Jaws (DVD)

The purchase was to get this classic film on DVD. Considering it is over 30 years old, the film stll is one of the best around for suspense, action, photography and the shark is (most of the times) very relaistic. A true icon of our times!

DVD purchased for my young son who is very interested in sharks.
An obvious film classic, whose main character is a giant man eating shark. Quite entertaining and informative, although special effects are a little outdated by today's standards.

i am glad to finally have this in dvd format the extras are great as well i whould recommend to any one

The small town of Amity comes under attack from a Great White shark in a film that sealed Steven Spielberg's talent as a master entertainer.

The principal character is Roy Scheider who plays the slightly unheroic local sheriff battling between his instinct to shut the beach for safety reasons and the cost to the local tourist economy if he does.

What is perhaps most surprising about "Jaws" is the lack of screen time given to the ferocious shark. Rather than fill the modestly budgeted film with gratuitous effects, Spielberg relies on other tools to build tension and atmosphere. This includes a fearless use of long shots (not popular in Hollywood) which helps convey both isolation for the victims and endows the shark with seemingly god-like hunting powers. And then there's the soundtrack.

If ever there was an important example for how music can enhance a film it is "Jaws". John Williams' memorable score is used sparingly but its tone of impending terror is more responsible for the power of the film than the sightings of the beast itself.

"Jaws" does seem a little slow in comparison to equivalents today like Spielberg's relentlessly noisy but influential, "Jurassic Park". His style for "Jaws" is calm and steady; building to a climax, which combined with the music, is very much reminiscent of Hitchcock, particularly "Psycho". This confident direction combined with clever editing, lulls you into relaxing at precisely the wrong moments to great effect. Being able to calm the viewer only to wrench into their most primeval fears when least expected is the essence that lies behind the ability of "Jaws" to shock and entertain.

It left a generation of schoolkids afraid to go into a swimming pool, let alone back into the water. Wunderkind Spielberg's story is all the scarier for hardly ever showing the Great White that is most of the characters' nemesis
Spielberg was still in his twenties when he signed up to direct the shark movie that would transform his career - and Hollywood itself. The production was notoriously chaotic yet, with the help of a major marketing campaign, Jaws became the biggest box office success ever, until the release of Star Wars the next year.

The cast is top-notch. Scheider is police chief Brody, a hydrophobe taking up his new posting on Amity Island off America's East Coast. His buddies in battling the killer fish are rich-kid ichthyologist Hooper (Dreyfuss) and maverick fisherman Quint (Shaw). The film has political undertones - it is marked by a post-Watergate distrust of authority - but also owes a debt in its theme of self and mutual reliance to those twin classic 1950s westerns of contrasting political colours: High Noon and Rio Bravo.

John Williams' great and justly revered score is instantly evocative of the film and its power to terrify, and there are several stand-out shock moments and wonderfully sustained suspense scenes. But the film's real master stroke - keeping the monster unseen for as long as possible - was, ironically, forced on the production by the refusal of the various mechanical sharks to function on demand.

Verdict
A classic. Tense, engrossing, scary and, subsequently, endlessly influential.

The first and best shark film. Still as good after all these years but now with extras. See the making of the film and extra footage a great film to keep you on the edge of your seat and still as good for youngsters coming of age to watch the film. It will never be out of date. Special effects good even by todays standards.
well worth watching I'd give it 5/5

next best film deep blue sea. The only other shark film thats even come close.

First saw this as a teenager and loved it. I don't care about the rubber shark or the factual difficulties that some people will find with the story line. It makes me jump, makes me laugh and when Robert Shaw describes his experiences on the USS Indiannapolis (?sic), it even makes me stop breathing.

The whole thing is a triumph and even after seeing it a 100 times or more over the years- I still stick it in the video (now DVD) when I'm in the mood.

Enjoy!!!

i decided to buy this film because i have worn my old copy out and i enjoy this film so much.it has a very good story line,not for the squimish.jaws is about a great white shark which inhabits the coast of a small holiday village and brings terror to swimmers etc

first went to see this film at the pictures many years ago with me mum. ever since ive been fascinated with sharks and this film (ive even got the t-shirt)jaws changed my life as i could'nt go in the sea for years after and even now i can get that sh sh sharrrrrrk feeling.
this JAWS dvd (anniversary edition) is the best yet as it has loads of extra features. if you have yet to see this film it is definately outdated by todays film standards, but this is a must see classic. ive watched it many, many times and am still shocked and end up on the edge of my seat even today.
sadly roy scheider who plays chief brody in this film passed away yesterday (12/2/08)

From my first terrifying under-age viewing to the present day. The rubbery-ness of the shark doesn't even matter. Classic endlessly re-watchable.

The original JAWS is a fantasic classic and i've been looking to buy a copy on DVD for absolutly ages, So when i noticed a copy on the DVD section i put my bid straight in.
The price was very reasonable which is the main reason i purchased it.
The delivery time was also great! So all together a nice ebay shopping experience.

