Jaws [4K Ultra HD

I've broken a golden rule with myself as I vowed never to buy a Blu-ray at its full price if I'd already owned the film on a multitude of different formats before (VHS , Laserdisc , DVD) , but some films are just worth paying that extra for and I honestly couldn't wait for the price to drop as this is one of my all time favourite films. Its going to be hard not to quote lines from the film or make any corny puns writing this review , so will do my best not too. After the disappointing picture quality of Spielberg's Jurassic Park box set on Blu-ray , I was more than a little wary of this transfer , but I'm pleased to say that all is excellent with Jaws. The 7.1 remastering is just incredible through my AV receiver! It was like being sat in the middle of a 94 piece orchestra and has now topped the best sound on any of my Blu-rays. The scene where the shark attacks the guy in the estuary is a good example of a subtle change in sound. There's a nice deep bass thud through the subwoofer when he is pulled underwater from his upturned boat , and although its a tiny tweak to the sound , it really makes all the difference and now that scene appears more violent than it already was. The night time attack on the Orca has a similar effect of making a scene more potent , with more bass thudding punch to the sound coming from every direction around your front room when the shark repeatedly hits the boat , and by NO means is the new sound overpowering to these scenes , its just the right touch. The picture restoration is just fantastic , although I nearly spat my drink out at one point ! Not through being made to jump at a scene but at one stage , I thought Mr Lucas had broken into the editing lounge with his trusty laptop and tweaked about with Spielberg's masterpiece... Thankfully , I wasn't in for a world of hurt , pain and misery , and when I compared the DVD to this Blu-ray , it was more down to the new colour restoration and new clarity that I was unused to with this film. The scene in question is with the two shooting stars , which now appear to have more of a reddish hue making them look more vibrant , and not down to Mr Lucas's destroy, destroy , destroy mentality... PHEW ! Some excellent documentaries with this Blu-ray which is around 4 hours worth , some of which have been transferred straight from the Laserdisc and DVD with a couple of new ones. Notably , The Shark is Still Working documentary , which is a brilliant addition to the extras , but all the features are worth watching again and again. It just doesn't matter how many times I see the deleted scene of Quint in the music shop , it cracks me up every time and its a shame that actually got cut from the film. There's also a short documentary on the restoration process , which Mr Lucas might find helpful as to what is appropriate and WHAT ISN'T ! Can't help but think that Spielberg is sending a subtle message to Mr Lucas in one of his interviews by saying that 'less is more' and if he had the technology of CGI back when he was filming Jaws , it wouldn't be as good ! I do know some people who spend vast sums of money on the latest TV to ensure they're getting the best quality picture , but then still watch a film with the sound through their TV speakers , with the attitude of "so long as I can hear it , it doesn't matter" and just don't realise what a dramatic impact or difference a good sound setup can do to any film and can cost as little as £50 for a basic system. Anything is better than standard TV speakers and really are only getting half of the whole Blu-ray experience without a good home cinema system. For me , and this is a personal preference , sound is the most important element that I look for when upgrading a film to Blu-ray , picture quality a very close second and the amount of extras comes third. This Blu-ray ticks all the right boxes and more and with the new picture and sound it really feels like your watching this film for the very first time , which I know sounds a little cliché , but just can't recommend this Blu-ray highly enough. All in all I'm ecstatic with this upgrade and hope that the Blu-ray box set of Indiana Jones due out next month , is as good in quality as this JAWSome film... Sorry , couldn't resist.

