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| Roy
Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Murray Hamilton |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Chief
Brody:
We're going to need a bigger boat...
When
an island seaside resort is terrorized by a great white shark, the police
chief sets out to kill it together with a fisherman and a marine zoologist.
 What
is it about Jaws that has proved so hard to duplicate?
This movie has been ripped off more often than almost any other
in the past twenty years, yet none of them have been able to
approach the quality of the original. The enduring
thing about Jaws is that it's
more about the characters than it is about the shark. Most
copycat monster movies treat their cast members as little more
than shark bait, to be picked off in a rather predictable order. Jaws on
the other hand is really about three men and their adventurous
quest to defeat the beast, along with their own demons, or to
die trying.
It's simply amazing, watching the movie today, at what speed the story
is told. Before you know it, the shark has attacked several times
and we are already underway on board the Orca for the second hour
of the movie, which is pure adventure. The classic, Korngoldian score,
the perfectly judged cinematography, the excellent performances, it
all combines to form one of the great horror/adventure movies of all
time. That's why it doesn't really matter that the shark looks fake
when it is finally revealed: by that time, all we're concerned about
is the guys on that boat. |
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Previously released as a single-disc
'25th Anniversary Edition', Jaws has now been revisited
on DVD for its 30th anniversary in a two-disc release currently
available only for Region 1, which served as the basis for
this review.
The movie is presented in
its original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, and the transfer
here looks identical to the previous DVD release, which was
excellent as it was. Some severe film grain does tend to
pop up occasionally, and there is some noticeable edge enhancement
throughout, but overall, this remains a fine presentation
of a vintage film.
Previously available in separate Dolby Digital or DTS releases on DVD,
this new two-disc set combines those two surround mixes on a single
disc, while throwing in the original mono track for good measure. While
purists will undboudtedly favor the nicely restored mono experience,
the DTS mix is clearly the superior of the two discrete audio tracks,
with pounding bass and surprising high fidelity in its presentation
of John Williams orchestral score.
 The
original DVD release was criticized not only for its limited
sound options, but especially for the fact that it included
a version of Laurent Bouzereau's acclaimed documentary (originally
produced for Laserdisc) that had been edited down from two
hours to only one. Thankfully, Universal has now finally
made amends by including the full documentary, offering a
comprehensive look at the film's legendary production and
record-breaking success. Laden with marvelous anecdotes in
lengthy interviews with all major participants (including
an annoyingly smug Dreyfuss), this is simply one of the finest
making-of documentaries ever produced, and can now finally
be savored in full. Most of the other extras from the original
DVD return here in the form of some slight deleted scenes
and outtakes, many (still hazily rendered) screens of original
designs and photography - including a few new additions.
A short British featurette on the making of the film has
also been included this time, while some of the previous
DVD's less valuable supplements (such as the shark trivia
game) have been wisely deleted. The only supplement from
the original disc that will be missed by many is the collection
of trailers, which are no longer to be found here. The other
improvements however must surely be enough for most fans
to upgrade to this new release.
Dan Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: June
18.2005
Click
here for IMDB info on Jaws
.
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