They didn’t see graphic violence in Jaws. They saw graphic AFTER violence but the only graphic violence is the death of Quint. Most of the movies with really violent reputations aren’t actually violent, they imply things and let you fill in the blanks in your head. Your head is much more effective than any director, so people THINK they saw things they didn’t.
David Lean was a director that believed in that. Let people fill it in with their imaginations.