A Brief History of the Hollywood Blockbluster

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of "Jaws", which during the summer of 1975 kept North American audiences off the beaches and inside movie theatres. For good or ill, that film almost single-handedly revolutionized the way in which mainstream American films are produced and marketed. The anniversary provides an opportunity to explore in depth the artistic merits of the blockbuster film, as well as the ways in which "Jaws" changed the movie business.