Jaws: Limited Edition Steelbook (With UltraViolet) (Blu-ray)

Now Jaws is another review where I feel a movie review isn't essentially required. I can't imagine anyone who is going to purchase this who hasn't seen it already.

Suffice to say it's a 5/5 classic.

So my review will be purely on the Blu-ray transfer.

I'll be honest Universal are not my favoured film company when it comes to HD transfers from the classics archives. They appear to bow to the uneducated who believe that the point of Blu-ray is to make every film look immaculate and appear as if it was made last year. To achieve this they will subject older movies to a number of digital enhancements such as grain removal (DNR), edge enhancement etc.

The idea of Blu-ray is to enable us to witness movies as near to the original source material as possible and in-keeping with the directors intentions.

So I was initially apprehensive and worried that one of my all time favourite films was going to be digitally butchered and lose all evidence that it was ever shot on actual film all together.

So here we go.......................................

Universal have granted Jaws with an MPEG-4 AVC, 1080p, 2.36:1 transfer on a 50GB Blu-ray disc of exceptional quality. Thank GOD!

Speilberg himself was heavily involved in the restoration process for this movie and I reckon he was also in attendance when the transfer was processed, lets face it this movie gave him a career so I would imagine he would not allow this to be released unless it was tip top.

We have an extremely fine grain structure which is never obtrusive and as a result picture sharpness is exceptional and object detail is extremely strong.

Skin tones appear warm and natural. The colour balance has been restored and the contrast is also exceptional, one of the first things you will notice is how vibrant the colours look compared to previous releases on DVD.

I did not detect any edge enhancement either and blacks do not appear to crush either.

The sound is probably the biggest improvement overall with the Mono soundtrack given a 7.1 surround overhaul which makes John Williams score sound all the more impressive.

The extra's are a direct port from the 30th anniversary DVD gatefold edition but you are given a Blu-ray exclusive 2 hour documentary which is an absolute must for any Jaws enthusiast.

I was slightly worried that the entire package was put onto just one Blu-ray disc but the film does not fall foul of any compression issues.

I would recommend the steelbook edition as the packaging is cool if that kind of thing matters to you, I know it does to me.

This is only just shy of reference quality. You're gonna need a bigger Blu-ray collection.

Highly recommended.

Now Jaws is another review where I feel a movie review isn't essentially required. I can't imagine anyone who is going to purchase this who hasn't seen it already.

Suffice to say it's a 5/5 classic.

So my review will be purely on the Blu-ray transfer.

I'll be honest Universal are not my favoured film company when it comes to HD transfers from the classics archives. They appear to bow to the uneducated who believe that the point of Blu-ray is to make every film look immaculate and appear as if it was made last year. To achieve this they will subject older movies to a number of digital enhancements such as grain removal (DNR), edge enhancement etc.

The idea of Blu-ray is to enable us to witness movies as near to the original source material as possible and in-keeping with the directors intentions.

So I was initially apprehensive and worried that one of my all time favourite films was going to be digitally butchered and lose all evidence that it was ever shot on actual film all together.

So here we go.......................................

Universal have granted Jaws with an MPEG-4 AVC, 1080p, 2.36:1 transfer on a 50GB Blu-ray disc of exceptional quality. Thank GOD!

Speilberg himself was heavily involved in the restoration process for this movie and I reckon he was also in attendance when the transfer was processed, lets face it this movie gave him a career so I would imagine he would not allow this to be released unless it was tip top.

We have an extremely fine grain structure which is never obtrusive and as a result picture sharpness is exceptional and object detail is extremely strong.

Skin tones appear warm and natural. The colour balance has been restored and the contrast is also exceptional, one of the first things you will notice is how vibrant the colours look compared to previous releases on DVD.

I did not detect any edge enhancement either and blacks do not appear to crush either.

The sound is probably the biggest improvement overall with the Mono soundtrack given a 7.1 surround overhaul which makes John Williams score sound all the more impressive.

The extra's are a direct port from the 30th anniversary DVD gatefold edition but you are given a Blu-ray exclusive 2 hour documentary which is an absolute must for any Jaws enthusiast.

I was slightly worried that the entire package was put onto just one Blu-ray disc but the film does not fall foul of any compression issues.

I would recommend the steelbook edition as the packaging is cool if that kind of thing matters to you, I know it does to me.

This is only just shy of reference quality. You're gonna need a bigger Blu-ray collection.

Highly recommended.

