Review of Jaws: Anniversary Edition

Introduction

Jaws. Big shark. Big teeth. Big problem. At least it is for some small American holiday resort. This is the (first) story of one mans determination to rid his town of political incompetance and a big hungry shark.

(This could be an election winner for me. Politician, big shark, live TV. Think about it).

With the help of a young scientist and an old sea dog, Chief Brody seems to have the whole town against him, until he is proven right and is the only man left who is willing to take the job on.

To describe any more would be to insult the inteligence of anyone reading this review. Hands up who hasn``t seen Jaws. All you need to know is that you havn`t seen Jaws like this before.

Video

Wow. This film is 25 years old and the picture can hold it`s head up high in even the most esteemed company. An anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer that just oozes atmosphere and class.

The scenes where Brody, Quinn and Hooper are at sea at dusk, with the sun setting are outstanding. Not a trace of noise, dirt or blemishing from the original film stock.

I tried hard on the second watch of this disk to find fault with the video and I`m afraid I couldn`t. It is that good.

Audio

A full Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that at times is used to great effect. I didn`t know splintering wood could sound that good.

The incidental music is nicely done at all times and never gets in the way of the story.

Be warned though, the sound of the water lapping at the shore and the sides of the boat can have undesired effects and cause a couple of stoppages during viewing.

One problem I do havewith the sondtrack is that it is a little quiet, meaning the volume knob has to go that little bit further round the dial. What am I saying, loud is good!!

Features

This disk is so laden with features, any review cannot do them justice. We have a 50 minute making of documentary, deleted scenes, outtakes (only 2, but the tought was there), 720 photos, shark trivia game, screen savers, 3 trailers, production notes, cast and filmmakers notes and animated menus.

The making of documentary is a real eye opener as it explains the difficulties Spielberg had with not only the three mechanical sharks (called Bruce) but also the cast, both of which wanted to kill him by the end of filming.

One problem I have with the deleted scenes is that there is no accompanying dialogue to put the scenes into context. They just play and you have to make your own mind up why they weren`t included in the end cut.

Conclusion

An exemplary disc and really an example of how it should be done, every time.

Jaws is a classic movie to start with so that helps, but the work that has obviously gone into the picture and sound really deserve credit. The accompanying material really makes this disk a must for every collection. The documentary is so much better than the average making of featurette it is astounding. As much care was taken with this as with the main film and it shows.

I cannot praise this disc highly enough.

And yes, I did jump in the same place i always jump when watching Jaws. (When Hooper disturbs the head in the sunken boat). Silly really.