Jaws [Blu-ray]

"Buy thIs for the new documentary alone!" I suppose that my blurb is kinda old-school, and perhaps even contrived, but after watching the "Jaws @ 50" definitive documentary, created by Laurent Bouzereau, the undisputed king of feature-length movie 'making of' supplements that have graced so many physical media releases of classic and iconic films through the years, I think I just experienced one of his very best pieces, if not 'the' absolute best work of his career. Understand, that already owning and collecting numerous versions of this film on every type and size of disc imaginable in every conceivable resolution offering, I was hesitant to purchase this, but then I learned that the third disc would be a brand new documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of the film, and being a collector in every sense of the word, it was a no-brainer; I was absolutely getting this, and when I saw Mr. Bouzereau's name super-imposed at the very beginning of this, I got very excited, and knew without a doubt, that I had made the right decision. However, I was not prepared for just 'how' good this would be! There are other documentaries about the making of "Jaws," and I really appreciate them all, but here's what was missing in them, that is a 'huge' part of "Jaws @50," and that is the brutal realities and hardships of making a film, by a young Director, within an industry that can be very unforgiving, and the emotionally draining experience that this was for Steven Spielberg, simply because the odds were so against him in actually completing this film, especially when a powerful studio appears to be just one more day away from shutting your movie down. Other writings and documentaries have alluded to this fact, but "Jaws @ 50" puts the viewer through the spirit-crushing reality of this seemingly inevitable conclusion for Spielberg, but then we get to feel the powerful triumph that he experienced, when the film became a phenomenon, simply because he put aside his fears of the looming end of his career, and stayed not just aboard what appeared to be a sinking ship, but commanded it as well, either to its doom, or in this case, sailed it right into movie history, as one of the most successful and beloved films of all time. What a vindication and finally, in this documentary we get to experience this, as if we have been right there with Spielberg all along! "Faith is believing when common-sense tells you not to" - "Miracle on 34th Street" - 1947 (May I add, the year of the 'Roswell' crash) What I really loved about "Jaws @ 50" was hearing the words, demonstrating without a doubt, the immense pride and mutual respect and admiration that so many associated with "Jaws" had and have for one another, and Spielberg says it best and in the most heart-felt way imaginable, as this documentary comes to a close, in so many words, that he sincerely hoped that everyone involved in the film, especially in it's 50th iconic year, can feel his deep respect for this movie, suggesting to me anyway, that it wasn't 'him' that made "Jaws" such a great movie, but 'all' of them, made it 'great' together. Those were not his exact words, but that's what I got from what he said, which I think is the very definition of humility. I can honestly say that I got choked up, as if I had just experienced "Schindler's List" all over again. That may be a weird analogy, but I'm just being real. Putting aside all of that, "Jaws @ 50" also contains countless statements from numerous a-list filmmakers and actors, and a "Jaws" aficionado's early-Christmas present of an extensive collection, scattered throughout, of never-before-seen pre-production, production, post-production and home-movie footage. People that appreciate the Shark itself are not left out either, as this film includes interviews and footage of the efforts of many to bring back the often-misunderstood Shark population. I could go on and on about this, but I'll stop and just say for the record: Do not hesitate for one second to purchase what is admittedly, basically the same fantastic special feature-loaded Blu-Ray / 4K package release from five years ago, but the third disc, which is this new documentary, makes it worth every cent to buy it all over again! The original gorgeous one-sheet artwork that graces the slip-cover and the actual keep-case, seals the deal! Bottom-line, I loved it!

A classic film and one of the best 4K transfers yet!

Jaws a classic one of my favorite movies.

Excellent movie

In this movie you get the head, the tail, the whole darn thing?

Please Note: My review and ratings are based on the quality of the new 4K version of this film--images, sound, and extras and how these compare to the previously-released Blu-ray version of the film. I am not rating the acting, direction, set design, etc. which can be found in other places, but instead I am helping you decide to upgrade to the 4K version or not. The quality of 4K films, in comparison to the regular Blu-ray versions, often depends upon two things: (1) the quality of the original that they have to work with; and (2) how much effort they put into the project. Here there must have started with either the original film or a first-generation print of it. There is a noticeable upgrade from the regular Blu-ray version to the 4K version. I did a side-by-side comparison of both films and you will notice improvements in the video quality of the 4K version--more details, sharper images throughout, improved resolution, and better color saturation. You will notice the improvements most in outdoor, daylight scenes and less so in night-time scenes. There are no glitches in the print--no "snow," spots, or lines. It is an excellent image and that's great for a film that came out in 1975. The 4K conversion has been excellent for all Spielberg films released in 4K, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind and War of the Worlds (see my reviews of these elsewhere). Importantly, there are no problems with HDR, which is the single most often complaint of 4K films. HDR makes the contrast sharper by making dark colors darker and light colors lighter. This has worked well for some films and not well for other films. The most common complaint for HDR when it is bad is that the scenes are too dark in the 4K version of the film, particularly night-time scenes (Skyfall, Spectre, & Van Helsing all suffer from this). Happily no HDR problems here. Everything looks good, including the night-time scenes or dimly-lit indoor scenes. This is one of only a few films which used HDR 10+ (almost all have HDR 10). The 7.1 DTS audio is excellent and an improvement from the regular Blu-Ray version. Several special features are included as well, including the making of the movie, the shark (it is still functional), scene outtakes, and production photos. The cover of the box has a 3D image of the shark, what was called a "wiggle picture" when I was a kid. I now own about sixty 4K movies or nature specials. Roughly 45 of the 60 show noticeable improvements in video and audio. The others either are roughly the same from Blu-Ray to 4K or suffer from the aforementioned HDR darkness issues. So it's overall good but in some cases not worth buying the film again in 4K. My favorites in 4K and I'm talking about imagery, not the plot or acting, are Jurassic World, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Planet Earth II, and the Flight of the Butterflies. Those films really wow you in 4K. This is an excellent film in 4K and is worth upgrading to if you already own the regular Blu-ray version.

Jaws I is my favorite "go to" movie when life stresses me out. So when I finally upgraded my TV & blu ray player to 4k, of course I had to upgrade Jaws, too. It didn't make much difference. It looks a bit better than my old DVD edition. But I learned that I don't need to replace all of my older movies. My blu ray movies got a little boost from the new TV & player. But the CGI in Avatar is AMAZING!! I'm on the fence about upgrading Peter Jackson's Kong. So, bottom line is if the movie is 10 or more years old, stick with DVD and save a little money.

Greatest Movie ever made, Spielberg at his finest. Everyone should own two copies.....