Jaws Quotes
When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it.
Hooper: You were on the Indianapolis?
Brody: What happened?
Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin' back from the island of Tinian to Leyte... just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen footer. You know, you know that when you're in the water, chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. Well, we didn't know. 'Cause our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent, huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's... kinda like 'ol squares in battle like uh, you see on a calendar, like the battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark goes to the nearest man and then he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got... lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces. Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, Bosun's Mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He's a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.
Brody: What happened?
Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin' back from the island of Tinian to Leyte... just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen footer. You know, you know that when you're in the water, chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. Well, we didn't know. 'Cause our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent, huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's... kinda like 'ol squares in battle like uh, you see on a calendar, like the battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark goes to the nearest man and then he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got... lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces. Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, Bosun's Mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He's a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.
Quint: [seeing Hooper's equipment] What are you? Some kind of half-assed astronaut?
[examining the shark cage]
Quint: Jesus H Christ, when I was a boy, every little squirt wanted to be a harpooner or a sword fisherman. 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.
[sings]
Quint: Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so nevermore shall we see you again.
[examining the shark cage]
Quint: Jesus H Christ, when I was a boy, every little squirt wanted to be a harpooner or a sword fisherman. 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.
[sings]
Quint: Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so nevermore shall we see you again.
Quint: [Quint first scratches the chalk board to get everyone's attention] Y'all know me. Know how I earn a livin'. I'll catch this bird for you, but it ain't gonna be easy. Bad fish. Not like going down the pond chasin' bluegills and tommycods. This shark, swallow you whole. Little shakin', little tenderizin', an' down you go. And we gotta do it quick, that'll bring back your tourists, put all your businesses on a payin' basis. But it's not gonna be pleasant. I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief. I'll find him for three, but I'll catch him, and kill him, for ten. But you've gotta make up your minds. If you want to stay alive, then ante up. If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare the whole winter. 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.
[Hooper is examining the remains of the first victim - describes the post-mortem into his tape recorder]
Hooper: The height and weight of the victim can only be estimated from the partial remains. The torso has been severed in mid-thorax; there are no major organs remaining...
Hooper: Right arm has been severed above the elbow with massive tissue loss in the upper musculature... partially denuded bone remaining...
Hooper: [to the m.e. and Brody] This was no boat accident!
Hooper: [to Brody] Did you notify the Coast Guard about this?
Brody: No. It was only local jurisdiction.
Hooper: [continues post-mortem] The left arm, head, shoulders, sternum and portions of the rib cage are intact...
Hooper: [to Brody] Do not smoke in here, thank you very much.
Hooper: [lifts up the severed arm] This is what happens. It indicates the non-frenzied feeding of a large squalus - possibly Longimanus or Isurus glauca. Now... the enormous amount of tissue loss prevents any detailed analysis; however the attacking squalus must be considerably larger than any normal squalus found in these waters. Didn't you get on a boat and check out these waters?
Brody: No.
Hooper: Well, this is not a boat accident! And it wasn't any propeller; and it wasn't any coral reef; and it wasn't Jack the Ripper! It was a shark.
Hooper: The height and weight of the victim can only be estimated from the partial remains. The torso has been severed in mid-thorax; there are no major organs remaining...
Hooper: Right arm has been severed above the elbow with massive tissue loss in the upper musculature... partially denuded bone remaining...
Hooper: [to the m.e. and Brody] This was no boat accident!
Hooper: [to Brody] Did you notify the Coast Guard about this?
Brody: No. It was only local jurisdiction.
Hooper: [continues post-mortem] The left arm, head, shoulders, sternum and portions of the rib cage are intact...
Hooper: [to Brody] Do not smoke in here, thank you very much.
Hooper: [lifts up the severed arm] This is what happens. It indicates the non-frenzied feeding of a large squalus - possibly Longimanus or Isurus glauca. Now... the enormous amount of tissue loss prevents any detailed analysis; however the attacking squalus must be considerably larger than any normal squalus found in these waters. Didn't you get on a boat and check out these waters?
Brody: No.
Hooper: Well, this is not a boat accident! And it wasn't any propeller; and it wasn't any coral reef; and it wasn't Jack the Ripper! It was a shark.
Mrs. Kintner: Chief Brody?
Brody: Yes?
[Mrs. Kintner slaps Brody and sobs]
Mrs. Kintner: 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 walks away]
Mayor Vaughn: I'm sorry, Martin. She's wrong.
Brody: No, she's not.
