Is Jaws 2 'shark photo' actually a freeze-frame from original Jaws?
We’re all used to movie sequels directly repurposing parts of an original to help tell their story. Usually this is done for emotional effect or to highlight an essential plot point. When done well, it can really elevate the impact a sequel can have. A great recent example being Top Gun: Maverick (2022), with the Jaws franchise not being immune to this tactic either.
During the climax of Jaws The Revenge (1987), Ellen Brody appears to flashback (in sepia) to the moment the fourth shark (Vengeance) kills her youngest son Sean; and also when her late husband Amity Island Chief of Police Martin Brody kills the first shark in the original Jaws (1975).
Whether this is defintely a flashback, more of a callback in an effort to align with Steven Spielberg’s original on some level or even just a lazy way of showing the saga coming full circle is up for debate. Either way, it’s a blatant exploitation and bastardisation of a masterpiece. However, this might not be the first time that an element from the original Jaws has been used in a sequel.
The first sequel in the Jaws franchse, Jaws 2 (1978), Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
At the start of Jaws 2 (1978) we see two scuba divers photgraphing the sunken wreck of the Orca get attacked and killed by what we assume to be another giant shark.
The last thing we see in this opening sequence is the diver’s camera flashing, taking photographs of the attack as it sinks to the seabed. These photos will come to play an important role in the story later, however, there may more than meets the eye to this plot point.
Upon retrieval of the diver’s camera, Chief Brody orders the film be developed in an effort to explain the mysterious disappearences. When Brody gets the call to say the photos are being developed, he heads straight to Fogarty’s photo lab.
While in the dark room, we watch with Brody as a developing photo slowly comes into clarity. It appears to show what could be the close-up, obscured partial eye and upper jaw of a shark. Brody confirms his thoughts by telling Fogarty “That’s it. That’s the one.” However, if we take a closer look at the image, it could be revealing another secret.
In Steven Spielberg’s original Jaws, the climax has Chief Brody trapped in the sinking Orca when the shark crashes through the window. The shark gets inches from Brody, who manages to throw one of Hooper’s air tanks into it’s mouth.
Now, look closely at this shot from the final cut of Jaws of the shark crashing through the window into the Orca.
Now, take another look at the developed photo from the diver’s camera in Jaws 2…..
The diver’s photograph appears to be a freeze-frame of the aforementioned shot from Jaws. The proportions and positions of the eye and upper jaw outline are perfectly aligned. Even the reflection in the shark’s eye is the same. Some simple manipulation and filtering would allow for the effect of the bubbles in the foreground (to give it some scale?).
When Brody takes the photo to the Town Hall to try and convince the Select Committee that Amity island has '“another shark problem”, he says “And I know what a shark looks like, because I've seen one up close.” The moment the shark in the original Jaws crashed through the window of the Orca is as close as the shark got to him.
So the question is, was this line and use of this freeze-frame deliberate on the part of the filmmakers? Was it a co-incidence or have we got it completely wrong?
“Like many of you reading this I too was stunned when the photo similarities were pointed out [by Ross]. But then I thought back to the scene where Brody presents the photo to the selectmen. “That’s a shark,” he tells them. “And I know what a shark looks like because I’ve seen one up close!” He certainly has...possibly this one.”
Carl Gottlieb (centre) pictured with Ross from The Daily Jaws and Jaws Production designer Joe Alves
We have reached out to Jaws 2 director Jeannot Szwarc and screenwriter Carl Gottlieb for comment. We will update you as soon as they come back to us.
Words by Ross Williams
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