What can you say about Jaws !, superb horror/thriller film, full of jumps & edge of your seat suspense from start to finish in 4K UHD WOW!!!! One of those magnificent 'Reference' 4K films, unbelivable quality of graphics & sound 10/10 the legendary film on it's own in 4K UHD with the correct home set up 100/10

Classic movie what more can I add and a second disc of extras as a bonus well worth getting

I am loath to give this film anything less than 5 stars but in this instance a ball has been dropped. A small ball, maybe. But even small balls can hurt when dropped. One of the most iconic films of a generation has finally been brought out in stunning high definition and it is stunning. The restoration is fantastic. Sound and picture are hyper clear and thankfully the restoration has not had softening noise reduction thrown at it. It looks beautifully grainy where it should. Jaws was the film I had been waiting for and went straight into the collection as a pre-order as soon as this steelbook was released. Bit of a shame then really that this Steelbook is prone to become easily nicked or scratched due to the glossy nature of the artwork but secondly and a bit more importantly is the access to the film in the menu section. I sat through the glorious montage of bells and whistles celebrating 100 years of Universal films and prepared myself for the main feature only to be greeted by one of the worst menu systems ever. It begins with the scene of the Summer Girl first victim and then the menu features open up for use. Sounds nice and all but you need to be somewhat experienced in hieroglyphics in order to gain correct access to the various features, extras, subtitles etc, there is no text and save for the familiar 'Play' triangle, the others are vague symbols to say the least. It is standard, corporate and a pretty mundane menu system. 'So What' some may cry. Well 'Why Not?" The beauty of Blu Ray is that it is the definitive release of a film certainly in physical form. It will be digital downloads from here on in so if you want to actually own the film then really Blu-ray will be the final physical format. So for this reason why don't the studios produce these definitive versions with the attention they deserve. As I mentioned, the restoration of this film has been comprehensive and the documentary regarding this process included in the extra features is a must watch. So with this treatment it really feels to me that the menu system has just received an afterthought. My reckoning as to the reasons for this spawn from Universals' commitment to include their infamous silver 'swish' border at the left hand side of all their menu screens. It prohibits developers from indulging their creativity and results in a half hearted effort. Take a film I recently bought as an example; First Blood [Blu-ray ] This film is under £4 (at time of writing) and it was also one of the earliest Blu-ray releases ever released, put together by British company Studiocanals' Optimum blu-ray department. The film itself has received a fair HD transfer and very little in the way of extras but the menu system is in keeping with the film and pays homage with a showcase of scenes and an interactive Bowie knife to select the menu options. It is relatively basic but it trumps the bells and whistles release of this feature, hands down. Great examples of Menu systems for reference would include: Alien Anthology [Blu-ray] [1979] [6 Disc Set ] Iron Man (2 Disc) [Blu-ray][Region Free] [2008 ] Star Trek XI [Blu-ray] [2009][Region Free ] Rant over. So (a harsh, maybe) 4.5 stars for this release as the film itself is truly the definitive presentation.

***Updated 6th Sept 2012 The release date can't come quick enough! I'm so looking forward to this movie on blu ray... it's creating the same buzz that one used to feel when a movie was announced and showing at your local cinema. The dvd was very good upscaled... but after seeing the work on restoring this classic... (I Forgot to mention here that I have several 1080p clips from the release as a users comments claim this mini pre order review was self indulgent ) I'm sure it's a no brainer.. for most of us, a must purchase affair. I Doubt anything short of excellence... something I believe all blu ray fans will appreciate. There, is now a full review up of the pre release blu on Bluray.com for anyone interested.. where you will find it Highly recommended. *** Alas it arrives! It's been emotional affair( haha ) and all expectations exceeded!!!I Ran it through a few times.. Twice on the my 15ft projection system ( As I viewed it once before the kids got home and ran it again for them when they came home from school.... complete lazy day ) and it's running a second time on the 50" Plasma as I type here. This title is really worthy of the praise! This is no run of the mill blu ray release ( said in the tone of Hoopers.. "this is not a boat accident" ) and anyone who has a love for or interest in this movie... will not be disappointed and will be treating themselves to the best ever presentation of JAWS. This title can stake a claim to be in the top 5 restoration quality blu ray releases to date! I Wish all movies were given this kind of care and treatment before released on blu ray. It's what the format should be all about! I Would of liked to see a lower release pricing as I believe it has cut initial sales, as I have heard many complain. However... it will remain without a doubt, one of the best movies to own on blu rays out there. Just one thing I would of liked to see for the blu ray release.. would of been an exclusive designed menu system... rather than the usual Universal standard system. Oh well....it's almost perfect. For the price you do get... the head the tail the whole damn thing! Highly recommended...not just for the blu rays Tech. Outstanding Audio ( JW's score is beast in a great mix ) and Visuals ( A Magical restoration work of clarity and colour with no evidence of abnormalities or DNR ) Great script, excellent cast, wonderfully produced,edited and directed. 5***** This movie didn't make me hate sharks, but started my love for marine life and conservation. This, the Marilyn Monroe ( now own... and pleased enough with, but could of been better ), James Bond ( If anything like the current bond titles on blu I already own... will be very good ) and the Classic monster collection to name just a few are going to make for some classic re-runs on the home cinema screen over the next few months. Order the popcorn! It's all good!!! P.s If you missed the Blu ray release of the original Planet of the Apes... go get it. It's sublime on the big screen and HD. Regards