Brody: Yes?
[Mrs. Kintner slaps Brody and sobs]
Mrs. Kintner: 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 walks away]
Mayor Vaughn: I'm sorry, Martin. She's wrong.
Brody: No, she's not.
Brody: Is it true that most people get attacked by sharks in three feet of water about ten feet from the beach?
Hooper: Yeah.
Brody: And that... and that before people started to swim for recreation - I mean before sharks knew what they were missing - that a lot of these attacks weren't reported?
Hooper: That's right.
Brody: Now this shark that... that... that swims alone...
Hooper: Rogue.
Brody: What's it called?
Hooper, Brody: [together] Rogue.
Brody: Rogue, yeah. Now this guy, he... he keeps swimmin' around in a place where the feeding is good until the food supply is gone, right?
Hooper: It's called "territoriality". It's just a theory that I happen to... agree with.
Brody: Then why don't we have one more drink and go down and cut that shark open?
Ellen Brody: Martin? Can you do that?
Brody: I can do anything; I'm the chief of police.
Hooper: Yeah.
Brody: And that... and that before people started to swim for recreation - I mean before sharks knew what they were missing - that a lot of these attacks weren't reported?
Hooper: That's right.
Brody: Now this shark that... that... that swims alone...
Hooper: Rogue.
Brody: What's it called?
Hooper, Brody: [together] Rogue.
Brody: Rogue, yeah. Now this guy, he... he keeps swimmin' around in a place where the feeding is good until the food supply is gone, right?
Hooper: It's called "territoriality". It's just a theory that I happen to... agree with.
Brody: Then why don't we have one more drink and go down and cut that shark open?
Ellen Brody: Martin? Can you do that?
Brody: I can do anything; I'm the chief of police.
Hooper: 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. Now, why don't you take a long, close look at this sign.
[refers to the graffitied billboard]
Hooper: Those proportions are correct.
Mayor Vaughn: Love to prove that, wouldn't ya? Get your name into the National Geographic.
[refers to the graffitied billboard]
Hooper: Those proportions are correct.
Mayor Vaughn: Love to prove that, wouldn't ya? Get your name into the National Geographic.
Quint: Hooper, what exactly can you do with these things of yours?
Hooper: Well, I think I can pump 20 cc's of strictnine nitrate into him, if I can get close enough.
Quint: Can you get this little needle through his skin?
Hooper: No, I can't do that. But if I can get him close enough to this cage, I think that I can get him in the mouth or the eye...
Brody: That shark will rip that cage to pieces!
Hooper: [shouting] YOU GOT ANY BETTER SUGGESTIONS?
Hooper: Well, I think I can pump 20 cc's of strictnine nitrate into him, if I can get close enough.
Quint: Can you get this little needle through his skin?
Hooper: No, I can't do that. But if I can get him close enough to this cage, I think that I can get him in the mouth or the eye...
Brody: That shark will rip that cage to pieces!
Hooper: [shouting] YOU GOT ANY BETTER SUGGESTIONS?
[Brody sees his son sitting in a small skiff, and yells for him to get out of it]
Ellen Brody: Martin, it's his birthday tomorrow!
Brody: I don't want him out on the water!
Ellen Brody: He is not out on the water, he is in a boat! He's not going to go in the water! I don't think he'll ever go in again after what happened yesterday.
Brody: Now don't say that. You know I don't want that. I just want him to read the boating regulations, make sure he understands before he takes it out...
[while he talks, Ellen flips through the book on sharks he has been reading, and sees an old painting of a shark ramming a hole into the bottom of rowboat's hull]
Ellen Brody: [slams the book shut] Michael! Did you hear your father? Out of the water now! NOW!
Ellen Brody: Martin, it's his birthday tomorrow!
Brody: I don't want him out on the water!
Ellen Brody: He is not out on the water, he is in a boat! He's not going to go in the water! I don't think he'll ever go in again after what happened yesterday.
Brody: Now don't say that. You know I don't want that. I just want him to read the boating regulations, make sure he understands before he takes it out...
[while he talks, Ellen flips through the book on sharks he has been reading, and sees an old painting of a shark ramming a hole into the bottom of rowboat's hull]
Ellen Brody: [slams the book shut] Michael! Did you hear your father? Out of the water now! NOW!
Hooper: [trying to get the fishing line secure] It may be a marlin or a stingray... but it's definitely a game fish.
[Hooper pulls as the lines snaps and he crashes his head into the wall]
Quint: [picking up the line] Gamin' fish, eh? Marlin? Stingray? Bit through this piano wire? Don't you tell me my business again! You get back on the bridge...
