Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5187 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-11-01
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 119 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the vastly overrated 1998 book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, author Peter Biskind puts the blame for Hollywood's blockbuster mentality at least partially on Steven Spielberg's box-office success with this adaptation of Peter Benchley's bestselling novel. But you can't blame Spielberg for making a terrific film, which Jaws definitely is. The story of a Long Island town whose summer tourist business is suddenly threatened by great white shark attacks on humans bypasses the potboiler trappings of Benchley's book and goes straight for the jugular with beautifully crafted, crowd-pleasing sequences of action and suspense. This is supported by a trio of terrific performances by Roy Scheider (as the local sheriff), Richard Dreyfuss (as a shark specialist), and particularly Robert Shaw (as the old fisherman who offers to hunt the shark down). The sequences on Shaw's boat--as the three of them realise that in fact the shark is hunting them--are what entertaining moviemaking is all about. --Marshall Fine --This text refers to another version of this video.

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the vastly overrated 1998 book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, author Peter Biskind puts the blame for Hollywood's blockbuster mentality at least partially on Steven Spielberg's box-office success with this adaptation of Peter Benchley's bestselling novel. But you can't blame Spielberg for making a terrific movie, which Jaws definitely is. The story of a Long Island town whose summer tourist business is suddenly threatened by great-white-shark attacks on humans bypasses the potboiler trappings of Benchley's book and goes straight for the jugular with beautifully crafted, crowd-pleasing sequences of action and suspense supported by a trio of terrific performances by Roy Scheider (as the local sheriff), Richard Dreyfuss (as a shark specialist), and particularly Robert Shaw (as the old fisherman who offers to hunt the shark down). The sequences on Shaw's boat--as the three of them realise that in fact the shark is hunting them--are what entertaining moviemaking is all about. --Marshall Fine

Synopsis
From the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg directed this thrill ride of terror. During the height of beach season, the Massachusetts resort town of Amity Island is terrorised one summer by surprise attacks from a great white shark. Three unlikely partners team up to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of police from New York (Roy Scheider), a young university-educated oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), and a crusty old-time fisherman (Robert Shaw). The film shoot was notoriously difficult for the young Spielberg, who had directed only one feature film before Jaws. The mechanical shark seldom operated correctly, and Spielberg was frequently forced to create the idea of terror without actually showing the shark. However, after the film premiered it went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time surpassing The Godfather and becoming the first film to gross more than a hundred million dollars. Composer John Williams created the score to JAWS, which has since become a well-known theme of impending doom. Ron and Valerie Taylor were responsible for filming live sharks in Australia; their sequences were later mixed with footage of the mechanical shark.

Customer Reviews

FAIRLY FLAWED GENIUS
Full tilt Spielberg! The man certainly introduced himself to the world with a bang with this piece of brilliance. It is so cinematically compelling, most people must have thought 'Where on Earth did this guy come from?' when seeing it on its release. The man (like his style or not) is simply a creative genius, his command of the screen all the time with visually compelling scenes is almost out of this world. He makes every movie flow with action, and this masterpiece flows quite nicely, especially once he gets us out on the big water. Yes he can definitely be accused of being corny, even perhaps cartoon like in his film making at times, but boy, does he entertain.

The second half of this great film is one of the best continuous pieces of cinematic action ever created, in my opinion, the best. SS is a film maker's film maker, he does not always excell at drama, that is very true, but in this movie I think he does a marvelous job with the three men on a boat. He coaxes such sparkling performances from them, I sometimes forget there's a big fish out there hunting them down. Credibility wise, okay, you can find faults in the storyline here, the shark seems as human as them, not content with merely fulfilling its instintive desire to eat, it does seem to engage in a deadly vendetta against them. It's almost comic book adventure out there, and you do question the insane actions of the little boat's skipper as he refuses to back down from the challenge from the monster fish. Speilberg's making a point about human egos getting the better of their owners here, and it makes for a sensational cinematic ending.

A Film To Be Watched Again and Again
Steven Spielberg has a lot of career highlights to look back on, but this is one of his earliest, and arguably one of his finest.

All the way back in 1976/77, this film was terrifying audiences and making them jump in fright, with a plethora of tense and sinister moments, brought about by the presence of a Great White Shark which is terrorising the small seaside resort of Amity.

After some deliberation from Mayor Vaughn, local sailor Quint, played by Robert Shaw, is brought in to catch the shark for a price. However, he is also accompanied on his boat by the Chief of Police, Brody, played by Roy Schneider, and a shark expert who works for National Geographic, Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss.

The quarreling between the three men is hilarious, as is Quint's attempts to rule the roost and exert his authority. In particular, the tension and bickering between him and Hooper makes this film very watchable.

The scenes in which the three men try deperately to injure the shark and slow it down are tense, and there are at least a few frightening moments, especially when Hooper is foolish enough to enter the water in a metal cage, in order to jab the shark with a needle containing strychnnine. The violent scenes in this film vary in intensity, but there is a truly revolting scene towards the end in which the Shark devours it's latest meal.

All of this is directed superbly and the action is well enough paced and intense enough to make this film enjoyable to watch time and time again.

THE all time classic
I love the cinema. I love movies and regularly go to the cinema and have loads of dvds. There are many fims over the years I have seen and loved and watch repeatedly but none more than this. This film has it all. Superb acting from the three main actors, Spielberg at his best and a score that defies belief and which has never been bettered. For all the movies I have seen and loved over the years, this is the only one I can remember everything about the day I first went to see it, Queueing around the block at the ABC in Liverpool and panicing as I thought i wasn't going to get in as the cinema was nearly full. Then the feelings during watching the film itself. This is the only film I have seen where the I can remember the audience all standing and cheering at the end when the shark is killed. So what if today the effects look poor. Modern film makers who think they can just stick some CGI effects into a movie should take note of how the suspense is built in this film despite the way its villain looks. An absolutely perfect film. Never bettered in my opinion.