If the sudden influx of shark-themed merchandise and boat quotes didn’t make it evident enough, Jaws just recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. It originally came to theaters on June 20, 1975, shortly after Peter Benchley wrote the novel in 1974.

In college, my professor would tell us about the impact the movie had on America at the time. The beaches were deserted, and not a soul dared to enter the water. I have not yet witnessed a film make that much of an impact in my lifetime, as I have not had the pleasure of celebrating my 50th anniversary quite yet.

However, I have seen the impact that this film has had on people, film, and sharks themselves.

Jaws takes place on the fictional island of Amity. The film does a magnificent job of injecting a sense of character into the island itself, from the colorful locals to outsiders like our main character, Police Chief Martin Brody, and Matt Hooper, a young oceanographer.

The mayor can be seen wearing nautical-themed suits as he struts about, attempting to foil any closure of the beach. Even the fishermen have a sense of intense local pride, as they tease and intimidate Hooper upon his entrance to the island.

The film spares no expense to give Amity the feeling of a close-knit cape town. Chief Brody’s safety concerns are repeatedly shot down in favor of maintaining the local economy, which thrives on tourism.

From the gorgeous homes that line the background as Brody makes his rounds, to the water-worn docks where anglers ogle the slain tiger shark, to the tight quarters of Captain Quint’s trusty Orca, there isn’t a setting within the movie that feels out of place.

There are no small roles in Jaws, either. Every character who comes into frame makes an impression, whether they have lines or not. For me, one of the most understated performances comes from Lee Fierro as Mrs. Kintner.

You meet her chastising her young Alex on the beach, as he begs for more time in the water. She reluctantly agrees, and within minutes, the shark makes himself known. We’re clued in on another beach-goer’s missing dog, and it escalates from there.

We come back to Mrs. Kintner, and we feel her rising anxiety and her frantic calls as she realizes that her boy is gone.

Later, she makes the biggest impact by entering the scene in mourning garb, as she slowly approaches Brody, asks his name, and delivers a slap to his cheek.

She faces him, and you see the anguish and utter betrayal in her face as she struggles to relay that she’s learned of Chrissy Watkin’s death. “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.”

The following scene of Brody’s dear little boy, toothless and quietly mirroring his father at the dinner table, makes Mrs. Kintner’s despair hit that much harder.

The best thing about Jaws is its patience. It doesn’t rush to reveal its hand right away. The movie starts with a shark attack right out of the gate.

You watch Chrissy jerk about in the water, bobbing up and down as the unseen menace makes his first impression. Then, he picks off a dog, and poor Alex Kintner, still unseen beneath the surface.

Bruce makes his first appearance a little over an hour into the movie, and even then it is but a brief glimpse of his massive mouth as he rises to the surface, gliding beneath his next victim.

We have already spent plenty of time with Chief Brody, knowing that he fears the water and has relocated his family to Amity in order to leave the chaos of New York behind.

The gradual build-up of tension makes for a most rewarding watch. On the Orca, the final frontier of the movie, the shark plays cat and mouse with our group, slowly destroying the ship from the outside in, taking Quint as his final victim, until Brody delivers his iconic line and puts an end to Amity’s terror.

There’s no question as to how Jaws has withstood the test of time. As it makes its 50th milestone, it’s clear that it will continue to stun generations to come.

Here’s hoping that the themes of resilience and the indomitable human spirit continue to make waves, perhaps to its 100th anniversary!

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Sav Wolfe is part of creative services at the Sentinel.