Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24032 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-07-24
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Hindi, Portuguese, Turkish, Danish, Icelandic, Swedish, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Arabic, Finnish, Czech, Greek
• Dubbed in: 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
Jaws revolutionised Hollywood, single-handedly invented the summer blockbuster, spawned three increasingly poor sequels, and became the first film to gross more than 100 million dollars. Unlike many recent blockbusters, however, in Jaws the audience really cares about the fate of the men engaged in their duel with the monster. Granted the shark looks fake, but we willingly suspend our disbelief as storytelling and character development count for far more than mere special effects, adding enormously to the movie's suspense, excitement and sheer terror. The cast and screenplay are exemplary, but it was Steven Spielberg who emerged as the film's true star, while John Williams' unforgettable Oscar-winning score made him almost as much of as household name as the young director.

On the DVD: For a Steven Spielberg movie and an all-time classic, this 25th Anniversary Edition release is impressive, but not all it could be. The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 ratio picture is superb, as is the re-mixed Dolby Digital 5.1 sound (the film was originally released in mono). It is a joy to see the film's picture and sound quality rescued from years of television and VHS screenings, offering a reminder of what all the fuss was about in the first place. The deleted scenes are quite interesting, offering more background on Brody, Hooper and Quint, including the latter's bizarre vocal duel with a boy playing the recorder! The four photo galleries are good, but some captions would have helped enormously. Disappointingly, there's no director's commentary, the best extra being a 50-minute documentary, "The Making of Jaws". This is excellent, and quite different from the BBC television production, "In the Teeth of Jaws". Even if you've seen that, there's much more to learn here. --Gary S. Dalkin

Video Description
DVD Special Features

50 minute 'The making of jaws' documentary
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
720 photos
Shark Trivia Game - 'get out of the water'
Screen Savers
Shark World
3 Trailers
Animated Menus
Production Notes
Cast and Filmakers Notes

Customer Reviews

A classic from the deep
Jaws is one of those classics that, no matter how many times you see it, you are able to watch time and again without feeling bored. Sure, you know the ending, but who cares when a film is this much fun?! For those of you who haven't seen this film (how you managed to avoid it I can't even guess!) it won't spoil the film much by simply saying that, when a giant great white shark terrorizes a sleepy community, all hell breaks loose and it's up to the local law-man to set things right.

You can tell from the off that this film is a classic, with the opening score, that has become so synonymous with the animal star of the film, by the great John Williams (who has also written the score for Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Home Alone, Jurassic Park and, more recently, Harry Potter, to name but a few). The acting is much more than you would expect from the average film of this genre, and this above all else keeps the viewer hooked to the very end. For their time the action sequences are excellent, though by todays standards they would seem dreadful. This does, however, not detract from the movie in the slightest.

Jaws has had a huge following, and will always be hailed as a classic. The film is so good, in fact, that it has created an almost world-wide fear of the great white shark. Of course, included on the DVD are a multitude of special features - even an educational video - so you can learn for yourself the whether or not this beast will rise from the deep next time you're out having a doggy-paddle! The full list of features is printed above, so I won't bore you with repetativeness. Needless to say that there is an impressive array of special features which far out-weigh those of most DVD's both in terms of content and quality.

To sum things up:

If you have seen this film and enjoyed it, then this is the DVD for you. If you haven't seen this film there are few that I can recommend more highly. Rent it, buy it, but whatever you do, you MUST see this film!

Brilliant Movie - Shame About The Features
There can be no complaints about the movie Jaws and I'm delighted to add it to my growing DVD collection. It is a classic in every sense - beautiful character development, comedy, tension,shocks and thrills, inspired direction and conception...it's all there in one amazing package.

One thing that did seriously disappoint me about this particular version on DVD, however, was the 'special' features included.

I am always fascinated in particular by deleted scenes and out-takes. So I was particularly looking forward to viewing these.

To my mind, however, 4 shots of Roy Scheider having problems firing a gun and 1 shot of Robert Shaw screaming (not very different from the actual shot used, except the crew laugh) do not constitute out-takes.

Equally, the deleted scenes were uninspired and often nonsensical, many of them being taken from very raw and shaky footage. The sound quality was often extremely poor.

I did find that I felt conned by this and it took the edge off my viewing. But in the grand scheme of things, the movie itself rises above the disappointment of poorly presented extras and I would certainly urge any fan of Jaws to buy this version.

Just buy it for the movie - not for the features - and you won't be left high and dry.

LabRat :)

'Show me the way to go home....'
On release in the summer of 1976, Jaws quickly became one of the biggest films of all time. It was recognized then, and still is, as a Hollywood Blockbuster with all the ingredients of an American Classic. From John Williams' haunting score, to the climatic 'dance of death' between Roy Schreider and the Great White, Jaws is simply perfect. When I realised that Universal this time were releasing a DVD with a good selection of extras, an improved picture and sound quality, I did not hesitate for a moment in purchasing it. Either should you.
The storyline you will probably already know, but I'll recap for some new viewers. A giant Great White Shark becomes the attention of the community of Amity Island, when a young girl dies when swimming in the ocean. Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Schreider) and Shark Expert Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) try to persuade the local town commitee to indeed close the beaches, despite the loss of needed 'summer dollars' from tourists. It soon becomes clear that Amity's survival lies in the hands of Brody, Hooper and Amity Fisherman Quint (a fabulous Robert Shaw). What follows is one of the best fishing trips depicted on film.
What about the extras, I hear you screaming. Well, I was really impressed. The main attraction is undoubedly the 50 minute documentary, which I won't spoil, but some of the tricks that Spielberg pulled out to visualize the shark was simply genius. Very interesting facts about Quint's famous 'USS Indianapolis' speech, plus recent interviews with most of the cast, including Steven Spielberg himself. Deleted scenes I am never a fan of in any DVD, for they are all obvious why they did not make the final cut. The deleted scenes here roll on after each other without really pausing, and become a wee bit confusing to the viewer. The threatrical trailers are quite good actually, and quite terrifying if I may say so! For many, the sound and picture quality make this DVD worth purchasing or not. The picture is extremely clear and rich, and it begs the question, was this actually made almost 30 years ago? My favourite however needs to be the sound. Jaws has one of my favourite themes in film history, and it has never sounded better than it does here.
If you are looking for another DVD to add to your collection, look no further. Ask pretty much any film fan or critic out there, and they will tell you that Jaws IS special. Along with Schindler's List, this in my opinion is Steven Spielberg's greatest achievement. Do you and your DVD collection justice: buy this.