USHE Press Release: JAWS (Blu-ray) (Plus restoration details) (1 Viewer)

[haineshisway]

I saw Close Encounters at the Academy - one of the first screenings (I was sitting directly in front of Georg Lucas and Spielberg) - it was gloriously stereo.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Originally Posted by NY2LA /t/319941/ushe-press-release-jaws-blu-ray-plus-restoration-details/90#post_3942465
I can attest to CE3K having amazing stereophonic sound (including deep base that surpassed "sensurround") when it premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in NYC.

The Ziegfield premiere was in 70mm Dolby Baby Boom, which is why its so loud (those early Dolby mixes tend to go a bit overboard with the .1 channel).

 

[Joe Caps]

Jaws was originally mono only in theaters.
Oddly, 1941, though stereo in theaters, was mono only on the old MCA Discovision disc.

 

[NY2LA]

Cool thing about the Ziegfeld showing CE3K was that the spaceship hovering over Neary's truck REALLY shook the place, more effectively than I remember Sensurround having done with huge subwoofer boxes around the room. But the Ziegfeld showed CE3K with no visible speakers.
As for Jaws coming out mono, it opened wide right away and then wider. I imagine Universal just made a bunch of mono JAWS prints, while Columbia premiered CE3K exclusively in just two cities, platforming later into general release.

 

[Worth]

I saw the restored Jaws on the big screen this weekend. Having seen it not that long ago in 35mm, it was interesting to compare the differences. While it looked very good, it's been a bit overly scrubbed for my taste - the grain is pretty much gone, though not at the expense of detail. Purists who like their vintage films gritty may be disappointed in this release. The look reminds me very much of the recent Bond restorations - still plenty sharp, but a little too smooth for a film of its vintage.

 

[rich_d]

I saw the restored Jaws on the big screen this weekend. Having seen it not that long ago in 35mm, it was interesting to compare the differences. While it looked very good, it's been a bit overly scrubbed for my taste - the grain is pretty much gone, though not at the expense of detail. Purists who like their vintage films gritty may be disappointed in this release. The look reminds me very much of the recent Bond restorations - still plenty sharp, but a little too smooth for a film of its vintage.

Nick,
Thanks for the insight.
I take it that the showing you attended was a digital projection versus a newly struck 35 mm film projection. As such, there is no film grain to project as such. I do get your point about 'scrubbing' which, to me, is the heart of the matter. Too much scrubbing and a movie becomes something it was never was. However ... is there a double standard depending on the film's age? Do we apply a different standard for a 50 year-old film versus one made last year as to how it appear before us on the screen? When we go to a antique car show - do we want the 50 year-old to look like it's all of 50 years old - or do we want it to look like it just came off the showroom floor? From the interview for the restoration, it seems that Spielberg is boasting about a film that looks 'better' than it did upon initial release or to borrow my analogy, better than the car did coming off the showroom floor. For some, that may be a troubling line that's being crossed.
It's not, however, straightforward. I don't mind the filmmaker applying color correction for some scene that always bugged him. Or improving the result of some optical, because the technology now permits it. Then how do I now get high and mighty about other digital wizardry primarily done just to make the film ... 'pretty'? Can you be just a little bit pregnant?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Received my copy of JAWS on Friday. Just had the opportunity to quickly look through it this
morning to get an idea of what the improvements were.

You know, this is a film that has never looked good on any format. Before I even popped
this Blu-ray into my Oppo player, I went and checked out the Anniversary Collector's Editon
DVD that came out in (I believe) 2000, stamped with the DTS logo across the top.

The picture looked muddy and it had a noticeable amount of debris in spots.

As for the new 100th Anniversary Blu-ray release....
The moment the film's iconic Universal logo sequence begins, you could hear the sound
of waves coming up very distinctly in the rear channels. On the DVD, the sound is very
muddled, but here, you can identify the detailed presence of rolling waves.

The picture itself is a revelation. Something you must see to believe.

In a word, INCREDIBLE. It looks like a brand-new print. More detail than has ever
been seen before. I had to blink twice to make certain I was seeing this correctly, for
as many times as I have watched this muddy-looking film on cable or DVD, I don't think
I was quite prepared for this transformation.

....and I'm not exaggerating in the least.

Yes, there is still a presence of film grain here. You can see rather faintly in the
first daylit scene featuring Sheriff Brody (Scheider) walking along the top of the
beach dunes. To my eyes, there hasn't been a total scrubbing done as some feared.

Chapter stops are exactly as the previous DVDs.

My meaning of this post was to give a quick first-impression. I am going to leave
the expert reviews to both Robert Harris and Kevin Koster, both who will be looking
at this disc by the end of the week.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Man, I can't wait to get my copy. One of my favorite films from the 70s.






Crawdaddy

 

[TravisR]

Thanks for your thoughts, Ron. This is probably my most anticipated disc of the year.

 

[Carlo_M]

I'm gonna need a bigger TV...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Man, I can't wait to get my copy.  One of my favorite films from the 70s.

Same here. I've been putting off re-watching Jaws for many months in anticipation of this release.

 

[Dave H]

Very cool, Ron. Looking forward to checking this out...it's been at least 6-7 years since I last watched Jaws (on DVD).

 

[Charles Smith]

We watch all four Jaws films every summer. (It's true.) This one is going to be a very special event.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I'm gonna need a bigger TV...

Right back atchya. I definitely need a bigger tv.

 

[lukejosephchung]

Man, Ron...we gotta wait TWO MORE WEEKS to enjoy what you've got in your hot little hands NOW?!? You lucky so-and-so!!!

 

[BluRules12]

Awesome can't wait to get the digibook from Best Buy

 

[Paul Rossen]

I can attest to CE3K having amazing stereophonic sound (including deep base that surpassed "sensurround") when it premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in NYC.

Can't attest to the sensurround comparison but certainly can agree on the Ziegfeld sound presentation of CE3K.

 

[Felix Martinez]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein /t/319941/ushe-press-release-jaws-blu-ray-plus-restoration-details/120#post_3955700




Received my copy of JAWS on Friday. Just had the opportunity to quickly look through it this
morning to get an idea of what the improvements were.

You know, this is a film that has never looked good on any format. Before I even popped
this Blu-ray into my Oppo player, I went and checked out the Anniversary Collector's Editon
DVD that came out in (I believe) 2000, stamped with the DTS logo across the top.

The picture looked muddy and it had a noticeable amount of debris in spots.

As for the new 100th Anniversary Blu-ray release....
The moment the film's iconic Universal logo sequence begins, you could hear the sound
of waves coming up very distinctly in the rear channels. On the DVD, the sound is very
muddled, but here, you can identify the detailed presence of rolling waves.

The picture itself is a revelation. Something you must see to believe.

In a word, INCREDIBLE. It looks like a brand-new print. More detail than has ever
been seen before. I had to blink twice to make certain I was seeing this correctly, for
as many times as I have watched this muddy-looking film on cable or DVD, I don't think
I was quite prepared for this transformation.

....and I'm not exaggerating in the least.

Yes, there is still a presence of film grain here. You can see rather faintly in the
first daylit scene featuring Sheriff Brody (Scheider) walking along the top of the
beach dunes. To my eyes, there hasn't been a total scrubbing done as some feared.

Chapter stops are exactly as the previous DVDs.

My meaning of this post was to give a quick first-impression. I am going to leave
the expert reviews to both Robert Harris and Kevin Koster, both who will be looking
at this disc by the end of the week.

Awesome, Ron! Great to read your thoughts!

 

[dpippel]

Woo-hoo!! "Here's ta swimmin' with bow-legged wimmin!!"

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Thanks for validating my pre-order....