Funny how one of the worst books ever written can be adapted into one of the best movies ever made. Peter Benchley's tawdry gutter fiction is hugely improved upon by Carl Gottlieb's screenplay. With Spielberg's taut direction, Williams iconic score, terse editing, lovely anamorphic Panavision photography, and wonderful chemistry between the three leads also to its advantage Benchley's novel thankfully becomes a distant memory. Before Spielberg became the biggest name in Hollywood, capable of green-lighting anything he wants, he wandered in Richard Zanuck's office and picked up the script thinking he could churn out a decent B-movie. His only theatrical movie before this was The Sugarland Express, though it wasn't a huge hit. Jaws became the first summer blockbuster when crowds literally lined-up around the block to see it. $470 million dollars worth of bust is enough to kick-start any career. In the Atlantic waters off the coast of Amity Island a 25-foot Great White Shark has staked a claim for his hunting ground. The bathers and holiday makers are all he needs for his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. New police chief Martin Brody wants to close the beaches but the greed of local business owners keeps the meaty flesh of human on the sand and beneath the sun. When a young boy is devoured his mother offers a $3K reward for the killing of the shark, causing the overzealous, money-hungry local fishermen to crowd the waters with dynamite and chum. Only Quint (the one and only Robert Shaw), a WWII veteran with a personal vendetta against shark-kind, has the skill to pursue the monster. Brody and oceanographer Matt Hooper (a 'young' Richard Dreyfuss) join Quint on his hunt not knowing how monstrous the shark really is. Jaws is split into two perfect halves. One landlocked, filled with fences, boundaries, and a sense of being contained. The other filled with isolation and a sense of not belonging. The Orca, Quint's ramshackle boat, becomes its own little island, ever so slowly disintegrating and sinking as their safety slips away. Brody, already afraid of the water, almost buckles under the pressure, Hooper loses his cool when no one trusts his judgment, and Quint loses his sanity as he aggressively, psychotically pursues the shark. What makes Jaws special is that it scars and stays with you. The only other movie that I can of that has had similar success is the 1999 horror The Blair Witch Project. In much the same way as Jaws kept millions of people out of the water, Blair Witch kept them out of the woods too. There are some places that humans are just not supposed to go. Whenever you've been paddling at the beach and suddenly wander into a 'cold bit' don't tell me you've never thought about Bruce the shark coming to get you. He IS out there, you know. For real. The Blu-ray presents the film in 2.35:1 1080p and it's the best it has ever looked. I have seen Jaws in many incarnations : broadcast TV, taped-off-TV, widescreen VHS, DVD, ancient 35mm print, brand new digital print, and now Blu-ray. The colors really pop and look virtually perfect. The sound is the remastered DTS HD-MA 7.1 mix and the original mono mix (here presented in DTS 2.0). Seriously, the 7.1 mix, while sounding brilliant, is NOT remastered, it's remade. It's a completely different, modern, sound mix. I don't care how many people will argue that it's a remaster. It ain't, plain and simple. It's a bit of a strange thing to do when the original mono mix won an Academy Award. In some aspect I prefer the mono mix. As for the extras, there is a 100-minute documentary called "The Shark is Still Working" from 2007 so it features the then-living Roy Scheider and Peter Benchley. There is also another 2-hour documentary directed by Laurent Bouzereau from 1995 called simply "The Making of Jaws". The 2007 one is a little better from a talking head point-of-view. Jaws: The Restoration is a very interesting piece detailing how Universal repaired the original negative for the new 4k 2012 re-release. On the Set of Jaws is an 8-minute vintage 16mm documentary. It's nice to watch, if a little quaint. The Jaws Archives are just galleries of production stills and the like, all in low resolution. A long trailer and the usual Universal BD-Live trash fill out the rest of the extras.

