Will there be a 30th Anniv. edition of JAWS? (1 Viewer)

[Jordan_E]

The problem is recent rereleases have done poorly (The Godfather), other than a certain trilogy, so I highly doubt that Universal would spend the money to strike up 1000+ prints. But we can always hope, right?

 

[Ernest Rister]

"The problem is recent rereleases have done poorly."

Well, SW with re-done visual f/x drew a crowd because of the curisoity. Unfortunately, that very same release antagonized the SW fan base, what with the infamous "Greedo Shoots First" revision.

The Wizard of Oz, The Godfather, or Vertigo with brand new restored prints drew a shrug.

A re-tooled Exorcist did okay, but it wasn't spectacular.

Now E.T. with re-worked visual f/x did not do well, despite heavy promotion. I feel that the animosity caused by the "Greedo Shoots First" re-tooling of SW caused a great backlash against E.T., as it too was "Corrected Politcally" to alter the film and remove guns from the hands of Federal Agents. Such portrayals did not jibe with current events and they felt false. Federal Agents do not use walkie talkies when trying to enforce their will...only Fox Mulder does that, and only then because he always drops his gun.

 

[rich_d]

Do you have sales figures on these titles?

 

[Malcolm R]

Then there was the aborted re-release of "Alien" in 2003. Very prominent advertising as "coming soon" in all the area theaters. Then Fox decided to only put out about 70 prints, so none of the theaters that were promoting it were able to actually show it.

I put that failure on Fox. I really wanted to see "Alien" on the big screen after all their teasing and promotion, and they basically said, "get f*cked."

 

[Justin Bauer]

This DVD release is still bitter-sweet for me. It is a top 5 movie for me and I love the DVD, but I am still upset with the mess up of the release. I gave up on a 30th anniversary edition this week and ordered the Signature LD to try to make up for some of the losses of the DVD.

Universal needs to re-release this in theaters with a new sound mix and then release a 2 disc edition DVD.

 

[BrettGallman]

Definately agree with you on that one Malcom. I was thoroughly pissed with Fox on that one. "Alien," along with "Jaws" are among the 5 films I'd most like to see re-released in theaters. "Superman," "Halloween," and the original "Dawn of the Dead" round out that top 5.

 

[Justin Bauer]

I wish that restored 70mm Lawrence of Arabia would be re-re-released...i missed it a few years ago and I am still in agony over it.

 

[Vincent_P]

Justin:

Columbia seems to be re-releasing LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in 70mm every five years. It had an extended run in NYC in 1997, then again in 2002 for the 40th Anniversary. I saw it both times, two times each

Maybe they'll trot it out again in 2007.

Vincent

 

[Jordan_E]

I am lucky enough (?) to be old enough to have seen all those movies in the theater. I wish studios would wise up a bit and strike a few prints to go from city to city, rather than 1000+ prints, and make it a roadshow event.

 

[JonZ]

"30 years!?!?!?!?
Man I feel old"

I very clearly remember the day I saw this in the theater with my dad, cousin and uncle back in the mid70s

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I clearly recall the day I saw it in the theatre, too - I was 13. Do I feel old? No way -- just much happier to have been born when I was and having had a chance to see this (and countless other greats) in the movies at the perfect age! REJOICE!!

 

[TravisR]

I just saw Jaws in the theater last summer. It was an old print that was in good (but not great) shape for its age and it had all the old mono sound effects.

The movie played great too. The crowd was getting scared and would jump at the scares. I know the movie forward and backward so there wasn't much that was going to surprise me but the crowd was really, really into it.

It was good to see that Jaws can still scare people after nearly 30 years.

 

[rich_d]

Well said. I just turned the big 5-O this month. Would I turn back the clock 30 years? Absolutely. But ... would I want to change the films that influenced me as a young adult say ...as a freshman in college in 1974? Or trade them for any other period in film history? Nope. Don't think so.

 

[Justin Bauer]

Oh I hope so. I remember the 2002 release. My girlfriend at the time read about the release in the paper but it was not showing in my area. I tried to get to see it but was unsuccessful.

I have never seen JAWS or LAWRENCE OF ARABIA on the big screen. I am only 25 so hopefully one day I will have that chance.

 

[MarkBurton]

Okay, it seems like they got the page back up and running. Here's the link:
http://www.jawsmovie.com/bin/petition.asp

Here's some features missing from the current DVD that they mention:

Offer the option for the viewer to watch Jaws with the original 1.0 mono mix in addition to the new Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. Many fans feel that the new remix degrades and tarnishes the Oscar winning sound and it is the original sound, in part, that makes Jaws the classic that it is. Since others prefer the new tracks, both should be included as well.

Show ALL of the deleted scenes and place each scene on the DVD with a separate chapter selection for each one. To do anything less than what was offered on the Signature Collection Laser Disc was unfortunate and should be corrected.

Show us ALL of the available bloopers and outtakes. There were bloopers and outtakes (i.e., Brody pouring wine over Hooper’s head, The original daylight scene of Ben Gardner’s boat being found) that aired on TV's Bloopers, Blunders and Practical Jokes and on the Laser disc that were omitted from the DVD. Offer an individual chapter selection for each of these as well.

Give us the complete 2-hour documentary. With 2-discs, there will be enough room for it. This documentary was fabulous and needs to be shown in its entirety.

We, the fans, ask for more than simply a foreshortened version of the laser disc. In doing a commemorative DVD, there is so much more that is readily available with only a minimal amount of research and effort, such as:

Include the 1 Hour travel film on Martha's Vineyard that was shot while Jaws was being made. Over half of this is devoted to Jaws, including RARE interviews of Robert Shaw as Quint in his wardrobe as well as some professionally shot behind the scenes footage. This, above most anything new that you could offer, would be the best due to the fact that Shaw's death makes it impossible to do any present day interviews. What an incredible treat this would be to see.

Offer the television news stories that were taped and broadcast in 1974 by CBS and the BBC.

Offer the behind the scenes coverage by The Mike Douglas Show in 1974 and the subsequent actor interviews done in 1975.

Add Audio commentary by key members of the crew and/or cast. Though Spielberg may not prefer doing commentary tracks, perhaps people like Carl Gottlieb, Joe Alves, Mike Chapman, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Lorraine Gary could be involved.

Add an isolated music track for John Williams' Oscar-winning score. Preferably with optional commentary by Williams.

 

[Elias A.]

I suspect that many of the potential extras you mention would not be available due to rights issues, especially the BBC documentary and TV interviews. Still, it's nice to dream.

By the way, I saw Jaws in 1975 when I was eight. It scared the crap out of me, and I couldn't sleep for two days. Of course, it became my favorite movie after that.

 

[CraigL]

Here's your answer, kids:

Jaws (2-disc 30th anniversary edition) on 15-08

This is information from Holland.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Craig, can you post a link to where you got that information?

 

[Jeff D Han]

I hope this is true, Craig. Along with everybody else,
I would love to own a definitive DVD that includes the
whole documentary from the laserdisc, along with more
extras.

 

[CraigL]

http://www.rodisc.nl/mailing/rodisc/364w.htm

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