Art
Joe Alves
Born
1936-05-21 (90)
Place of birth
San Leandro, California, USA
Known for
Art
Credits
13 titles
Joe Alves (born 21 May 1936, San Leandro, California) is an American film production designer, perhaps best known for his work on three of the Jaws films. He directed Jaws 3-D. Alves has designed three features for Steven Spielberg, firstly for The Sugarland Express. He designed the three mechanical sharks for the movie Jaws (1975) with mechanical effects man Bob Mattey supervising their physical construction in Sun Valley CA. After the sharks were completed, they were trucked to the shooting location, but unfortunately they had not been tested in water causing a series of delays that have become quite legendary over time. He was nominated for the Academy Award and won the BAFTA for Best A…
Known for
4.5A giant thirty-five-foot shark becomes trapped in a SeaWorld theme park and it's up to the sons of police chief Brody to rescue everyone.
Jaws 3-D
1983
7.5The authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood, 50 years after its premiere. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors alongside Steven Spielberg, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the film uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
2025
8.1E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and also well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes will be updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
6.8A documentary on the making of one of the greatest films ever made, filled with trivia, interviews from cast and crew and never-before-seen footage.
The Making of 'Jaws'
1995
6.3In the summer of 1975, the young director Steven Spielberg set new standards for cinema worldwide with an oversized shark bite, a plastic shark fin and an unmistakable two-note main theme composed by John Williams. With the horror from the deep, a man-eating, gigantic great white shark, the film of the same name became a similarly traumatic reference as Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho": it triggered lasting primal fears across generations. On the beaches of the world, there was clearly a "before" and an "after". Steven Spielberg, who was only 28 at the time, not only set new standards for the thriller genre, but also hid his biting criticism of US capitalism in the 1970s behind it.
Jaws, a Monstrous Success
2024
7.3After three decades, Jaws continues to intrigue, thrill and frighten viewers. This documentary focuses on the many ways in which Jaws has helped to shape popular culture.
The Shark Is Still Working
2009
Film credits
2020s · 4 titles
7.5The authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood, 50 years after its premiere. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors alongside Steven Spielberg, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the film uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
2025
6.3In the summer of 1975, the young director Steven Spielberg set new standards for cinema worldwide with an oversized shark bite, a plastic shark fin and an unmistakable two-note main theme composed by John Williams. With the horror from the deep, a man-eating, gigantic great white shark, the film of the same name became a similarly traumatic reference as Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho": it triggered lasting primal fears across generations. On the beaches of the world, there was clearly a "before" and an "after". Steven Spielberg, who was only 28 at the time, not only set new standards for the thriller genre, but also hid his biting criticism of US capitalism in the 1970s behind it.
Jaws, a Monstrous Success
2024
NRExplores the life of local Martha's Vineyard legend, Craig Kingsbury, and his impact on the production of Steven Spielberg’s classic movie
The Farmer and the Shark
2025
6.8The ultimate deep dive into the world of shark cinema: filmmakers, critics, scholars and conservationists explore the weird, wild cinematic legacy of sharks on film and audiences' undying fascination with these misunderstood creatures.
Sharksploitation
2024
2010s · 2 titles
NRSergio Castellitto's narration traces the history of 3D cinema, which began with cinema itself, through films from the early 1900s such as "L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat" by the Lumière brothers, to the great titles of the 1950s such as Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" and "The Creature from the Black Lagoon."
Viaggio nel cinema in 3D: Una storia vintage
2016
2.0A brand new retrospective documentary produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures and featuring interviews with writer Nick Castle, cinematographer Dean Cundey, composer Alan Howarth, production designer Joe Alves, special visual effects artist/model maker Gene Rizzardi, production assistant David De Coteau, photographer Kim Gottleib-Walker, Carpenter biographer John Muir, visual effects historian Justin Humphreys, and music historian Daniel Schweiger.
Purgatory: Entering John Carpenter's 'Escape From New York'
2018
2000s · 4 titles
7.3After three decades, Jaws continues to intrigue, thrill and frighten viewers. This documentary focuses on the many ways in which Jaws has helped to shape popular culture.
The Shark Is Still Working
2009
Retrospective documentary on the making of John Carpenter's science fiction cult classic "Escape from New York."
Return to 'Escape from New York'
2003
7.1A documentary film on the making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
2001
6.2A look at how Dial M for Murder (1954) was produced for 3-D viewing.
3D: A Brief History
2004