Still a fantastic movie, even after 51 years and the Blu-ray quality is so sharp and clear brilliant 👍

I'm sure that everyone knows the plot of this movie now, so I'll just briefly sum it up; Three guys (the local police chief, a marine biologist and a local professional shark hunter) go out on a mission to kill the great white shark that has been killing people. I love this movie, but I do have one or two issues with it (I'll talk about those later). As a lot of people know, this movie is notorious for having production problems, mainly because the three mechanical sharks used were entirely unreliable, and therefore did not work. Oddly, I think that this actually worked in the movie's favour, as it allowed for a lot more character development, and it helped build up the tension, as we don't see the shark for the majority of the movie. In terms of the actors, I just have one word; AMAZING. Now onto the issues I have (both of which are so minor that they are not enough to reduce my rating for this movie). One is that the shark, of course, looks fake (except for the shots when Hooper is in the cage, as most of those were actually a real shark). Another is a very personal issue with the blu-ray (btw, the movie looks AMAZING on blu-ray), and that is the fact that when you're getting the disc out, you have to place your finger over the shark's mouth (you can stop laughing now). I don't know why, but I've always been a little bit scared of doing that, even when just holding the box I'll make sure that none of my fingers is over the shark's mouth (seriously, stop laughing). It may be something to do with the image of the shark, I don't know. Anyway, I still enjoy the movie. Anything else? Oh yes, the music! Again, AMAZING, especially that theme tune (dada dada dada dada dada dada dada dada dada dada dadadadadadadadadada). IMO, that is one of the best theme tunes in movie history. It's certainly one of the most iconic - it's one of a handful (OK, maybe a little more than a handful) of theme tunes that are instantly recognizable; you hear that theme tune, you think "Jaws". If there's anyone who hasn't seen this movie yet, stop reading these reviews and BUY IT NOW!

