If you have a panic fear of sharks, it is most likely because of this film: The Teeth of the Sea was released just 45 years ago, in 1975, and is offered for the occasion, Wednesday, a 4K UHD Blu-ray release to appreciate sharper attacks that punctuate the successful feature by Steven Spielberg. Not so fanciful attacks as that, because the film crew was inspired by real events that occurred in 1916, explained our film columnist Mathieu Charrier in L'Équipée sauvage , on May 19 (at 9'08 "in the video at the top of the article).
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At the beginning of the Teeth of the Sea , the summer holidays approach when the inhabitants of a small seaside resort discover the mutilated body of a bather. The connection with a shark attack is quickly made, but the mayor refuses to close the beaches so as not to compromise the tourist season. Obviously, the beaches open and the sharks take advantage of these tourists.
"Killed by a fish"
This is more or less what happened in 1916, along the beaches of New Jersey, in the northeast of the United States. On July 1, a 25-year-old man was bitten by a shark in the legs, while swimming to regain the shore. He bleeds and dies a few hours later.
The press then spoke of a "dead man, killed by a fish", because there was not much research around sharks at the time. A few days after this first death, the butler of a hotel is also killed by a shark, which eats its two legs. On July 12, two people were bitten by a shark in a cove, an 11-year-old boy and one of his friends who dived to try to save him.
Few fatal accidents caused
The beaches are evacuated, but there are four dead in ten days. The local fishermen then begin to install nets, without succeeding in catching it. Besides, scientists have never been able to say with certainty if it was indeed a shark.
The fact remains that sharks have an unflattering reputation that is not really verified: they only kill a dozen people each year worldwide, compared to around 50 for jellyfish, 400 for bees and hornets, 2,000 for crocodiles, 3,000 for scorpions, 25,000 for dogs, 100,000 for snakes and 800,000 for mosquitoes, because of the diseases they transmit.