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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Jaws -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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For decades, Jaws was my son's favorite film, possibly only now supplanted by the most recent generation of Batman productions. But I can't be certain of that.

I first saw Jaws in late June of 1975, at the beginning of its run, in a standard issue Eastman Color print. Over the years, I've seen many prints, including having owned a dye transfer, now at the Academy Archive. As I recall, that print, made at Technicolor London, had skies with a definite magenta push.

Not so Universal's new Blu-ray.

Color looks accurate. At least to my eye, dead-on perfect.

Densities from the Cineric immersion scan of the OCN, are terrific.

Black levels, image stability, digital clean-up and fixes, are all in line with the latest high end technical abilities. Grain may have gone through some reduction, but I'm seeing nothing problematic, and by that I refer to what may be considered "forensic" digital grain anomalies. It looks just fine.

Audio, which concerned me, when I noted that it came up as 7.1, is a joy. I neglected to sample the 2.0 mono. What I heard, and I viewed about half an hour of the film from different sequences, sounded superb -- created with a light and intelligent hand. A wonderfully immersive experience.

From a filmmaking standpoint, everyone is aware of Mr. Williams' iconic score, but I find it difficult to view the film without a huge tip of the hat to the great Verna Fields, who created much of this film in the editing room. Hard to believe that Ms. Fields has been gone for 30 years.

Universal's team has done a great job.

Buy a copy. Enjoy it, and send some flowers to the team as a "thank you."

Image - 5

Audio - 5

Very Highly Recommended.

RAH
 

Charles Smith

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Thank you, thank you, thank you.

That's to RAH. Universal team will get theirs, too. Promise.
 

dpippel

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*whew*

Thanks for your impressions as always Robert. I'm relieved to hear that UHV has done a fantastic job on Jaws and look forward to screening the Blu-ray when it's finally released.

I also first saw this film in July of 1975 during its initial theatrical run in Sarasota, Florida. At that time no one had experienced anything like it, and from the terrifying opening sequence on it had me in its grip. You can look at some of the effects work today and smile a little, but in the mid-seventies it seemed so real that it caused "shark hysteria" around the world. Many people in Sarasota, myself included, never looked at the ocean in quite the same way after Jaws came a knockin' at the local theater. It remains one of my favorite films.
 

Doctorossi

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dpippel said:
Many people in Sarasota, myself included, never looked at the ocean in quite the same way after Jaws came a knockin' at the local theater.
6ef08de1_fish_shark_SNL.jpeg

"Candygram..."
 
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RAH, I've waited for this review ever since Uni's announcement of this title's Blu-ray debut.
Suffice it to say that -- given their track record of botched Blu-ray releases for other catalog titles -- the suspense regarding the quality of this release was almost the same as I experienced when I first saw this film in the theater in '75!
I normally wait for sales rather than do "Day 1" purchases for BDs I want. But not with this one, thanks to your review.
Gawd, I can't wait. Thank again, Mr. Harris :)
 

FoxyMulder

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Originally Posted by Robert Harris /t/322696/a-few-words-about-jaws-in-blu-ray#post_3956234
For decades, Jaws was my son's favorite film, possibly only now supplanted by the most recent generation of Batman productions. But I can't be certain of that.

I first saw Jaws in late June of 1975, at the beginning of its run, in a standard issue Eastman Color print. Over the years, I've seen many prints, including having owned a dye transfer, now at the Academy Archive. As I recall, that print, made at Technicolor London, had skies with a definite magenta push.

Not so Universal's new Blu-ray.

Color looks accurate. At least to my eye, dead-on perfect.

Densities from the Cineric immersion scan of the OCN, are terrific.

Black levels, image stability, digital clean-up and fixes, are all in line with the latest high end technical abilities. Grain may have gone through some reduction, but I'm seeing nothing problematic, and by that I refer to what may be considered "forensic" digital grain anomalies. It looks just fine.

Audio, which concerned me, when I noted that it came up as 7.1, is a joy. I neglected to sample the 2.0 mono. What I heard, and I viewed about half an hour of the film from different sequences, sounded superb -- created with a light and intelligent hand. A wonderfully immersive experience.

From a filmmaking standpoint, everyone is aware of Mr. Williams' iconic score, but I find it difficult to view the film without a huge tip of the hat to the great Verna Fields, who created much of this film in the editing room. Hard to believe that Ms. Fields has been gone for 30 years.

Universal's team has done a great job.

Buy a copy. Enjoy it, and send some flowers to the team as a "thank you."

Image - 5

Audio - 5

Very Highly Recommended.

RAH

I take it that Universal's standard procedure of sharpening up their Blu ray releases is missing from this release, no edge enhancement halo's are visible then. ?
 

Robert Harris

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Originally Posted by FoxyMulder /t/322696/a-few-words-about-jaws-in-blu-ray#post_3956257

I take it that Universal's standard procedure of sharpening up their Blu ray releases is missing from this release, no edge enhancement halo's are visible then. ?
No worries. Superb in every detail.

RAH
 

FoxyMulder

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Originally Posted by Robert Harris /t/322696/a-few-words-about-jaws-in-blu-ray#post_3956268
No worries. Superb in every detail.

RAH

Great news then, i guess there is hope for E.T. too.
 

DavidJ

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Thanks for the review RAH and a big thank you to Universal for producing a quality Blu-ray.
 

FoxyMulder

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Originally Posted by dpippel /t/322696/a-few-words-about-jaws-in-blu-ray#post_3956339

eb1f9d66_700.jpeg



"Flowers, M'am."

No just a leg thank you very much. ( a bit of tomato sauce on that if you can )
 

Adam_S

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Originally Posted by Robert Harris /t/322696/a-few-words-about-jaws-in-blu-ray#post_3956234
Densities from the Cineric immersion scan of the OCN, are terrific.
What's a Cineric immersion scan and how is it different from a regular scan?
 

Robert Harris

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Originally Posted by Adam_S /t/322696/a-few-words-about-jaws-in-blu-ray#post_3956345
What's a Cineric immersion scan and how is it different from a regular scan?
Full immersion aka wetgate. You'll find an explanation, and images on the restoration featurette.
 

Scott D S

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I wonder if Universal has upgraded any of the still galleries, or if they're re-using the galleries from the Signature Collection laserdiscs, replete with various analog artifacts.
 

haineshisway

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Robert Harris said:
No worries.  Superb in every detail.
RAH
Don't you fear, dear boy, they will find haloes (or what they "think" are haloes) everywhere. They will see DNR and EE and AA and GG and RR. And I'm sure many of us will enjoy what sounds like a superb Blu-ray of Jaws. Cannot wait. I saw the film opening day - I'm trying to remember where it opened in Hollywood and for some reason my brain is remembering the Pix. But I'm not sure Universal would have used the Pix, although many Universal films did play there. Anyone know for sure?
 

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