Review of Jaws: Anniversary Edition

Introduction

Jaws, the very name resonates among movie audiences still. Generations have grown up with the thrills from the film that started the `event movie` phenomenon. This simple tale of man versus nature is masterfully told by Steven Spielberg and relentlessly builds the suspense to the inevitable conclusion. The 25th anniversary edition sees the movie digitally mastered and presented on DVD with a whole host of extras. The big question is, does the film still work after a quarter of a century?

The story must be part of the zeitgeist by now, but for completion`s sake I`ll summarize. After a shark attack near Amity Island, Police Chief Brody closes the beaches, but the Mayor overrules this, as the 4th of July celebrations will be disrupted, losing essential revenue. However further shark attacks result in a turn around in policy and greedy hunters descend on the island in search of the shark and a $3000 reward. In this mayhem appear two characters with differing agendas. Quint, a grizzled shark hunter who will hunt for money, but thirsts for revenge against all sharks, and Matt Hooper, a biologist from the Oceanographic Institute with an interest in all things shark. A small shark is caught and the islanders thinking their troubles are over reinstate the celebrations. During the celebrations however, a shark attacks and kills a boatman and it is revealed to be a Great White. After this, Brody and Hooper board Quint`s boat and go hunting the shark; only the shark decides to hunt them.

Video

The film is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen format. Colours are rich and the image sharply defined, this is what you expect from the format. The picture is digitally mastered as previously stated and this is immediately apparent. The picture quality is almost pristine and doesn`t in any way look 25 years old. There are moments of age in a few scenes but that is acceptable and understandable. As you would accept from a Spielberg movie, the film is gorgeous to look at. Wide panoramic ocean scenes are glorious backdrops to the action and intricately observed character interactions. You pay attention to everything that happens in this film.

Audio

You are spoilt for choice with the soundtracks. With a glorious DD 5.1 English track you get French, German, Italian and Spanish soundtracks, though admittedly mono.
The surround doesn`t really get as much of a work out as you would expect from your usual action movie. Sharks don`t generally provide rousing explosions, what you do get is more of a mood from the film, with sounds of the ocean you feel like you are sitting in a seashell. But seriously, for a film soundtrack orchestrated by John Williams, this film relies a lot on silence. Those dreaded strings visualize the shark for us, and when the action becomes fierce, the soundtrack punctuates it, but the music takes a rest for the character interactions, for once the dialogue is more important.

Features

This disc, like all other Spielberg presentations that I have seen, is simply laden with a plethora of extras. The extras do vary in quality, but there is something for every one. Primarily, there is a 50-minute documentary on the making of Jaws. I`m always interested in the extras that appear with older movies. After a period of time, the love affair with one`s own creation fades and the need to pander to marketing ceases. What remains in documentaries and on commentaries are usually candid and honest appraisals of the film and this is no exception here. Spielberg other members of the cast and crew offer a fascinating insight into the creation of what became a mass phenomenon. Also on this disc are 10 minutes of deleted scenes (letterbox format), some out-takes and 3 trailers. In terms of text and stills, there are some 720 stills and sketches from all aspects of the film. There is a little information on sharks, Shark World. There are also production notes and filmographies for the cast and director. There is a small shark trivia game, definitely a case of play once and forget. Finally there is a PC screensaver. It`s basically a slideshow for 5 movie stills and it also has some web links on it.

Conclusion

Roy Scheider stars as the police chief, Brody who in pure contrariness has an island under his jurisdiction when he is afraid of the water. Brody is torn in his duty as Police Chief and his civic responsibilities to the island and this leads to a fatal mistake. Richard Dreyfuss plays the biologist, Matt Hooper and brings a youthfulness and boyish eagerness to the role. However, Robert Shaw steals the show as the grizzled veteran Quint. Quint is a charismatic character that simply draws your attention when he`s on screen.

Looking back at this film and with reference to the documentary, we as an audience must be collectively grateful that the mechanical sharks that were designed as effects for this film were all so problematic for the filmmakers. Because of this, Jaws has become a masterpiece from Steven Spielberg. Having no sharks to work with for much of the film, much of the terror and suspense has been derived from implication and reactions. John Williams` score does more to imply threat and fear than any glimpse of sharks could ever do. Spielberg`s shots of bathers legs from beneath the waves has you wondering who`ll be lunch next for the shark. Moments of placidity and normality do much to counterpoint the moments of horror that are inevitable. I was thinking that this film is laden with clichés and stereotypes, from the sea dog, Quint to the complacent mayor with his head in the sand. Then I realised, they`re not clichés, this film was the first and set the mould, besides Spielberg is a great observer of human behaviour and the character interactions in this film make it riveting. By the time of the denouement, I am always so caught up by the thrills in the film and drawn tense by the suspense, that when the saveloy with teeth finally flops onto the deck of the Orca and we see the shark in all its ignominy, I give it a glance, a small voice in my head says "fake shark is naff" but the film has already got me gripped and the voice is drowned out by my sheer enjoyment of the spectacle.

So it comes to marking this film. I`m going to take a point off the content score and I`ll tell you why. This film is perfect, it is eminently watchable and this is how all films should be made. And that is my problem, because of this one brilliant film, we have had a string of dire sequels and an endless stream of rip-offs. A quick glance at the hall of shame throws up titles like Piranha, The Swarm, Anaconda, and Lake Placid. If it weren`t for Jaws, all that celluloid wouldn`t have been wasted. But this DVD is a rarity, an excellent film graced with copious extras. It`s a disc that should see the inside of every DVD player at least once.