3 days ago
Rare photos for 'Jaws' filming uncovered by Yankee Magazine 50 years later
Fifty years ago, a movie about a man-eating shark took the world by storm.
"Jaws," the Steven Spielberg classic released in 1975, was filmed in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, from May through October 1974 and went on to reach legendary film status.
Now, Yankee Magazine is publishing some rare photos from the legendary film, both on its website and in their upcoming July edition.
Peter Vandermark, a photojournalist and retired Boston University journalism professor, reached out to Yankee Magazine wanting to share some photos he took in 1974, when "Jaws" was filming on the island.
"Vandermark was 26 and working for the weekly Cape Cod News when he was sent to Martha's Vineyard for the day to photograph the filming of a movie there," Yankee magazine said. "He had unfettered access to the set, to the cast, and to the young director, a Hollywood upstart named Steven Spielberg. Vandermark's photos appeared in the next week's paper. Since then, he hasn't published a single frame from that shoot—until now."
Vandermark was on the set for the day they filmed the scene where the "Orca" is pursuing the harpooned but still fleeing shark, one of the iconic sequences in the film.
"Spielberg and I were around the same age, but I remember watching him and thinking, Who is this guy? How is he running the whole show? He just seemed like he was from a different world," Vandermark recalled from watching the shooting unfold.
Most of the crew was on a 65-foot tugboat called "Whitefoot" that was "crammed to the gunwales with movie equipment and crew," and where any wave could complicate the shot of the notoriously difficult movie to film.
Vanderbrook was having the photos from that day digitized as part of a book project last year, he told Yankee, which brought them back to the forefront.
"Seeing the digitally scanned images for the first time, with their surprising sharpness and tonal quality, was a thrill," he wrote. I'd been assigned to shoot the making of a movie, and yet the pictures that stand out for me now are the ones of cast and crew hanging out, reading, chatting, and joking around. Those are the kinds of photos that really tell a story."
Yankee executive editor Ian Aldric said they are thrilled to be publishing the photos on their website and in print. "Publishing these incredibly rare behind-the-scenes photographs from the 1974 Jaws set is a remarkable moment for Yankee,' Aldrich said in a press release. 'These images offer an intimate and candid look into the making of a cinematic legend, a true treasure trove for film enthusiasts, and a testament to the enduring power of this blockbuster.
According to The Daily Jaws website, some of the beach scenes in the movie were shot at South Beach in Edgartown. That's where the beach party in the opening scene of the movie was filmed.
One of the more iconic scenes where a boy is attacked in the water on a raft was filmed at Joseph A Sylvia State Beach in Oak Bluffs, The Daily Jaws noted.
Other places people can visit include:
The American Legion Memorial Bridge: In the movie, the shark swims under a bridge to what was supposed to be a' safe' inlet, Sengekontacket Pond. This bridge, located by Sylvia State Beach, is where the shark swims.
Edgartown Town Hall: Used as the town hall in the movie.
The Brody House: Located at 265 East Chop Dr. Vineyard Haven.
The town center: This is where Chief Brody (played by Roy Scheider) gets materials for beach-closed signs. It is at the junction of Water and Main streets in Edgartown, a town on Martha's Vineyard.
The ferry launch: In the north section of Edgartown, at the end of Daggett Street, the Ferry to Chappaquiddick Island can be found. This is where the Mayor of Amity (played by Murray Hamilton) has a talk with Brody about the potential for disaster in revealing the recent shark attacks to the public.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: 'Jaws' director, cast seen in new photos uncovered by Yankee Magazine
