Bruce was built by Bob Mattey of '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' fame. All the mechanical beasts (for there were three 'Bruces') had a steel skeleton and were jammed full of air-powered pneumatics that moved various parts of their bodies and hydraulics to make the famous jaws go up and down.
Jaws' largest and most iconic cast member, dubbed Bruce, was actually three different mechanical sharks—and for a couple scenes, was played by a real great white. Before filming started in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, a crew went to Australia to get some cage-diving close-ups with a great white.
To give the illusion of the shark's monster-size, a real 15 foot great white was filmed swimming around a miniature shark cage that housed a diminutive 4′ 11″ actor. The animatronic sharks, on the other hand, were built to full 25-foot scale.
Footage of real sharks was shot by Ron and Valerie Taylor in the waters off Dangerous Reef in South Australia, with a short actor in a miniature shark cage to create the illusion that the sharks were enormous. During the Taylors' shoot, a great white attacked the boat and cage.
Bruce's great size may be due to his longevity; as real Great Whites are capable of living 72+ years, it is likely that Bruce may be of advanced age, which might explain its size. In the film, Bruce's attack on Alex Kintner was supposed to be more brutal, with the shark actually rising from the water to attack the boy.
Why did the shark not work properly during the filming of Jaws?
Part of the reason why Bruce kept breaking down was because he had initially been tested in fresh water. But the ocean around Martha's Vineyard, where the movie was filmed, was salt water. That saltwater kept corroding both the inside and outside of the mechanism, causing the shark to sink.
In Jaws, the barrels were the primary offenses against any fish that Quint came up against. They were designed to be harpooned to the animals, and as they swam with the barrels tagged behind them, the fish would tire out and eventually slow down or die from exhaustion.
According to a 1968 "Life" Magazine story, Jose Marco, Burt Reynolds's stunt double, was in the water in scuba gear alongside a subdued bull shark when a great white slipped through the nets protecting the area. It charged at the camera crew before launching at Marco and disemboweling him where he swam.
Skilled divers and well-known in their home country, the Australian couple Ron and Valerie Taylor set off to capture the footage that would be used in the climactic 1975 scene in which Richard Dreyfuss's Hooper, seemingly safe in a shark cage, confronts the monster terrorizing beachgoers.
Three mechanical sharks were made for it, but they were unreliable and the foam they were made of soaked up water and made them bloat. For that reason, the director chose not to show the shark much, which built suspense and improved the film, he says.
Although “Jaws” was a highly successful film and generated an entire sub-genre, its portrayal of sharks as dangerous man-eaters is far from reality, and it has had a lasting impact on public perception of these fascinating and important animals.
It is unknown why the sharks attacked humans, especially in the first and second movies. In the third and fourth movies, both sharks are seeking revenge after losing family members to humans.
Since the release of Jaws in 1975, the world has witnessed a staggering decline of 71% in shark and ray populations, and around 100 million sharks are killed each year. This depletion puts a whopping 75% of shark species at risk of extinction.
Dreyfuss got to see the play himself and said he felt “hurt” by it. Richard Dreyfuss was one of the stars of Jaws who played marine biologist Matt Hooper. Vanity Fair reported the veteran actor watched a performance of “The Shark is Broken” unimpressed by what he saw of the alleged feud between him and Robert Shaw.
'Bruce', the Great White primary antagonist, was portrayed by animatronic sharks, while the red herring of the picture, 'Oscar' was the real deal. As Universal Studios busied themselves around Edgartown Harbor filming their fictional shark hunt, a group of actual Vineyard anglers embarked on a similar venture.
Still, the movie did prompt some fears of sharks. Much of the suspense in Jaws stems from the fact that viewers hardly ever actually see the great white shark in the film. It was an intentional choice done in part to build anticipation—but it was also the result of technical difficulties with the mechanical shark.
Steven Spielberg Filmed a Terrifying 'Jaws' Scene in a Swimming Pool. Another horrific scene from the movie didn't take place on the open ocean in Massachusetts or Australia or anywhere. Rather, it was filmed in a swimming pool. Once principal filming was done, Spielberg thought something was missing.
for the movie, 3 sharks were made and each cost around $250,000. the movie combined footage of these 3 fake sharks. and footage of real white sharks next to a diving cage. these mechanic fake sharks worked great on land, but in the salt water.
Their camera, which took pictures during the attack, is recovered the next day. The shark then kills a female water skier. The driver of the boat attempts self-defense by using a gas tank and flare gun, but the boat explodes, killing her and severely burning the right side of the shark's face.
Miscellaneous. When the shark attacks the man in the estuary, the man is barefoot. However, when the severed leg sinks to the bottom, there is a shoe on the foot. An editing error occurs during Hooper's examination of the first victim in the medical examiner's office.
While Hooper's boat was sleek and fancy, with its radar and television monitors, it was truly unsuitable for the mission at hand. It was a boat meant to sit and monitor, not pursue and capture.
The shark's infamous roar during the climax actually comes from a Tom and Jerry cartoon called The Milky Waif (1946). Reportedly, this was actually done because the sound editor refused to make an original sound effect, thinking that the idea of a shark roaring was ridiculous.
