20 Things You Somehow Missed In Jaws

The shark is the invisible centre piece of the film. The fear that both the characters and audience experience is the fear of the unknown – you rarely see the ocean monster but can only imagine just how terrifying it is from what it's capable of.

But when it’s whittled down, the shark only has four minutes of airtime. Its presence feels much bigger because there is so much talk and focus on the creature throughout the film.

Spielberg limited the appearances of Bruce because not only did it make the audiences use their imagination but he wanted to the story to be more character focused. Furthermore, the man-made sharks were so difficult to maintain and use in the water that he was forced to do many of the shots from the shark’s perspective (such as in the very opening scene when it approaches Chrissie).

It is painfully ironic how the mechanical "Bruces" each cost up to $250,000 and yet, would only be seen on film for a grand total of four minutes.