Jaws 4K Blu-ray Review

One of the greatest thrillers of all time

by Simon Crust
Movies & TV Shows Review

313

Unmissable
Jaws 4K Blu-ray Review
MSRP: £19.99

Jaws Film Review

Here's to swimmin' with bow legged women 

Jaws.

The first of the summer Blockbusters, way back in 1975, and directed by a young, enthusiastic director who was on the way up his creative curve: Steven Spielberg, but showing a maturity and elegance that belies his age. The story of a man-killer shark that terrorises a tourist town is so well known, we’re not going to look at it again, but we will look at a couple of the directing tricks that Spielberg used to make one of the greatest thrillers of all time.

Everyone knows the dolly zoom shot, much imitated, never bettered, but the wipe cuts immediately preceding it form part of the whole, a prelude, if you will, as we move closer to Brody ramping the tension with every cut. But, for me, there are even better shots that are equally as clever and convey even more. The discovery of Chrissie’s body stands out for me; Brody, aghast as the sceptic, turns to look at the ocean – bang, right there, Spielberg subconsciously implants death with the sea; already our heckles are up… there’s something deadly in the water. Far less subtle but no less impressive is the Orca leaving the harbour filmed through the jaws of a shark; our heroes are steaming, quite literally, into jaws of death. And, of course, the best jump scare of them all, poor Ben Gardner’s eye-popping head lolloping from the hole in his stricken boat, everyone knows it’s coming, everyone remembers it well, but still it never fails to execute a jump; that holding on the hole for a few seconds more than you remember gets you every time – it’s masterful.

Indeed, the whole film is masterful, from the over talking of the characters, the clichés it lays down (the Mayor thinking only of the town, the grizzled loner that everyone turns too etc.) the sheer verve it conveys; comedic (Hooper and Quint’s interactions), heart-breaking (Mrs Kinter’s breakdown at Brody), horrific (Quint’s death) and the edge of your seat thrill (underwater filming of unaware bathers). Then you have the music; John Williams’ iconic score that once heard cannot be forgotten. Jaws was a perfect storm, the inability of ‘Bruce’ the shark to work in the water forcing an invention of filming that proved to be outstanding; casting, story, score and director – stunning.

Jaws 4K Video

Jaws
Look out below

Jaws was shot using Arriflex 35-III and Panavision Panaflex on 35mm film, with subsequent scanning at 4K resolution to form a native 4K DI. The disc presents an native 3840 x 2160p resolution image in the widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and uses 10-bit video depth, a Wide Colour Gamut (WCG), High Dynamic Range (with support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+) and is encoded using the HEVC (H.265) codec. We reviewed the Region free UK Ultra HD Blu-ray release of Jaws on a Panasonic 65DX902B Ultra HD 4K TV with a Panasonic DP-UB450 Dolby Vision HDR10+ 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.

Jaws has been treated well on disc before, the 2012 Blu-ray release is testament to that (and is included in this set), but this 4K release is something else. The native 4K image has been treated with respect throughout, bringing out the very best the image has to offer. Detail is stunning, from the wrinkles and sideburns of Quint’s grizzled face, to clothing weaves, to sand grains on the beach to edges of Brodie’s jeep as he drives to town; everything is keen, tight and sharp.

 

This 4K release is something else 

Colouring is amazing, there is a rich vividness that really pops, the blue skies are like looking out of a window on a sunny day, the red of the blood, the green of the grasses; must be one of the best uses of HDR and WCG I’ve seen.

Black level is wonderful, adding superb depth to frame while holding shadow detail when required, minor crush on Brody’s black sweater in the Orca cabin at night, but that’s always been the case; but the darkness of the water at night is amazing. The white scale is just as impressive, with highlights giving pop to the picture; glints of moon- or sun-light off the water, metallic sheen, sweat, everything looks so natural.

Digitally there are no issues, the original source is immaculate while the grain is held well to give a perfect film screening; occasionally the grain becomes a tad heavy, as was always the case in darker scenes, but this just adds to the quality. Simply stunning.

Jaws 4K Audio

Jaws
Open wide

The Dolby Atmos track adds another layer to this wonderful surround track, emphasising what’s there, rather than pushing effects for the sake of it. Dialogue is clear and natural sounding, and always audible, even in the hubbub of the town meeting, is given directionality when needed but dominated by the frontal array. Effects are well catered for and the surrounds hold a lot of ambience, be it waves lapping or fires crackling.

 

An evolution of the track 

The overhead channels are used sparingly or to fill out the score, which comes at you from up on high, with underwater effects giving the best usage; the destruction of the shark-tank is immense! Bass is tight and deep, used to fill out the low end, while LF effects, such as the shark hitting the side of the Orca, or the compressed air explosion get some punch. In all, this is an evolution of the track and it works well.

Jaws 4K Extras

Jaws
Aye aye c'pan

There is nothing new in the extras department, but a whole host are included on the UHD, listed below, for everything, the included Blu-ray is the one to spin.

The Making of Jaws – 2 hour documentary.

The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of Jaws – 10 featurettes running at 1 hour 40 minutes.

Jaws: The Restoration – 8 minute feature.

Deleted Scenes and Outtakes - 13 minutes.

From the Set – 9 minutes.

Theatrical Trailer

Conclusion

Jaws 4K Blu-ray Review

Jaws
You're gonna need a bigger boat!

Jaws hardly needs any introduction, a seminal ride spearheading the ‘summer blockbuster’ it also happens to be one of the best films ever made. Combining in a perfect storm, a young, on form, enthusiastic director, a failing prop forcing invention, a tight script, excellent performances and that score and you have a film that once seen is never forgotten.

The 4K UHD from Universal is terrific; the native 4K picture is blistering with absolute detail, incredible colouring and stunning blacks, while the Dolby Atmos surround track adds an extra layer to what is an already top notch sound track. The extra material, whilst not new, is nearly all on the UHD, which makes a nice change!

Scores

Movie

10

Picture Quality

10

Sound Quality

.
9

Extras

.
9

Overall

10
10
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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