JAWS swims to 50 UK celebration with timely festive TV screening

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, the film that changed cinema forever and launched the modern summer blockbuster, will mark its 50th anniversary in the UK with a special Christmas Day screening on BBC 2.

The festive broadcast forms part of a unique celebration that also includes the terrestrial television premiere of the new documentary Jaws @ 50, taking viewers from Christmas night into the early hours of Boxing Day.

That's especially fitting as JAWS didn't actually debut in the UK on the big screen until December 26 1975, Boxing Day. Hard to imagine such a film taking over six months to swim to UK screens. 

Half a century on, the BBC’s decision to let the celebrations roll past midnight means the anniversary is officially ushered in at the very moment the calendar turns to December 26 – exactly 50 years since British cinemagoers first heard John Williams’ ominous two-note theme on the big screen.

BBC 2 will begin the evening with Spielberg’s 1975 classic, allowing families and film fans to revisit the story of the great white shark that terrorises the fictional seaside town of Amity Island. Featuring iconic performances from Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, JAWS is just as gripping as ever, blending suspense, character drama and unforgettable imagery and music.

Following the film, the channel will air Jaws @ 50, a documentary examining the extraordinary legacy of the movie five decades on. Featuring interviews with filmmakers, critics and cast members, the programme explores how a troubled production – plagued by mechanical failures, weather delays and budget overruns – ultimately resulted in one of the most successful and influential films in history.

The documentary, which also features the likes of Steven Spielberg and our very own Ross Williams, founder of The Daily Jaws, charts the cultural impact of JAWS, which The Daily Jaws - as the world's number one JAWS fansite - has been a continuing crusader for.

As the documentary runs into the early hours of Boxing Day, viewers will cross the anniversary threshold alongside the programme itself. It is a fitting tribute to a film that has transcended generations, continuing to thrill, frighten and fascinate audiences 50 years after it first surfaced in UK cinemas.

And if that wasn't enough on Boxing Day evening, JAWS 2 also gets an airing on BBC2. It too was released in the UK on Boxing Day, this time in 1978. All of which makes it a bumper viewing selection box for UK JAWS, shark film and cinema fans alike.