Jaws
Some movies you like. Some movies stick with you. Jaws is the latter kind. Released in 1975 it has rarely, if ever, been far from pop culture consciousness. Not only did it terrorize an entire generation into avoiding oceans (not least through its generations reprunks,) but it’s also a stone cold masterpiece of cinema. It features three of the most beloved character actors at the very peak of their game. Its score by John Williams will infect your nervous system in a way that only cinema scores can. And that shark! It rarely appears and yet somehow it’s the most horrifying thing you will see. Anyone who loves this film loves it with zeal. They know the touchstones, the bit quotes, and they love it like it’s meant to be loved. As a serious film that happens to also be really damn entertaining.
Shopping for that person is easy… and terrifying. Easy because their fandom runs deep and something that hits will hit hard. Terrifying because there’s a lot of Eagles Death Wing bullshit out there. Novelties. Cheaply made posters. Stuff that sees the film as a theme park and not the centuries defining thriller that it is. That’s not the Jaws we know.
The things we wanted came from people who understand why people love this movie. Its craft, its set-dress, its particular joy of being a movie that lets the audience catch up and THEN scares the holy shit out of them. We wanted stuff that belonged in somebody’s home. Not just their guy’s cave with every collectible screaming at you from the walls. We wanted stuff you wouldn’t be embarrassed to show off to a fellow film nerd.
We also kept thinking of whom. The Jaws nerd who has a birthday. The person who re watches every summer like clockwork. The college student who can recite every line of Chief Brody’s Indianapolis monologue because it’s one of the greatest speeches ever written. All of these people were floating through our minds as we curated this list.
There is nothing on this list because it was an easy find. Only things made it because we’d buy them for ourselves.