YOU'RE GONNA NEED A BETTER MEDIUM..., 2 Sep 2012 JAWS THE BLU RAY "What we have here is a perfect movie, all it does is entertain, terrify adults and give little kids nightmares all night long..." Like most people from my generation, I have a strange but very personal history with this movie. When it first came out I was not able to see it, I think I was thought to be too young. (The Poster did after all warn that this movie might be a bit too intense for little kids). My older brother saw it when it first came out and being a kid who lived inside his own head most of the time; he was able to remember every single line in the movie. I come from the Bogside in Derry of Northern Ireland and I had absolutely no idea what a shark was, no concept at all - my brother Paddy, told me it was like a goldfish that was grey, that it was about the size of a bus and that it had rows of teeth the size of steak knives, oh yeah, and it also could bite a man clear in half below the waist - Yikes!. One Halloween's night, a very stormy night if I recall correctly, in a friend's house, we sat, three friends and I, (all of us thought too young to see the film), under the kitchen table in the dark with a candle, and line by line, doing incredibly accurate impersonations of all the characters, the sound effects, the music, the screams from the onlooking bathers as people were eaten alive, my bother created out of the darkness of our overactive imaginations the entire 2hour plus movie and we were rooted to the spot and terrified beyond belief for every minute of that tale. When the shark was about to attack my brother did the two note music and that just built the tension even more than his vivid depictions of the mayhem off Amity. When I finally saw the movie for the first time it was as a double bill with Jaws 2, - How lucky was I!!! - (which I think is still a pretty decent sequel but could have been better if Spielberg had a hand in it). Needless to say, Jaws blew me out of my seat and when I had my first glimpse of what a grey goldfish the size of a bus with knives for teeth looked like up close on the big screen I told myself never ever to set foot in the ocean. When Ben Gardener made his unexpected appearance from the jagged hole, I shot clear out of my seat as my heart jumped right out of my shrieking lungs; the timing, o boy, the timing of that appearance was sheer brilliance and from that moment on, whenever there was water on screen, even a slither of it, I was all bunched up in tension with my eyes darting all over just to make sure that monster was not about to suddenly pop from out of the screen to chomp on me. As a kid from a slum, when I first saw the Chief's car driving along the beach road at the beginning of the movie I turned to my friend watching with me and told him that one day I would get out of the ghetto and live in a place just like Amity Island and strangely enough, I happen to live now in the very place where the underwater shots of the real shark attacking the cage was shot - Port Lincoln South Australia - a place that looks quite a lot like ole Amity - Weird or what, right? I loved the movie and still consider it to be one of the most perfect movies ever made, great, mind blowing opening, and great pace, characters you care about, funny, frightening, and suspenseful with a great ending that makes you want to jump up and down on your chair and cheer. I later read the novel in school, the version without the steamy affair between Hooper and Ellen Brody, and I loved that too. I went on to read Jaws 2 by Hank Searle and that was even better than the sequel movie, (I recommend it). Over the years I have watched Jaws a number of times in different mediums, the last time being the DVD 2 Disc Edition and I have to say it is still one of my favourite films. I have ordered it on Blu Ray and although it has still to arrive, I know it will be money well spent because Spielberg has had a hand in the restoration and if there is anything evident about this man when it comes to movies it is he is a perfectionist so I know I am going to have my socks blown off when I finally get to see my favourite film in HD for the first time. I am already planning a Jaws fest with my eldest daughter, Storm, who also loves Jaws, she has yet to see Jaws 2, and so it is going to be great to watch the first one on Blu Ray and the second one on DVD. I have also ordered the Jaws Novels, 1 & 2, and the Jaws Log by Carl Gottlieb; maybe I should try and get a poster too! I would like to say thank-you to all the people involved in the making of this movie and to those responsible for bringing it on to Blu Ray because even when we first watched it on video and DVD we all knew the makers were going to need a bigger boat to do this movie justice. There I got in the best line in the movie. Great novel, great story, great actors, Roy, Richard & Robert, great screenplay, great cinematography, and brilliant directing from a guy young enough not to know the difference between courage and stupidity. Can't wait to get back in the water... UPDATE... Just received the blu ray and watched it immediately and I suppose the question on everyone's lips is does this transfer deserve me updating from the 30th Anniversary 2 Disc DVD Edition and the answer is YES-INDEEDYDOODY, YOU CAN BET YOUR GRANDPA'S BACK MOLARS AND YOUR GRANDMA'S PRETTY GREY HAIR - That is if he still has them and she isn't as bald and wispy as a China Man's chin - The images are crisp on this baby now, I noticed things I had never noticed before and I loved that fact, the colours are glorious, the night time water shots are stunning, the blue skies oh so blue, the aqua waters crystal, the sheen of sweat on skin so clear you can see the pores on Chief Brody forehead, all of it wonderfully upgraded. This movie looks even better than it did when it first screened, and let's not forget, this is a 36 year old movie we are talking about. The underwater shots of the shark are especially good and one has to include the eeriness of the SS Indianapolis scene with the whales singing to each other in the background; which brings me to the sound, oh dear me, the sound, when that shark is on its way and the music tells you so, the sound in 7.1 is spine tingling, the hairs on your neck stand up, absolutely brilliant. And as for the extras, well, we still get all the extras from the 30th Anniversary Edition, including the great Making Of, which ran at 1 hour and 40 minutes and I thought when I first saw that that it was brilliant, I loved all the behind the scenes information; however, the Blu Ray goes even further with another feature length doco called The Shark is Still Working. I thought it would be just more rehash from The Making Of; but oh how wrong I was - this doco alone is worth the upgrade, we get to see a lot more behind the scenes as well as getting to hear some current directors talk about how much of an impact this movie made on them and their careers; wonderful stuff. So, as good as the DVD was; this Blu Ray treatment blows the DVD clear out of the water, it is most definitely worth the upgrade, it will be the best $20 you will ever spend on a movie and it is a movie that you can now introduce to the younger generation and do it some justice this time round. Buy it, buy it now, tell all your friends to buy it, if you haven't got the money, go rob a bank, take hostages at gunpoint, do whatever you must do to own this amazing movie in this format; even go tell that old git down the road none of us can stand to go out and buy himself a copy today. "Show me the way to go home; I'm tired and I want to go to bed; well, I had a little drink about an hour ago and it's gone right to my head, no matter where I roam, through land or sea or foam; you will always hear me singing a song; show me the way to go home..." Jaws has just arrived. Finally, she's home! Shalom

