Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of JAWS, a film that arguably launched the summer blockbuster phenomenon, sent the career of Steven Spielberg into overdrive, and had us all fleeing from the water.

It was such a shocking film that even the headteacher at our school was moved to make it the topic of assembly the morning after a TV screening. And I would join my friends in the playground recollections of the best gory bits.

It was one of a holy trinity of films I would watch on VHS when returning home from school (well, it was preferable to doing my homework), along with Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark (the latter shared a 240 min tape with two-thirds of The Spy Who Loved Me, a movie featuring a different kind of Jaws. The tape ran out just after the Lotus launched itself into the sea…).

At first I was thrilled by…