Roger Kastel was sitting in his New York studio in January 1975 when he got a call from Universal Pictures. They needed a movie poster fast. The director wouldn’t show them the shark because it looked fake. All Kastel had was a title: Jaws.
Artistic Process
Jaws poster became one of cinema’s most recognizable images through Kastel’s brilliant simplicity. A woman swimming on the surface, unaware of the massive shark rising from below. The image taps into primal fears – something hunting you from where you can’t see.
Kastel worked from photographs of a nude model suspended on a stool in his studio, twisting her body to achieve the swimming pose. For the shark, he studied great white photography and then exaggerated proportions to create something more mythic than realistic.
The whole design took four days. Kastel painted in oil on canvas, creating texture that photographs couldn’t achieve. The water’s gradient from light blue at the surface to murky depths emphasizes vulnerability – the swimmer exists in light while the predator comes from darkness.
Universal paid Kastel $3,000 for the artwork. The Jaws poster helped the film gross $476 million worldwide, becoming the first summer blockbuster. Kastel never received residuals or bonuses despite his image becoming inseparable from the film’s success.
Psychological Impact
“The poster taps into fears we all have,” Kastel explained in a 2012 interview. “You can’t fight what you can’t see. The woman has no idea what’s coming, and that helplessness resonates with everyone who’s ever felt vulnerable.”
The perspective choice makes viewers identify with both predator and prey. Looking up from the shark’s viewpoint, we become the hunter. Seeing the swimmer’s oblivious face, we become the hunted. This dual perspective creates visceral discomfort that straight action shots couldn’t achieve.
The Jaws poster was so effective that several countries banned it from public display, claiming it traumatized children. Australia required the image be shown only in R-rated advertising locations. These restrictions only increased the poster’s notoriety and the film’s mystique.
Cultural Legacy
The Jaws poster has been parodied in over 500 films, TV shows, and advertisements. Shark Tale (2004), Piranha 3D (2010), and countless comedy sketches recreated the composition. Each parody reinforces the original’s iconic status.
Steven Spielberg credits the poster with saving his film. Jaws faced production disasters – the mechanical shark (nicknamed Bruce) constantly malfunctioned, shooting went 100 days over schedule, and Universal considered cutting their losses. The poster generated buzz that convinced the studio to keep marketing.
Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw became stars largely because Kastel’s image made audiences desperate to see what happened when the shark reached the surface. The film’s $7 million budget ballooned to $9 million, but the Jaws poster helped ensure returns that justified the expense.
Technical Innovation
Kastel’s original painting measures 24 by 36 inches and is currently valued around $500,000. It’s housed in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, displayed alongside actual props from the film.
The painting required specific techniques to achieve its effect. Kastel used thin oil washes for the water, building transparent layers that create depth. The shark’s textured skin came from palette knife work, giving it sculptural presence that contrasts with the smooth water.
Typography choices enhanced the visual’s impact. The blood-red title, the tagline “Don’t go in the water,” and the simple credit block let the image dominate. Modern posters cram in actor faces and review quotes. Jaws trusted the art to sell itself.
Lasting Influence
Every summer blockbuster poster since 1975 owes something to the Jaws poster template – create immediate visual impact that communicates genre, tone, and stakes without explanatory text. Alien (1979), The Shining (1980), and Jurassic Park (1993) all followed this approach.
Kastel continued working in illustration until his death in 2013. He painted posters for The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and created thousands of paperback covers. But Jaws remained his most famous work, proving that sometimes the simplest ideas cut deepest.
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