Una macchina narrativa perfetta nel mantenere la suspense dall'inizio alla fine alternando momenti di calma apparente e momenti di concitata azione violenta. La paura e l'orrore nascono dal fatto che episodi del genere sono avvenuti ed avvengono. Eccezionali i tre attori principali e ottimo il resto del cast. Magistrale la fotografia, gli effetti speciali, e la colonna sonora con una musica che scandice e a volte anticipa l'azione con tempismo perfetto . La qualità del dvd è tecnicamente ineccepibile sia per il video quanto per l'audio. Notevole il doppiaggio italiano originale dell'epoca. Il film ha avuto un buon numero di sequel, ma nessuna in grado di rivaleggiare con l'originale.

Not bad for movie night, fantastic for fish lovers. Anne

Finalmente ho trovato la versione BR col mitico doppiaggio storico!!! Premetto che ho il dvd del 2000, cioè la prima edizione in dvd dello Squalo col doppiaggio storico. Ma quello che mi ha sorpreso tantissimo del BR è proprio l'ottimo sonoro del doppiaggio storico!!! Nella versione dvd il doppiaggio storico è davvero pessimo, scatolato, privo di bassi, medi troppi predominanti, pur essendo un film del 1975, di solito ci sono film degli anni 60-70 con audio mono ma ben fatto, ma qui in dvd era davvero pessimo, quindi pensavo la stessa cosa col BR, invece no!!! Audio potente, bassi potenti, audio ben calibrato, colonna sonora perfetta o quasi, anche gli effetti sonori sono poderosi, sempre in termini di 2.0 DTS, ma credetemi, un ottimo sonoro, specialmente quando Quint e Brody sparano, il sub entra in azione alla grande, come l'esplosione finale. Altro mondo se paragonato alla versione DVD. Ottimi anche gli special, ci sono molto extra, considerando che ho acquistato il BR 7 euro, mentre il dvd mi costo 50mila lire, direi che ho fatto un ottimo, grande, immenso affare. Il video è notevole, certo non si grida al miracolo, qualche imperfezione ci sta, ma col BR ho scoperto tantissimi dettagli che in DVD non si vedevano per niente, come gli anelli della prima vittima, le facce in lontananza dei protagonisti, ben dettagliati, la giacca del sindaco ricoperta di piccole ancore, ecc.... Consigliatissimo

