Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name and stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as oceanographer Matt Hooper, Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint, Murray Hamilton as Mayor Larry Vaughn, and Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen. The film tells the story of a great white shark that preys upon a small resort town and the voyage of three men to hunt it. JAWS is considered one of the greatest films ever made and was the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of Star Wars in 1977.