Jaws was, is and always will be perfect. Steven Spielberg's second feature, made when he was just 26 years old, remains his leanest and meanest, its power to shock, thrill and unsettle undiminished. The first film to break 100 million Dollars at the US box office and a winner of four Oscars though none for direction or acting ( but if you ask me it should have) Jaws was more than the first modern blockbuster, it was a cultural phenomenon (people really did stay out of the water in the summer of 1975) that forever changed the way Hollywood viewed the summer season.
Now with it's re-release and re-mastered in the cinema any excuse to watch it again is fine by me. Jaws grabs you by the throat from the start when Susan Backlinie's Chrisse goes skinny dipping only to end up as shark bait and doesn't let up. Famously forced to shoot around his mechanical shark due to technical problems with the beast, Spielberg had to rely on the old "what you don't see is more scary" maxim. The result made Jaws less of a monster movie and more a suspense thriller. In this regard, Spielberg was helped in no small measure by John Williams, whose ominous, primal score was, the director graciously contends, responsible for half the film's success. While Jaws is justifiably remembered for its big "boo'"moments such as the Chief Brody chumming/shark rising/"bigger boat"gag Spielberg elevated it far above its B movie origins, proving as proficient in his domestic detailing (witness the beautifully played out scene at the dinner table with Brody's son mirroring his actions) and character building (the legendary scar scene) as he was at masterminding the jumps in and out of the water.
Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, what differentiates Jaws from almost every other summer blockbuster since is the quality of its performances. Roy Scheider's fearful Chief Brody, Robert Shaw's grizzled fisherman Quint and Richard Dreyfuss' sardonic oceanographer Hooper lend the film its necessary humanity. Looking back through today's tinted glasses,it's a masterclass that should be attended more often by most summer popcorn movie pedlars as Jaws will teach them a thing or two.
Almost forty years old and on it's re-mastered re-release the cinema was full, not only of us who grew up on the movie but also taking their kids along. I took my 14 year old daughter and although she has seen it numerous times the movie on the big screen kept her awe struck from the opening sequence to the end.
They have done a fantastic job on the scrub up, the sound is especially crisp and you can actually hear the indervidual conversations on the opening beach party, and John William's score has never had so much menace. The picture has never looked better and I even noticed new things I had not seen prior in my hundreds of repeated viewings. Watch for the shooting star sequence as after the shark rams the boat you can actually see the barrels and the beacon light in the distance.
It's a classic no doubt and although fans will already own a copy on DVD, from what I saw in the cinema the upgrade will be well worth the money.

Jaws was, is and always will be perfect. Steven Spielberg's second feature, made when he was just 26 years old, remains his leanest and meanest, its power to shock, thrill and unsettle undiminished. The first film to break 100 million Dollars at the US box office and a winner of four Oscars though none for direction or acting ( but if you ask me it should have) Jaws was more than the first modern blockbuster, it was a cultural phenomenon (people really did stay out of the water in the summer of 1975) that forever changed the way Hollywood viewed the summer season.
Now with it's re-release and re-mastered in the cinema any excuse to watch it again is fine by me. Jaws grabs you by the throat from the start when Susan Backlinie's Chrisse goes skinny dipping only to end up as shark bait and doesn't let up. Famously forced to shoot around his mechanical shark due to technical problems with the beast, Spielberg had to rely on the old "what you don't see is more scary" maxim. The result made Jaws less of a monster movie and more a suspense thriller. In this regard, Spielberg was helped in no small measure by John Williams, whose ominous, primal score was, the director graciously contends, responsible for half the film's success. While Jaws is justifiably remembered for its big "boo'"moments such as the Chief Brody chumming/shark rising/"bigger boat"gag Spielberg elevated it far above its B movie origins, proving as proficient in his domestic detailing (witness the beautifully played out scene at the dinner table with Brody's son mirroring his actions) and character building (the legendary scar scene) as he was at masterminding the jumps in and out of the water.
Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, what differentiates Jaws from almost every other summer blockbuster since is the quality of its performances. Roy Scheider's fearful Chief Brody, Robert Shaw's grizzled fisherman Quint and Richard Dreyfuss' sardonic oceanographer Hooper lend the film its necessary humanity. Looking back through today's tinted glasses,it's a masterclass that should be attended more often by most summer popcorn movie pedlars as Jaws will teach them a thing or two.
Almost forty years old and on it's re-mastered re-release the cinema was full, not only of us who grew up on the movie but also taking their kids along. I took my 14 year old daughter and although she has seen it numerous times the movie on the big screen kept her awe struck from the opening sequence to the end.
They have done a fantastic job on the scrub up, the sound is especially crisp and you can actually hear the indervidual conversations on the opening beach party, and John William's score has never had so much menace. The picture has never looked better and I even noticed new things I had not seen prior in my hundreds of repeated viewings. Watch for the shooting star sequence as after the shark rams the boat you can actually see the barrels and the beacon light in the distance.
It's a classic no doubt and although fans will already own a copy on DVD, from what I saw in the cinema the upgrade will be well worth the money.

I have waited many years for this to come out on Bluray, and with the HD picture and sound its going to be worth it. It will be better than its even been seen before, including the cinema when released. It has had a complete update, with frame by frame enhancement. It wont get better than this.

To all those fans, including me who werent old enough to see it when released in 1975 will be pleased to know that on June 15th its being re-released in Cinemas across the country to celebrate 100 years of Universal, cant wait.