How Well Do You Remember "Jaws"?

ENTERTAINMENT

By: Torrance Grey

6 Min Quiz

Image: Zanuck/Brown Productions Universal Pictures

About This Quiz

Think you know all there is to know about the 1975 movie Jaws? Take this quiz to find out just how much you remember.

If you read the book Jaws by Peter Benchley, you would probably have agreed that it would make a great movie. But, no one could have anticipated that a mechanical shark could have inspired so much fear in beachgoers that they avoided the nation's beaches for months.

Who knew that a movie with a budget of a mere $9 million would end up grossing over $470 million (the highest ever until the release of Star Wars in 1977)? In fact, the movie almost made back its production costs in the first weekend.

The film pushed movie boundaries in several ways, mainly in its use of suspense. However, the technique Spielberg used in the movie wasn't intentional, but rather the result of those crazy mechanical sharks. Unfortunately for Spielberg, the sharks did not always cooperate, often refusing to work at all, so he was forced to use sound, specifically music, to let viewers know that the shark was near. This type of suspenseful play was a technique used heavily by Alfred Hitchcock, and it certainly worked for Spielberg... and millions of viewers.

If you're ready to swim with the big fish, take this quiz! 

What fear does Chief Brody suffer from?

He explains the root of his fear very concisely: "Drowning."

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When Hooper cuts open the shark, what surprising object does he find?

The plate is from Louisiana, suggesting the shark came up from the Gulf.

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What distracts the townspeople from seeing the shark enter the pond?

Once in the pond, the shark kills a boater.

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What is the name of the island on which "Jaws" takes place?

While it takes place in the fictional Amity Island in New England, much of the filming was done on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

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How does Quint die?

Quint's death -- with the shark jumping halfway up onto the deck -- is a little hard to swallow for audiences but it's a captivating scene nonetheless.

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Why is Brody's son Michael admitted to the hospital?

A shark prank in the sea distracts police so that the real shark enters the estuary and kills a boater. Michael witnesses this and goes into shock.

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Which line did Roy Scheider ad-lib?

Though it's often quoted as "We're," the line is "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

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Who played marine biologist Matt Hooper?

He and Robert Shaw reportedly didn't get along, which might have been useful in creating tension between their characters. He's still well-known for "Jaws," but the pinnacle of his career might be "Mr. Holland's Opus."

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How does Hooper survive after the shark destroys the cage?

The shark is distracted by its continuing attempts to mangle the cage; Hooper slips out the other side.

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What do the two townie men throw off the pier to attract the shark?

It's implausible that this draws the shark, as sharks are drawn by irregular and vigorous splashing.

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What kind of shark do the local fishermen catch, that is believed to be the killer?

Hooper is immediately skeptical because of the animal's smaller bite radius.

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Which of these is NOT a sequel to "Jaws"?

The string of movies spawned an irrational fear of sharks; novelist Benchley spent a lot of his later life remorsefully working for ocean conservation.

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Who played the shark hunter Quint?

His drinking caused some difficulties on set, like when he went "method" and got drunk to deliver his original "USS Indianapolis" monologue.

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How does Brody kill the shark?

An underwater shot shows the bulk of the shark's body sinking to the seafloor like a battleship going down.

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Why does Hooper go down in the shark cage?

Hooper has a dart gun and intends to inject the shark with strychnine.

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Where is Chief Martin Brody from?

His wife tries to teach him local pronunciation of "yard" and "car" early in the film.

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What is the name of Quint's boat?

An orca is a killer whale. Fun fact: the film's first potential director was passed over for using "shark" and "whale" interchangeably.

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To what does Hooper compare the shark's tooth that he found in the destroyed boat?

He's trying to give the mayor an idea of its size.

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What kind of knot does Quint demand Hooper make to prove his skills?

Quint thinks Hooper is a city-bred tenderfoot. It's a knot commonly used to shorten a rope and is not considered very stable.

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How do Brody and Hooper get back to land?

The closing shot shows them heading home with Amity Island in the near distance.

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What are the residents about to celebrate and profit from?

The town's merchants look forward to the influx of tourist dollars from the holiday.

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Why is Hooper unable to shoot the shark from the safety of the cage?

This is definitely one of the more intense and thrilling scenes in the film as he tries to dominate the shark while avoiding getting attacked.

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What scar does Hooper say tops the scar-comparing contest?

During the exchange, Brody is silent, only once looking sheepishly at his own appendectomy scar.

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How many people total does the shark kill?

The finall toll: Chrissy the skinny-dipper, little Alex Kintner, the man seen in the broken boat, the boater in the pond, and Quint.

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Who did "Jaws" author Peter Benchley play in the movie?

Benchley was later escorted from the set when he got angry about the movie's unrealistic ending.

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On what doomed ship did Quint serve?

Quint's monologue about the ship's sinking is considered one of the movie's high points. This WWII ship delivered the Hiroshima bomb, as Quint himself says.

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Who is Brody trying to call when Quint smashes the radio?

Quint is a glory hound who doesn't want help; Brody is nervous and wants all the help they can get.

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What line of work is Amity Island's mayor in?

We see his business advertised on his car as he arrives at the docks in his first scene.

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How much is the bounty Mrs. Kinter offers for the shark that killed her son Alex?

However, $10,000 is Quint's price for catching the shark.

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How does Quint get everyone's attention at the town meeting?

Given Quint's penchant for drink, showing up staggering would have worked, too.

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What kind of dog do the Brodys have?

The dog was director Spielberg's own, Elmer.

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What was the name of the novel that inspired "Jaws"?

Often Hollywood films compact the titles of books they adapt, but here, there was no fat to trim. The book was released in 1974, a year before the film, and written by Peter Benchley.

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What is the MPAA rating for the film?

It was originally rated but after some of the more gruesome scenes were edited out, the film was given a PG-rating. The PG-13-rating wasn’t created until after Spielberg’s "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" though there was a warning that the film might be too graphic for children.

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Why doesn't the mayor agree to close the beach on the Fourth of July weekend?

Hooper dropped the "shot-glass-sized" tooth, and this allows the mayor to be skeptical, and to protect those tourist dollars.

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Steven Spielberg famously named the mechanical shark "Bruce" after whom?

There was more than one "Bruce" shark used in the film.

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