also redefined the thriller genre with its masterful suspense-building and groundbreaking special effects. Adapted from Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws follows a small beach town terrorized by a great white shark, forcing Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw), and marine biologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) to take the battle to the sea.
Beyond its technical brilliance, Spielberg’s meticulous attention to detail was crucial in shaping the film’s atmosphere. From John Williams’ haunting score to the strategic use of color, every creative choice added to Jaws’ immersive horror. In fact, Spielberg made an unusual request to his production designer. He wanted to minimize the use of red on set, which was a brilliantly calculated move.
Steven Spielberg Wanted To Create A Higher Impact On The Bloodiest Scenes In Jaws
In a previous conversation with Vanity Fair, Spielberg revealed that he specifically instructed production designer Joe Alves to limit the use of red in the film’s sets and props. “Yes, for Jaws, I didn’t want red to be dominant on any of the sets,” Spielberg explained. “I told Joe [Alves], ‘Please . . . when you’re designing the picture and finding your colors, don’t use too much red, allowing for the blood.’”
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This request may seem surprising for a film centered around a bloodthirsty shark, but Spielberg’s reasoning was both artistic and psychological. Red is an inherently intense color associated with danger, violence, and death. By keeping red to a minimum, Spielberg ensured that it would have maximum impact whenever it did appear, most notably as blood in the water. “The Kintner boy had a red bathing suit, and we did have red wine in the scene with Hooper and Brody at the dinner table, but there was a bit of symbolism and foreshadowing in that,” he added.
Unlike many monster movies that rely on excessive gore, Steven Spielberg opted for a suspense-driven approach, where the fear of the unknown was far more terrifying than what was explicitly shown. When red does finally flood the screen, whether it’s the brutal attack on the Kintner boy or Quint’s gruesome death, it delivers a visual and emotional shock, making the horror all the more visceral.
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