9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
When a seaside community finds itself under attack by a great white shark, three men embark on a quest to kill it before it strikes again.
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw (I), Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray HamiltonHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 87% |
Adventure | 19% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS 2.0 Mono
French: DTS-HD HR 7.1
French: DTS Mono
Italian: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS Mono
Czech: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Italian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
The Film Vault is back with another pretty extravagantly packaged quartet of titles to complement the four equally lavishly appointed releases they offered last year, 1917 4K, Blade Runner 4K, GoodFellas 4K, and Scarface 4K. Along with design and package contents that are obviously meant to make this new foursome fit in right next to the previous four, like last year's assortment, this year's offerings are split evenly, two apiece, between films coming from either Warner Brothers (2001: A Space Odyssey 4K and The Shawshank Redemption 4K ) or Universal (this film and Apollo 13 4K).
Jaws is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of The Film Vault with an HVEC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.36:1. Unsurprisingly, as with the "tradition" set by this label, this release duplicates Universal's own 4K release for Region A, and I echo all of Marty's positive comments about the transfer which he included in his review of that version. As Marty notes, the increase in shadow detail and nuance of the palette is really noticeable pretty much from the get go, and those improvements tend to continue unabated throughout the rest of the presentation. I may not be quite as enamored by the grain resolution as Marty was, and some sequences definitely offer a pretty rough, yellowish grain field. That can at times combine with an admittedly minimally degraded image quality, as in the first police office scene, where the palette doesn't quite offer the same suffusion and even clarity can falter, if only slightly. These are niggling qualms in any event, and the overall look of this 4K presentation should easily satisfy and probably even delight the film's many fans.
Jaws features a really nicely expressive Atmos track that delivers all of the generally superb surround activity of the old 1080 disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track while offering some clear if subtle emanations of mostly ambient environmental effects from the Atmos speakers. The "immersive" (no underwater puns intended) proclivities of the track do have a couple of odd stylistic choices which Marty addresses in his review, but I found the overall listening experience to be consistently enveloping, with (again, no water pun intended) good fluidity and what I consider to be rather wide dynamic range (Marty was evidently a bit less positively disposed toward that side of things). Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.
On Disc Supplements (for more information on these, please consult my original 1080 review)
4K UHD Disc
- Storyboards (HD; 29:45)
- Production Photos (HD; 48:34)
- Marketing Jaws (HD; 9:20)
- Jaws Phenomenon (HD; 10:08)
It's maybe just a bit ironic that this is coming out at least somewhat around Halloween, since studios and/or labels tend to (can't help it, folks, another water allusion coming) flood the market with horror releases that are often as disposable as a trick or treat candy wrapper. What makes this release ironic in a way is that it is easily spookier and just flat out scarier than a laundry list of other productions featuring things like masked killers and axe wielding maniacs. The Film Vault is specializing in packaging, and they certainly come through again with this lavish release, but the good news is they also tend to utilize some licensed releases that offer solid technical merits and appealing on disc supplements. Highly recommended.
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100th Anniversary Collector's Series | Limited Edition
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