Hooper: Quint, that doesn't prove a damn thing!
Quint: Well it proves one thing, Mr. Hooper. It proves that you wealthy college boys don't have the education enough to admit when you're wrong.
[Quint enters the cabin as Hooper makes faces at him]
Brody: [following Quint inside the boat] What's the point? Hooks and lines...
Quint: [slams on the roof at Hooper] Hooper! 12 minutes south south east now, full throttle!
Hooper: [Mocking Pirate Voice] Aye, aye, sir! AYE JIMBOY ARAGHHH!
Quint: [to Brody] See what I do, Chief, is I trick 'em to the surface. And I jab at 'em. I'm not gonna haul 'em up like a lot of catfish.
[slams on the roof]
Quint: Hooper, full throttle!
Hooper: [voice imitating W. C. Fields] I don't have to take this abuse much longer!
[Hooper pulls as the lines snaps and he crashes his head into the wall]
Quint: [picking up the line] Gamin' fish, eh? Marlin? Stingray? Bit through this piano wire? Don't you tell me my business again! You get back on the bridge...
Hooper: Quint, that doesn't prove a damn thing!
Quint: Well it proves one thing, Mr. Hooper. It proves that you wealthy college boys don't have the education enough to admit when you're wrong.
[Quint enters the cabin as Hooper makes faces at him]
Brody: [following Quint inside the boat] What's the point? Hooks and lines...
Quint: [slams on the roof at Hooper] Hooper! 12 minutes south south east now, full throttle!
Hooper: [Mocking Pirate Voice] Aye, aye, sir! AYE JIMBOY ARAGHHH!
Quint: [to Brody] See what I do, Chief, is I trick 'em to the surface. And I jab at 'em. I'm not gonna haul 'em up like a lot of catfish.
[slams on the roof]
Quint: Hooper, full throttle!
Hooper: [voice imitating W. C. Fields] I don't have to take this abuse much longer!
Hooper: [motioning to Brody to get closer to the barrels] Come on Martin! Move, move, move!
Brody: I'm not going out there!
Hooper: Beyond the edge of the barrels, go to the end of the barrels! Further out!
Brody: What?
Hooper: Further out!
Brody: Why?
Hooper: Go further out!
Brody: What for?
Hooper: Will you go to the end of the pulpit, please?
Brody: What?
Hooper: Will you just please go to the end of the pulpit!
Brody: What for?
Hooper: I need to have something in the foreground to give it some scale.
Brody: Foreground, my ass!
Brody: I'm not going out there!
Hooper: Beyond the edge of the barrels, go to the end of the barrels! Further out!
Brody: What?
Hooper: Further out!
Brody: Why?
Hooper: Go further out!
Brody: What for?
Hooper: Will you go to the end of the pulpit, please?
Brody: What?
Hooper: Will you just please go to the end of the pulpit!
Brody: What for?
Hooper: I need to have something in the foreground to give it some scale.
Brody: Foreground, my ass!
[as Brody sends the air tanks flying]
Hooper: Dammit, Martin! This is compressed air!
Brody: Well, what the hell kind of a knot was that?
Hooper: You pulled the wrong one. You screw around with these tanks, and they're gonna blow up!
Quint: Yeah, that's real fine expensive gear you brought out here, Mr. Hooper. 'Course I don't know what that bastard shark's gonna do with it, might eat it I suppose. Seen one eat a rockin' chair one time. Hey chieffy, next time you just ask me which line to pull, right?
Hooper: Dammit, Martin! This is compressed air!
Brody: Well, what the hell kind of a knot was that?
Hooper: You pulled the wrong one. You screw around with these tanks, and they're gonna blow up!
Quint: Yeah, that's real fine expensive gear you brought out here, Mr. Hooper. 'Course I don't know what that bastard shark's gonna do with it, might eat it I suppose. Seen one eat a rockin' chair one time. Hey chieffy, next time you just ask me which line to pull, right?
Ellen Brody: [to Chief Brody] You told me the shark was caught. And I, I heard it on the news... I heard it on the Cape station.
Hooper: They caught A shark, not THE shark. Big difference. Not the shark that killed Chrissie Watkins... and probably not the shark that killed the little boy... which I wanted to prove today, by cutting the shark open...
