„This shark, swallow you whole. Shaking, tenderizing. Down you go.”

“Well, it doesn’t make sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island.” – “It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.”

“You’re going to need a bigger boat.”

Seen it ten or twenty times, and it remains mesmerizing and excruciatingly exciting/nail-biting each time.

I t features a perfect blend of camera and score. E.g., the subjective camera in the underwater attacks plus the Jaws theme. Mr Williams’ score is classic in the movie and on its own.

It is astonishingly brutal if you look close enough. I still consider the first death devastatingly brutal. The sheer helplessness and despair of the victim, her screams – really touching.

And has a great chemistry between the three main actors. Plus a wonderfully tender scene when young Sean mimics his depressed father’s gestures.

Put it how you want: For me, beside its “classic” status and its impact and influence on modern cinema, one of the greatest adventure / thriller movies of all times.

Coincidentally, this was also the very first movie that I saw on a rented VHS when my parents bought their first VHS recorder. A friend hat the choice between Star Wars and Jaws and decided for Jaws as he checked both films shortly in the rental store and the Star Wars tape had some flaws (yeah, obviously this was part of the service in the early days). So it has a special place in my heart and memory on top.