Estuary Attack: Would Jaws’ Infamous Deleted Scene Ruined A Horror Classic?

Few films have achieved the level of consensus enjoyed by Jaws. It is widely regarded as the perfect blockbuster, and it may even be the greatest blockbuster ever made. The film that scared people out of the water and into movie theatres is also commonly identified as the first true summer blockbuster.

By now, most people know the production problems director Steven Spielberg faced in getting the animatronic shark to work. Salt water corroded the pneumatic hoses, preventing the shark’s body from moving properly. The result was that Spielberg was forced to rely on suspense rather than gore. Instead of showing the shark, he frequently turned the camera into the shark’s point of view—an inspired decision, likely influenced by the underwater photography in Creature from the Black Lagoon.

At times, however, the shark did work—particularly in the third act, when it attacks Quint’s fishing trawler and the old sea dog slides helplessly down into the shark’s open mouth. But arguably the most effective scene involving the fully functioning shark occurs halfway through the film, in the estuary at Amity Island.

Brody’s son, Michael, is sailing in the estuary with his friends when a man in a paddleboat asks if they are OK. Unbeknownst to him, the shark is moving directly behind his boat. It collides with the paddleboat, knocking the man into the water. To Michael’s horror, the man struggles to climb onto his capsized vessel as an extraordinarily realistic shot of the animatronic shark—its jaws wide open—passes beneath him and clamps onto his legs. We then see the sickening image of his severed leg sinking slowly to the bottom of the estuary. The man, still alive, desperately clings to the boat, but the shark’s head breaks the surface and drags him under.

In the finished film, the scene ends with a final shot from the shark’s point of view as it swims just inches past a traumatised Michael. But this was not the original ending Spielberg planned for the sequence.

Initially, the scene was conceived as something far more gruesome. It would have continued with the man re-emerging in the shark’s jaws, grabbing Michael in his arms. Michael is unable to escape. Trapped in the man’s grasp, both are pushed across the surface by the monster shark. As the shark begins to descend beneath the water, the man finally shoves Michael free.

The deleted footage resurfaced decades later as part of the making-of documentary The Shark Is Still Working, produced for Jaws’ 40th anniversary Blu-ray release in 2015.

It is a gruesome scene, to be sure, and one that many consider unnecessary. Though, by today’s horror standards, it’s relatively tame. As noted in the documentary, Spielberg removed it partly for censorship reasons. Some critics believe its inclusion would have crossed a line, undermining the restraint that defines Jaws and potentially preventing it from becoming the classic it is today.

Others are less certain, pointing to the striking realism of the animatronic shark in this sequence and the profound shock the scene might have delivered. Seen in that light, the moment could have acted as a brutal escalation leading into the final act, where the shark is hunted by Michael’s father aboard Quint’s boat.

Ultimately, Spielberg’s decision to remove the scene was a sensible one. Including it may have compromised the careful control he shows throughout the film—particularly in how he gradually ratchets up tension toward the shark’s ultimate reveal during the Orca showdown with Brody, Quint, and Hooper. By resisting the urge to go further, Spielberg preserved the film’s balance between terror and suggestion.

This deleted estuary sequence was not the only moment of extreme violence excised from Jaws. Rough footage (below) also exists of the animatronic shark biting Alex Kitner. Beyond the obvious discomfort of depicting such graphic violence against a child, it is likely this material was removed because it lacked the unsettling realism of the estuary attack—and because Jaws ultimately proves that what is withheld can be far more powerful than what is shown.