[sees the Chief pouring the wine he brought]
Hooper: you know, you oughta let that breathe a little
[sees the massive glass the Chief has poured]
Hooper:
Hooper: They caught A shark, not THE shark. Big difference. Not the shark that killed Chrissie Watkins... and probably not the shark that killed the little boy... which I wanted to prove today, by cutting the shark open...
[sees the Chief pouring the wine he brought]
Hooper: you know, you oughta let that breathe a little
[sees the massive glass the Chief has poured]
Hooper:
Ellen Brody: You see the kids?
Brody: [looking out the window] They must be in the back yard.
Ellen Brody: In Amity, you say "yahd".
Brody: [starting out of the bedroom, speaking with a bad New-England accent] They're in the "yahd", not too "fah" from the "cah".
[looks back at Ellen]
Brody: How's that?
Ellen Brody: Like you're from New York.
Brody: [looking out the window] They must be in the back yard.
Ellen Brody: In Amity, you say "yahd".
Brody: [starting out of the bedroom, speaking with a bad New-England accent] They're in the "yahd", not too "fah" from the "cah".
[looks back at Ellen]
Brody: How's that?
Ellen Brody: Like you're from New York.
Ben Gardner: When we get them silly bastards down in that rock pile, it'll be some fun, they'll wish their fathers had never met their mothers. When they start takin' their bottoms out and slamming into them rocks, boy! Get away from there, ya goddamn fool, you! What's the matter with you? You wanna swamp us, ya crazy son of a bitch?
Brody: [Drunk] I'm tellin' ya, the crime rate in New York'll kill you. There's so many problems, you never feel like you're accomplishing anything. Violence, rip-offs, muggings... kids can't leave the house - you gotta walk them to school. But in Amity one man can make a difference. In twenty-five years, there's never been a shooting or a murder in this town.
Hooper: Fascinating. Want a pretzel?
Brody: Where are we?
Hooper: Fascinating. Want a pretzel?
Brody: Where are we?
Brody: I just- I just want to tell you what we're planning so far...
Meadows: What about the beaches, Chief?
Brody: We're going to put on the extra- the extra summer deputies as quickly as possible, and then we're going to try and use, uh, shark-spotters on the beach.
Mrs. Taft: [cuts him off] Are you going to close the beaches?
Brody: [after brief pause] Yes, we are.
[townspeople erupt into dismayed argument]
Meadows: What about the beaches, Chief?
Brody: We're going to put on the extra- the extra summer deputies as quickly as possible, and then we're going to try and use, uh, shark-spotters on the beach.
Mrs. Taft: [cuts him off] Are you going to close the beaches?
Brody: [after brief pause] Yes, we are.
[townspeople erupt into dismayed argument]
Hooper: Ah. Just like I thought... He came up with the Gulf Stream - from southern waters.
[he pulls a Louisiana license plate from the shark. Brody examines it]
Brody: He didn't eat a car, did he?
Hooper: Naw, a tiger shark's like a garbage can, it'll eat anything. Someone probably threw that in a river.
[he pulls a Louisiana license plate from the shark. Brody examines it]
Brody: He didn't eat a car, did he?
Hooper: Naw, a tiger shark's like a garbage can, it'll eat anything. Someone probably threw that in a river.
Quint: [referring to a cut on Brody's head] Chief... don't you worry about it, Chief. It won't be permanent. Wanna see somethin' permanent, boom-boom-boom?
[Quint pulls out a false front tooth and laughs]
Quint: Hey, Hoop, you wanna feel somethin' permanent? You just put your hand underneath my cap... and you just feel that little lump. Knock an ole un, St. Paddy's day, Boston.
Hooper: I got that beat.
Hooper: [to Brody] I got that beat.
[Quint pulls out a false front tooth and laughs]
Quint: Hey, Hoop, you wanna feel somethin' permanent? You just put your hand underneath my cap... and you just feel that little lump. Knock an ole un, St. Paddy's day, Boston.
Hooper: I got that beat.
Hooper: [to Brody] I got that beat.
Mayor Vaughn: [to reporter] 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".
Mr. Taft: Why do you insist on playing the heavy all of the time?
Mrs. Taft: Look, I have a point of view and I think it speaks for many of the people here. It's not only me because I have the motel - how do you feel?
Mr. Hassett: Oh, I hope they don't close the beaches!
[Mrs. Taft nods in agreement]
Mrs. Taft: Look, I have a point of view and I think it speaks for many of the people here. It's not only me because I have the motel - how do you feel?
Mr. Hassett: Oh, I hope they don't close the beaches!
[Mrs. Taft nods in agreement]
