You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

I have a vivid memory of being 10-years-old in the summer of 1975 and standing in a line that snaked around the movie theatre in Hoover to see Jaws. With so many theatres dotting the landscape these days and the ability to catch a movie in the comfort of home when it's released on DVD, these long lines probably seem laughable in 2008. But that was life back in the days before home theatres and iPods, when movie lovers were willing to brave the elements for art’s sake.

Roy Scheider died Sunday at age 75. He has a long list of movies to his name, and was nominated for his roles in The French Connection and All That Jazz. But he will probably be most fondly remembered for his role as the exasperated Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws, and for his classic understated line, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” R.I.P., Chief.

Boy, trailers sure have come a long way since 1975.