Jaws (1975) [Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy]

VIDEO:

Jaws arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 2.35:1 encode.

Restoration:
The video transfer was struck from a recent restoration of the original camera negatives, supervised and approved by Steven Spielberg. Universal considered the original camera negative was the best quality and resolution for 4K scanning. All the scratches were carefully removed using a liquid gate process by Cineric, a top restoration post facility in New York. Then, the files were worked on by skilled technicians at Universal Studio, meticulously worked to balance colour, remove dirt and scratches and repair any additional frame damage on a shot by shot, frame by frame basis.

Video assessent: Considered the age of the movie (1975), this transfer is fantastic with spot-on contrast and stunning clarity into the far distance. Black levels are inky with excellent delineation of the various gradations and small background objects hiding in the shadows. The video displays sharp, distinct definition in the hair and clothing of the cast, revealing wrinkles and pores in the faces of actors. You can clearly make out every detail and objects in Quint's boat, from the scratches and imperfections on the wood to the bottles and fishing tools hanging along the walls. Bruce the Shark, in particular, shows a few scars not seen before, and its fish skin is looking especially slimmer and smoother than ever. The colour palette receives a generous boost without feeling artificial, especially in the bold primaries. Overall, this is a magnificent and splendid presentation of a great classic. (5/5)

AUDIO:

The original mono recording is also given the restoration treatment and receives a massive upgrade with this DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack. Credit has to go to the engineers who worked on this because it is brilliant. Rather than simply making new foley effects, they singled the sounds from the original design, cleaned them up and repurposed them, expanding the soundfield into a wonderfully immersive aural experience. Conversations are precise and intelligible. Dynamic range is sharply rendered and detailed. John Williams’ wonderful Oscar winning score adds more suspense to the movie. As written in the blu ray book, Spielberg Shoots, Williams Scores! (5/5)

AWARDS:

Jaws won three Academy Awards:

Best Music, Original Dramatic Score: John Williams
Best Film Editing: Verna Fields
Best Sound

Jaws was nominated for Best Picture, but lost to One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

TRIVIA:

Jaws had an estimated budget of $8 million, but grossed $430 million worldwide.

Steven Spielberg shot roughly 25% of the film from water level to provide the viewers the perspective as if they were treading water.

Steven Spielberg named the shark "Bruce" after his lawyer. After the shark was built, it was never tested in the water, and when it was put in the water at Martha's Vineyard, it sank straight to the ocean floor. It took a team of divers to retrieve it.

Brody's dog in the movie was actually Steven Spielberg's real dog.

Like Alfred Hitchcock doing cameo in his own movies, did you notice Steven Spielberg playing first clarinet for the beach scene?

PACKAGING:

I bought the Collector’s series Blu-ray book with a two disc collectable 46-page hardcover book, featuring an introduction by producer Richard D. Zanuck, storyboards, Mechanical shark blueprints and behind the scenes photography, together with collectable O-Card packaging with flap featuring trivia and the film’s original posters from different countries, including Thailand, US, Italy, Turkey, France, Spain, Canada and India. This book is precious!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, Jaws is the film which has left a permanent mark on the history of cinema, remaining one of the most effective horror thrillers ever made, and it changed the motion picture industry forever. The simple, high-concept premise of a man-eating shark terrorizing a small beach resort community not only transformed Steven Spielberg into a household name, but also introduced the special effects, blockbuster extravaganza which has become the staple of the summer movie season. There are two versions: one with simply the movie, and the other, the one I bought, has the blu-ray book with many collectables. If you are a collector, the latter is definitely preferred. At any rate, this blu ray release is highly recommended.

I hope the above review is helpful to you.

I own and actually have seen this brand-new blu-ray transfer. It is amazing. It may not look quite like a shiny new produced-in-2012 release, but it sure doesn't look like a movie from 1975 either. The detail, colour, sharpness and contrast are far superior to the previous DVD releases. As for the suggestion that the restoration isn't recent and this is the same transfer because the 2005 release also didn't show the colour fading and tears shown in the original camera negative shots shown in the restoration feature - that's false. Very false. This 2012 version is the first time they went back to the original camera negatives to do the transfer. Previous versions were struck from a new master print pieced together using the best available 35mm prints Spielberg and company could find after discovering the original master print rotting away in the cans in Universal's storage facility (google Film Preservation Wikipedia for more details). The time and considerable expense of restoring the original camera negs was done as part of Universal's 100th anniversary campaign. Rest assured, this IS a new transfer and it is the best that Jaws has ever looked and sounded. (Believe Steven Spielberg if you don't believe me.) And lastly, the 1080p blu-ray image blows the upconverted 480p DVD image out of the water (and the 7.1 DTS Master HD soundtrack ain't bad either).

This is a fantastic Blu Ray - it was great to watch this movie with no surprises... other than seeing a transfer whose colour and contrast was better than I've seen before. There are no digital "enhancements" or additional scenes, or anything else that would detract from such a perfect film.