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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Mono
  • German: Dolby Digital Mono
  Subtitles
    German, Dutch, English - Hearing Impaired, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish
  Extras
  • 4 Deleted scenes
  • Theatrical trailer - Jaws 3, Jaws The Revenge
  • 2 Featurette - on Keith Gordon and John Williams
  • Photo gallery
  • Awards/Nominations
  • Storyboards

Jaws 2

Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 111 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water" was the tagline and how true it rang even after the original movie became a box office hit. But how does a sequel to one of the most popular movies of the '70s match up? Carrying the weight of its predecessor on its shoulders with the expectations the audience would have of the sequel, director Jeannot Szwarc needed to craft a movie that featured the similar scare fest of the original without making the characters play second fiddle.

Whoever wasn't eaten in the original reprised their roles for the sequel, which was only a handful. The Brody kids have grown older and are becoming skilled sailors in their own right. Since the threat of the original shark has long since let Amity Island become the fun summer holiday spot it has always been, it's not surprising that a group of friends, Brody kids included, decide to take a sailing trip for the day. As expected, another porker comes in for a feed and the mayhem begins.

Whilst not as powerful as the first offering, this sequel does have some redeeming qualities going for it that make it a good movie in its own right. The performances are a little subdued by comparison to the original, which is a testament to what a director like Spielberg can pull out of his cast. There's no Richard Dreyfuss or Robert Shaw in the sequel which it sorely lacks and is a good indication of the weakness of the characters left behind, although Roy Scheider's Brody is still the same innocent policeman, this time with some experience in dealing with the great white.

  Video
Contract

Given the vintage of this film and the effort that was placed on the 25th Anniversary edition of the original, this 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer doesn't fully achieve the delights of the original. Whilst detail is ever present through with sharpness levels of decent quality, the age of the film is still evident from time to time.

Shadow detail is good enough with black levels being of average quality and subsequently deadening any dynamic impact the picture could have. The original just feels like it's a newer print in comparison. With the amount of extras this disc received, deserving of a Special Edition label, it's a wonder why that little bit of effort didn't go into the image.

In all positiveness, the widescreen image provides an excellent cinemascope framing that reveals more of the picture than this reviewer has always remembered. This alone, coupled with the anamorphic print, is the best this movie is going to look outside of the real 'special treatment' that other blockbuster titles deserve.

  Audio
Contract

If the video expectations were not met then the audio is an even bigger disappointment. Coming from an enjoyable 5.1 mix on the original to a two channel mono soundtrack for the sequel is almost a step back in a sense. The most obvious area that loses out is the score that seems flatter and lifeless. What should have been an opportunity to capitalise on the excellent Williams score is just a pass-it-by attempt.

Dialogue is lacking in fidelity and the looping and ADR work is also mismatched to the locations we find the cast in. This really could have been a great 'revisited' soundtrack; it's a pity past market performances dictate future budget allocations.

  Extras
Contract

In probably a first where a DVD has enough extras to be called a Special Edition and isn't, as opposed to some that are called Special Editions and aren't, Jaws 2 is packed with a good collection of titbits for those that enjoyed the sequel.

Opening up the collection is a Making Of feature focusing on the troubles that the production had with the original director bowing out due to the overwhelming nature of the movie and the expectation upon it. Lots of interviews and information about the movie itself and the ideas for future sequels, including the idea of a spoof for Jaws 3. In retrospect, maybe that would have been a better approach.

Following the making of are three featurettes featuring portraits of a key actor, the director and the music composer. A Portrait by Actor Keith Gordon is up first. You'll probably remember Keith as the nerd with the red Plymouth in Christine, and although he's thinning on top he still looks like he hasn't aged a bit in the past 20 years. A portrait by John Williams looks at the great man himself and the challenges he faced with a follow-up effort to his original award winning performance. It's not often that he composes sequels of movies he's already done, outside of Star Wars obviously, but if the challenge is there for something different the second time around he'll produce something special yet again, as he has done with this movie. Finally, director Jeannot Szwarc tells us why the French title for the sequel had to be changed as he discusses the French Joke.

A deleted scenes section showcases four scenes that flesh out existing scenes and are not anything obviously different to the tone of the film. Rounding out the visual extras are trailers for Jaws 2, 3, and the Revenge, whilst Production photographs and storyboards complete a good collection of extras.

  Overall  
Contract

Having been a fan of this movie on VHS for so long, a fresh look at it again after all these years just has a cheesy feel to it somehow. I guess we've become desensitised to an animatronic shark in this day and age of CG, but the first still holds up remarkably well. And for those that haven't yet seen either of the two, and I know you're out there, you deserve some classic entertainment of this variety.


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      And I quote...
    "Whilst not as powerful as the first offering, this sequel does have some redeeming qualities... a good collection of extras."
    - Steve Koukoulas
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Playstation 2
    • TV:
          Hitachi CMT2979 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Onkyo TX-DS777 THX Select
    • Speakers:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Centre Speaker:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Surrounds:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Subwoofer:
          VAF LFE-07
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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