The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, the 1974 action suspense yarn based on the novel by John Godey (the pen name of author Morton Freedgood) about four men who hijack a subway train in New York City and demand a million dollars within an hour for the return of the train and the hostages or they’ll be executed one-by-one for every minute the money is late, celebrates its 45th anniversary this month.

The film, a nicely made cocktail of comedy, action, and thrills, peppered with some sharp and perceptive NYC cynical dialogue by Peter Stone and delivered in realistic performances led by the late, wonderfully craggy versatility of Walter Matthau, still holds up today and still holds its own. Directed by Joseph Sargent, who directed television before helming Pelham and did absolute dreck like the third Jaws sequel years after it, more than finds his footing here however, and is able to walk all those cliché tightropes of comedy and drama, by doing it every way but cliché.

When I was 16, I got my first job, as an usher at the local movie theater. My plan was simple: exploit my position and the modest $5.15 minimum wage salary to both pad my budding DVD collection (DVDs were new in 1998), and see as many new movies as possible for free. Mission accomplished. More than half my life later I have a very respectable collection, and STILL get in for free occasionally at that theater. I can honestly estimate that I’ve seen hundreds of movies in the theater. All those experiences were great… well, no… there was Wild Wild West.

But they all pale in comparison to 7:00 pm Sunday night, when I got to sit and watch Jaws on the big screen with my family, and hundreds of adoring fans. The screening was part of the recently announced 40th anniversary screenings.

Jaws, which remains one of the (pun intended) high water benchmarks in the history of Hollywood, and is one of the scariest, sharply written, directed, acted, and not to mention edited films ever created, celebrates its 40th birthday today.

There are so many genres which owe tips of the hat to this film, what it has done to the pop cultural landscape, the standard it has set for the contemporary modern thriller, the blueprint for aquatic water thrillers, not to mention solidifying the career of Steven Spielberg, who made this film just he was creeping into his 30th year. Coupled with the powerhouse acting triad of Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, and the memorable and now Hollywood folklore two-note heart-stopping theme by John Williams, there isn’t really much left to say about Jaws that hasn’t already been written, scrutinized, dissected, and most importantly, enjoyed by countless generations. But yet, despite all of this, Jaws still has plenty to say in all four corners of what it is and what it remains.

One of the greatest movies of all time, director Steven Spielberg‘s killer shark thriller JAWS, is set to return to theaters around the country in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

The movie will return to theaters courteous of Fathom Events, first on June 21st at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time, and then again on June 24th at the same times. The screenings will also include a special introduction from TCM host Ben Mankiewicz.

You can read more and get ticket information below.

As we celebrate America’s birthday today, let’s harken back to a film that remains the classic Summer July 4th picture, the legendary thriller Jaws. Since the summer of 1975, the film has remained a pop culture phenomenon to moviegoers the world over. Like two films in one — the first one on land when the inhabitants of Amity Island are forced to deal with a predator that’s slowly devouring its citizens one by one, to the three men (Chief Brody, Matt Hooper, and salty sea veteran Quint) going out to sea to try and catch the shark singlehandedly — Jaws is an absolute memorable classic of the history of the cinema.

So now, in the film’s chronological order, are 50 of the greatest quotes — highly memorable ones and some obscure ones, but all are benchmarks of the films dialogue and narrative. Some are purposely left out so you can add your favorites below. And “You’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat” I’ll put right here, it’s one of the most oft-repeated lines of the film, and was ad-libbed by Roy Scheider. Also the centerpiece of the movie, the Indianapolis Speech, is not here either, as that’s an incredible monologue, and almost impossible to pull a quote from. This list could have been 100 quotes probably, but for that, “I’m gonna need a bigger column.”