Home Entertainment Jaws prepares to munch its way onto Blu-Ray

Jaws prepares to munch its way onto Blu-Ray

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Jaws was a monumental moment in film history when it arrived in cinemas back in 1975, launching the career of a much younger Steven Spielberg, while also setting the scene for the idea of the summer blockbuster film.

It’s been seen by practically everybody on the planet by now, and despite having quite a few lukewarm sequels swimming near it, it’ s very much as popular today as it was several decades ago.

Universal Studios is preparing to celebrate a centennial of existence this year, and what better to do so than with a full-on blu-ray restoration of the film that saved them, and prevented people from going to beaches that year?

Digitally restored and remastered, with 7.1 surround sound, the Blu Ray release has had input from Spielberg himself, who was on hand for the studio to restore the original film negatives.

Special features also include The Shark is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of JAWS, and an all-new feature documentary on the film.

To see just how extensive the restoration was, clicky on the link below. Then start humming that iconic John Williams score while it buffers. Dun dun. Dun dun, Dun dun dun dun!

Last Updated: April 10, 2012

6 Comments

  1. Justin Hess

    April 10, 2012 at 16:32

    It’s one of the few, rare instances where I would advocate using cg to improve the original practical effects. I didn’t like it when George did it for Star Wars, I hated it when Spielberg did it on ET (CG ET just looks…..wrong) and there’s many other instances where practical, in camera effects would have been far better than CG.

    But Jaws’ original Shark effect is so rubbish that I’d welcome a CG overhaul. And yes, I know it’s tantamount to sacrilege, but whenever I’m into that movie (usually right after Quint’s Indianapolis scene) then I am fully there and then the shark shows its head and it just takes me out. The rubbishness of the effect robs the film of some of its threat even if its partly responsible for its charm

    Reply

    • Darryn_Bonthuys

      April 10, 2012 at 17:17

      I’m with you a 100% on that. I still remember the scene where Quinn gets nommed, I was laughing my arse off at how funny that scene was because of the crappy mecha-Jaws.

      Reply

    • James Francis

      April 10, 2012 at 18:29

      Nope, couldn’t disagree more. It’s not just about the suspension of disbelief. That mechanical shark is cinematic history. If you could, would you replace previous actors in old films with modern ones? 

      Reply

      • Darryn_Bonthuys

        April 10, 2012 at 21:48

        In my future dictatorship, all actors will be replaced with several years worth of page 2 stunners and lad mags centre-folds ladies, as well as the rest of the films being revamped to include 300% more lens flares.

        Reply

        • Kervyn Cloete

          April 11, 2012 at 06:13

          I’m with James on this one. I don’t care how dated the shark effects look, because it’s that exact lack of technical refinement with the shark that forced Spielberg to keep it under water for most of the film, giving us one of the most iconic shots in movie history: Just that grey fin cutting though the water with John Williams’ two-tone riff ratcheting up the suspense.

          This is Jaws, not Deep Blue Sea.

          Reply

          • Justin Hess

            April 11, 2012 at 09:40

            Oh Lord no. I completely agree with you there. Jaws’ lack of reveal is what makes it such a masterpiece. It’s like Alien. What you don’t see or can’t comprehend scares the shit out of you and forces a more active involvement from audiences because it makes them imagine what the threat is. No argument there.

            I meant in the bits when the actual shark is shown. But right now, at this very moment, while I think about it, I’m actually opposed to making that kind of change if only because it change a very significant part of my childhood

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