‘Jaws’ Turns 50—20 Best Quotes To Celebrate Spielberg’s Classic Thriller

Steven Spielberg’s epic American thriller has been one of our move beloved films for half a century. As we celebrate the big 5-0 with cinema’s most famous beast, and bassline to boot, here are some of the funniest and sharpest dialogues that perfectly encapsulated 1970s east coast summer vibes within a horror-filled tale of carnage and adventure.

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“Sometimes that shark, he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. Y’know the thing about a shark, he’s got… lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn’t seem to be livin’… until he bites ya. And those black eyes roll over white, and then… oh, then you hear that terrible high-pitch screamin’, the ocean turns red, and spite of all the poundin’ and the hollerin’, they all come in and they… rip you to pieces.” – Quint

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“So, eleven hundred men went into the water, three hundred sixteen men come out, and the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945.” – Quint

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“I don’t want no volunteers, I don’t want no mates, there’s just too many captains on this island. $10,000 for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.” – Quint

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Quint: What d’ya have there – a portable shower or a monkey cage?

Hooper: Anti-Shark cage.

Quint: Anti-shark cage. You go inside the cage?

[Hooper nods]

Quint: Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark’s in the water. Our shark.

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“Here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women.” – Quint

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“This was no boat accident.” – Hooper

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“I just found out, that a girl got killed here last week, and you knew it! You knew there was a shark out there! You knew it was dangerous! But you let people go swimming anyway? You knew all those things! But still my boy is dead now. And there’s nothing you can do about it. My boy is dead. I wanted you to know that.” – Mrs. Kintner

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Brody: It doesn’t make any sense when you pay a guy like you to watch sharks.

Hooper: Well, uh, it doesn’t make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island either.

Brody: It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.

Hooper: That makes a lot of sense.

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“Martin, it’s all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, “Huh? What?” You yell shark, we’ve got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.” – Mayor Vaughn

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“Boys, oh boys… I think he’s come back for his noon feeding.” – Hooper

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Brody: On the water?

Hooper: Well, if we’re looking for a shark we’re not gonna find him on the land.

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Ellen Brody: What am I going to tell the kids?

Brody: Tell them I’m going fishing.

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“I’m pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But, as you see, it’s a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time. Amity, as you know, means “friendship”. – Mayor Vaughn

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“Mr. Vaughn, what we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It’s really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks, and that’s all.” -Hooper

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Quint: You have city hands, Mr. Hooper. You been countin’ money all your life.

Hooper: All right, all right! Hey, I don’t need this… I don’t need this working-class-hero crap!

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Brody: Yeah, but I’m not drunk enough to go out on a boat.

Hooper: Yes, you are.

Brody: No, I’m not.

Hooper: Yes, you are.

Brody: I can’t do that.

Hooper: Yes, you can.

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