Thanks again

All three male leads Richard Dreyfuss,Robert Shaw, and Roy schneider are excellent, and the Mayor played by Lewis Hamilton is also good.
Most people have seen this and know that it was the template for numerous other shark movies ,most of which were pale imitations of the movie.
In my opinion avoid the sequels "Jaws 2", "Jaws 3", and "Jaws the Revenge" as they are not in the same league, but if you haven,t seen Jaws 1 do so as it s a classic of its kind.

i brought the jaws dvd for my nine year old son who is fascinate by sharks and the sea , he loves the film and as watch it many times now since i brought it ,

This film is a classic even though the shark is rubber it is still enjoyable to watch with the classic face in the bottom of the boat, and "we need a bigger boat". still a cracking film to watch

I bought the dvd for my dad, he had watched them recently and decided he would like it as it is a great movie to watch , It was a great price of Ebay and in Excellent Condition, Seller had positive feedback which made me want to buy it even more off Ebay

Classic film that stands the test of time.Loved by my son as much as I liked it when my dad took me to see it nearly 30 years ago.

I was very pleased with the speed the seller arranged delivery, the DVD was in mint condtion and I was happy with the deal.

I got this DVD classic for my Husband for a Christmas present simply because he loves it! It was an excellent price from Ebay compared to the retail stores. Would recommend everyone to buy it to keep at home and watch when there is nothing else on tv.

I bought this as my son has been wanting to see it, he had heard about it from his friends. He enjoyed it and we have thoroughly enjoyed it again. It can still have you glued to your seat and scare the living daylights out of you even though we knew what to expect.This is a film you definitely need to have in your collection.

I remember watching this as a little girl and am still affraid to go into the water!!
A killer shark is on the loose on a small island called amity and is out for blood.
As well as great affects,a great cast and director(steven spilberg)this is an all time favourite to any one who likes to be on the edge of there seat waiting for the next kill.
Top cult 70s

the price was cheap and it was new and sealed, i bought it for my son who had never seen it and had become obsessed and wanted it. it arrived the day after i paid for it in time for the weekend. we were going camping that weekend and he watched it in the car so we had peace during the journey. It also had a documentary which he watched until he knew it off by heart. very pleased with the product!

What does one need to say about this legendary movie, well I could stat by saying that it is one of my favourite movies ever made and even though it is currently 31 years old it has lost nothing over those years and is still as entertaining and impactfull even now. When Steven Spielberg made Jaws in 1975 he did so on a tremendously tight budget and produced one of the most successful box office smash hits of all time. I simply tell anyone who hasn't seen this movie yet or anyone thinking about buying it to do so immediately, especially since it is not available on two disc special edition.

Jaws is an essential purchase for anyone who loves classic cinema. This double disc edition released to commemorate the film's 30th anniversary is packed with extras.

As well a remastered copy of the film, the second disc has the usual interviews with the director, writer and producer, but there are also deleted scenes, storyboards, and a documentary on the making of the film. There is also an in depth interview with John Williams, who wrote the classic score for the film. I'd been waiting for a decent DVD release of this film and I got it!

I first saw Jaws in 1975 at the tender age of 12 and had nightmares for a fortnight! Thirty one years later, the nightmares are gone, I have a fascination for sharks and Jaws is my all-time favourite film. Why?

Well, for a start, just watch the characterization between the three male leads. These are extremely strong characters in their own right and, in any other film, would be fighting each other for dominance of the screen. Yet Spielberg makes these characters work together beautifully and the result is a joy to behold. Catch the interplay between Quint and Hooper on the Orca - Quint crushes his beer can and Hooper, not to be outdone, crushes his plastic cup!

For those of you who have not seen Jaws (where have you been?!) the basic plot is simple. A large great white shark stakes a claim off the local Amity Island beach and begins to snack on the tourists. The police chief, Brody, is the only one who suspects its existence but his pleas to hire a fisherman to kill the shark fall on deaf ears - it's the beginning of the summer season and the locals are scared they will lose their income if he closes the beaches. In desperation, Brody calls in a shark expert to help and the pair set out to prove that the town has a shark problem, a scene which is brought about spectacularly when the shark enters the boating pond, capsizes Brody's son's boat, kills a rower and then escapes back out to sea. Brody is vindicated, Quint is hired to kill the shark and the hunt is on!

Jaws is almost a movie in two parts. The first half sets up the plot and characters, introduces the unseen menace of the shark and plays like a basic horror movie. Once Quint enters the fray and the trio set out to trap the shark, the mood moves up a notch, with some scenes playing almost as though from a comedy and the whole thing feeling like a jolly jaunt at sea! Even the appearance of the shark doesn't darken the tone, but adds to the adventure. Once the strange nature of the shark becomes apparent, however, the menace returns and the movie turns once more into horror mode, with our hunters becoming the hunted in a fight for survival.

Each scene is set up with the utmost eye for detail in this movie. Several are my favourites and are worth watching out for - the now famous reverse dolly shot as Brody sees a shark attack from the beach - Brody's son Shaun mirroring his father's movements as he ponders what to do - the stunning shot of the ocean seen through the bridge archway which seems to echo the shape of the shark's jaws - and Quint's USS Indianapolis speech. And complimenting every scene is John Williams' outstanding score. Never, in the history of movies, have two notes sounded so threatening!

I could talk about Jaws all day, but I'm beginning to run out of space! I love this movie and I would like everyone to love it too! It's the ultimate man-against-nature movie and a rollicking adventure to boot! Absolutely well worth a viewing! And don't be afraid to go in the water!