Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Jaws 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 9, 2023

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).

As with the other Film Vault titles that have been released thus far, Jaws of course has had previous releases in both 1080 and 4K UHD formats over the years. Those wanting my reaction to the film and its first Region A 1080 release may find relevant information in my Jaws Blu-ray review, and Martin Liebman's Jaws 4K Blu-ray review also provides more information. As I never tire of saying, different reviewers means different opinions, so those who keep track of such things will note some minor variances in scores.

Jaws 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Jaws 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On Disc Supplements (for more information on these, please consult my original 1080 review)

4K UHD Disc

• The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of Jaws (SD; 1:41:21).


• Jaws: The Restoration (HD; 8:28)


• The Making of Jaws (SD; 2:02:48)


• From the Set (SD; 8:56)


• Deleted Scenes and Outtakes (SD; 13:33)


• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD; 3:15)

1080 Disc

• The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of Jaws (SD; 1:41:21).


• Jaws: The Restoration (HD; 8:28)


• The Making of Jaws (SD; 2:02:48)


• From the Set (SD; 8:56)


• Deleted Scenes and Outtakes (SD; 13:33)


• Jaws Archives offers the following exhaustive photo galleries:

  Storyboards (HD; 29:45)

  
  

  Production Photos (HD; 48:34)

  
  

  Marketing Jaws (HD; 9:20)

  
  

  Jaws Phenomenon (HD; 10:08)



• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD; 3:15)

Packaging and Non Disc Swag

The Film Vault is obviously gearing these releases toward serious collectors, in terms of offering a unified appearance and the same sort of non disc supplements included in each package. The outer box is approximately 9" high by 7 1/8" wide by 1 5/8" deep. The box has an acetate O-ring slipcover branded with both the film title and The Film Vault's logo as well as numbering. This rigid clamshell box is emblazoned with newly commissioned key art and itself features a kind of cool magnetic clasp that opens to disclose a whole host of goodies. A CD sized digipack (in its own slipcover) holds both the 2160 disc and the 1080 disc, there is a rather beautiful if possibly useless exclusive individually numbered crystal display plaque (again with the film's title), four collectible art cards with added film facts (on glossy cardstock), three unique character cards with film quotes (also on glossy cardstock), a reproduction Amity Village billboard poster, a replica Beach Closed sign, and a double sided poster of the new key art (which is quite striking) and original theatrical poster. All of the preceding are enclosed in another branded envelope. I've uploaded a picture of the packaging under the appropriate tab on the main review interface.

Jaws 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.