Jaws trailers: from 1975 to IMAX

Jaws wouldn’t have been the monster box office hit it was without its advertising, which including not just the classic Roger Kastel poster, but also captivating TV and cinema trailers, which saw audiences do a bigger vote with their feet and queue round the block to see the Steven Spielberg classic in the summer of 1975.

Fast forward almost 50 years, and there’s been a whole shiver of shark movies this year, from The Requin and Shark Bait to The Reef: Stalked and Blood in the Water, but THE apex shark movie, Jaws, is back on big screen to show them the way to go home and that this nearly five decade old predator is still boss in these waters.

And Quint, Hooper, Brody and more importantly their boat has never been seen bigger than in IMAX, which debuts in the US on September 2, before swimming onto UK screens on September 9.

Jaws IMAX trailer - 2022

The IMAX trailer is something special, in fact we defy any Jaws fan to not watch it and get goosebumps, the modern-day trailer showcasing just how effective and seminal the shark thriller still is all those years since it first swam onto screens.

The new trailer makes extensive use of that John Williams score – you’d be mad not to - and key iconic scenes, such as the opening attack on Chrissie Watkins, the attack on Alex Kintner and the crowd-pleasing “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” line from Chief Brody (Roy Scheider).

Dean Newman, head of content at The Daily Jaws, the world’s number one Jaws fan site, said: “The trailer is like welcoming an old friend, and just makes you hungry for more. And now we’re gonna get to see it on an even bigger screen for the very first time, seeing it on IMAX will be like a miracle of cinematic evolution.”

But what about those Jaws trailers that came before?

Jaws 1975 release trailer

Perhaps more famous than the visuals in the trailer of Jaws, is the voice of Jaws, in the shape of Percy Rodrigues. Who can forget his delivery of "It is as if God created the Devil and gave him...JAWS!"

Jaws - Theatrical Trailer (HD) (1975)

Wisely, Universal used him on all three Jaws sequels. The Daily Jaws paid homage to that original voiceover for one of its trailers to the Jaws WeMake.

Jaws 1975 re-release trailer

Boasting the incredible numbers of people who saw Jaws on its original theatrical run is Percy Rodrigues again, telling us about Jaws having a limited re-release. Remember, back in 1975 there was no other way to see Jaws than in theaters and re-releasing films was the norm, in the days before video, DVD, Bluray or streaming.

Jaws re-release trailer (1975)

Jaws 2012 re-release trailer

As part of the 100 years celebrations of Universal Studios, Jaws was unleashed back on the big screen for a limited time – which marked my very first time of seeing the classic shark movie in cinemas, and I was not disappointed.

The trailer had all the key points, and was more a celebration for Jaws fans, showing us the shark and several key moments and characters.

Jaws 2019 re-release trailer

This trailer may be short, but it delivers in chum buckets when it comes to raising tension – and crucially doesn’t go showing off the shark. We might all have seen the film, but we still don’t want to see everything being given away in the trailer and this very much respects the Steven Spielberg decision of not to show the great white.

But the greatest part of the trailer is at the beginning, were it subtly spells out Jaws in a series of onscreen messages, taking the J from “This July”, the A from “your worst fears” and W, S from “will resurface.” Check it out for yourself below.