Jaws – 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition

Cast View all

	Roy Scheider	Brody
	Robert Shaw	Quint
	Richard Dreyfuss	Hooper
	Lorraine Gary	Ellen Brody
	Murray Hamilton	Vaughn
	Carl Gottlieb	Meadows
	Jeffrey Kramer	Hendricks
	Susan Backlinie	Chrissie
	Jonathan Filley	Cassidy
	Ted Grossman	Estuary Victim
	Chris Rebello	Michael Brody
	Jay Mello	Sean Brody
	Lee Fierro	Mrs. Kintner
	Jeffrey Voorhees	Alex Kintner
	Craig Kingsbury	Ben Gardner
	Robert Nevin	Medical Examiner
	Peter Benchley	Interviewer
	Tim Aguirre	Infant on Beach
	Chris Anastasio	Out of Towner
	John Bahr	Beach Guitarist
	Bruce	Bruce
	Jean Canha	Fat Lady
	Edwin C. Carlson	Man with Goff
	Henry Carreiro	Felix
	Robert Carroll	Mr. Polk

Crew View all

Director	Steven Spielberg
Writer	Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
Producer	David Brown, Richard D. Zanuck
Musician	John Williams
Photography	Bill Butler

Trailer

Edition details

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Notes

Story Synopsis:
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.

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD picture is slightly dated, but exhibits a bright, balanced image. Colors are accurately rendered, with natural fleshtones and deep blacks. Images are sharp and nicely detailed. Viewing should take place in a completely blackened room for the appropriately dark, nighttime shark hunting excursions at sea. Some scenes are overly contrasted. Overall, the transfer is quite clean, with little distracting pixelization. Minor artifacts and occasional enhancement is noticed, but the picture is quite pleasing, especially for its age. This is the best this movie has ever looked on video.

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel discrete soundtrack is a complete repurposing effort, and the result is a 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 in Chapter 19. 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. Deep bass isn’t particularly aggressive here, but subtle rumbles are effectively incorporated to add a new level to the sense of fear, suspense and urgency conveyed by the story. The dated fidelity is noticeable but there is no objectionable background noise. Intelligibility of voices should not be an issue, and the dialogue production is adequate, given the limitations of the original soundtrack. This is a remarkable remastering project that should bring this classic to a new visceral storytelling experience.

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