Jaws

Steven Spielberg's triple Academy Award®-winning Jaws succeeded in instilling a very real terror of sharks in all those who saw the film. The story picks up after the grisly remains of a young woman, the victim of a shark attack, are discovered on the shores of vacation mecca, Amity Island. The police chief (Scheider) wants the beaches closed, but it's Fourth of July weekend with thousands of paying guests in town. After two others suffer the same fate as the young woman, the chief teams up with a cocky, marine biologist (Dreyfuss) and a seasoned (lemon pepper, perhaps?) shark hunter (Shaw) to destroy the killer 25-foot great white. Based on the book by Peter Benchley. (Gary Reber)

Special features include deleted scenes and outtakes (SD 13:33); The Making Of Jaws (SD 02:02:48); The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy Of Jaws (SD 01:41:21); Jaws: The Restoration (HD 08:28); From The Set (SD 08:56); Jaws Archives, which includes storyboards (SD 29:45), production photos (SD 48:34), "Marketing Jaws" (SD 09:20), and "Jaws Phenomenon" (SD 10:08); the theatrical trailer; My Scenes; and BD-Live.

The 2.36:1 1080p AVC picture was digitally remastered and fully restored from 35 mm original film elements as part of Universal's ongoing 100th Anniversary celebration. The restoration was conducted in conjunction with Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment's post-production team to ensure the integrity of Spielberg's original vision remained intact. As much as the original negative as possible was used in the restoration, as well as a process to remove as many scratches and other artifacts as possible. While the mediocre LaserDisc reviewed in Issue 18 included the THX® certification, this latest Blu-ray Disc™ rendering is not THX digitally mastered, yet is superior to any previous release. The Blu-ray Disc literally blows the DVDs reviewed in Issues 41 and 99 and the LaserDisc release out of the water. It exhibits a bright, balanced image. Colors are accurately rendered, with natural fleshtones and deep blacks. Images are impressively sharp and nicely detailed and reveal fine textured nuances. Viewing should take place in a completely blackened room for the appropriately dark, nighttime shark-hunting excursions at sea. Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation. This is absolutely the best this movie has ever looked on video. (Gary Reber)

The original elements that created the previous DVD Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel discrete soundtrack has been completely repurposed as a DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel mix, and the result is an impressive soundfield experience that is multidimensional throughout. The screen soundstage, in particular, consistently spans the three channels. New sound effects have been added for improved dimension, clarity, and dynamics—just listen to the gunshots as the shark is finally killed. This is clearly not one of the mono-centric remastered soundtracks with minor dimensional enhancement. John Williams' signature music score has been incorporated in its stereophonic glory and its multidimensional presence with low-end augmentation is a welcome addition, adding significantly to the intended visceral effect. The audio tends to be balanced toward the screen with generally subtle envelopment, but the added dimensionality of the two extra channels, though placed to the back, significantly enhance the holosonic® immersive quality of the soundfield. Deep bass is effectively incorporated, to add a new level to the sense of fear, suspense, and urgency conveyed by the story. Though 30 years old, the dated fidelity just does not sound dated. Intelligibility of voices is never an issue, and the dialogue production is adequate, given the limitations of the original soundtrack. This is a remarkable remastering project that brings this classic to a even greater visceral storytelling
experience. (Gary Reber)