JAWS von Spielberg nun auf Blu-ray. Warum ist der Film immer noch erst ab 16 Jahren freigegeben? Erschließt sich mir nicht. Schließlich ist JAWS ein Film für (fast) die ganze Familie! Seit Anbeginn seiner Zeit hat der jetzige Klassiker in Amerika eine PG" Freigabe, was bedeutet, dass sogar Kinder unter 13 Jahren ins Kino durften. Na ja, heute würde er wohl ein PG 13 bekommen... Horror: A man-eating shark terrorizes a small beach town! Spielberg am Beginn seiner Karriere, noch ein kreativer, enthusiastischer Filmemacher. Dies ist bei jeder Einstellung von JAWS zu spüren. Mittlerweile ist der Mann nur noch ein langweiliger Anpasser im großen Filmgeschäft. Er arbeitet mit der Schere im Kopf, um ein möglichst großes Publikum zu erreichen und auch ganz sicher Kohle zu machen. Dabei kommen dann solche Gurken wie WAR HORSE (Gefährten), WAR OF THE WORLDS (Krieg der Welten) oder THE LOVELY BONES (In meinem Himmel) heraus, wo zwar Peter Jackson als Regisseur aufgeführt ist, Spielberg als Produzent aber offensichtlich das Sagen hatte. Spielberg lässt schreckliche Sachen" im Off passieren oder hinter den Büschen". Bei JAWS hat er noch draufgehalten, um die Leute zu erschrecken und ganz nebenbei noch drei Figuren aus Peter Benchleys gleichnamigen Bestseller zum Leben erweckt und unsterblich gemacht, nämlich Quint, Brody und Hooper, an denen sich noch Generationen von Filmfreunden nach uns erfreuen werden. Das Bild ist wirklich sehr gut geworden und rockt auf meiner Cinemascope Leinwand ungemein. Nie sah die ORCA abgetakelter aus und nie war deutlicher zu erkennen, dass Chief Brody sich die Nase eingecremt hat! Dafür hat seine Frau ihm schließlich die Salbe mitgegeben. Und: das Bild bekommt tatsächlich bei einigen Szenen räumliche Tiefe. Die Orginalsynchro von 1975, die laut Top Menü in DTS 2.0 Mono vorliegt, hat es auf die Scheibe geschafft und ist nicht im Mülleimer der Filmgeschichte gelandet. Ohne diese Tonspur wären die Verkaufszahlen dieser Blu-ray in Deutschland wohl gegen Null tendiert. Diese Synchronfassung ist ein schöner Beweis dafür, dass es sie tatsächlich gab, die Zeiten, wo Synchronsprecher sich in die Charaktere, die sie sprachen, versetzten, ja, die Rollen gelebt haben. Solche Synchronfassungen kommen seit langer Zeit nur noch in Ausnahmefällen vor. Synchronisation heute ist ein großer Gleichmacher, Auslöscher von Akzenten, Hervorbringer steriler Tonspuren, Zerstörer schauspielerischer Leistungen, Vernichter von Wortspielen, Erzeuger von Anschlussfehlern und ein Verfälscher der deutschen Sprache (wer bitte spricht so hölzern, wie ein synchronisierter Schauspieler in neueren Produktionen?). Zudem wird sie häufig zu Zensurzwecken missbraucht. Dann gibt es noch die neue Synchro von 2004, die nun in 7.1 DTS HR vorliegt und damals für DVD erstellt wurde, um einen 5.1 Mix erstellen zu können. Dieser Komplettwahnsinn ist wirklich löblich! Ich brauche diese Tonspur allerdings nicht. Stattdessen hätte die 2.0 Mono Spur der Originalfassung besser (noch) in DTS HD Master Audio auf die Scheiben kommen sollen. Für die Originalversion des Films gibt es zudem eine 7.1 DTS HD Tonspur.Bei der Abmischung des Sounds wurde auch alles richtig gemacht. Egal für welche Tonspur man sich entscheidet, es gibt ein rundes Ergebnis. Die 7.1 DTS HD Master Tonspur der Originalfassung bringt die Musik besonders schön zur Geltung und kommt so richtig in Fahrt, als unsere drei Helden mit der Orca auslaufen. Das Bonusmaterial ist stattlich ausgefallen. Was jedoch eindeutig fehlt, ist ein Audiokommentar. Nicht vergessen, einen scharfen Schnaps zu trinken, wenn Quint den Selbstgebrannten ausschenkt! Bei entsprechender Neigung die Szene mehrfach wiederholen, um mehr Schnaps zu trinken. Nachtrag... ein paar Tage nach der Blu-ray trudelt doch bei mir das Buch Der weiße Hai" ein. Hardcover für 2,-- Euro! Es ist leider nicht zu entnehmen, von wann diese Auflage ist. Sie muss jedoch so ziemlich da erschienen sein, wo der Film in die Kinos gekommen ist, denn im Umschlag steht: "Die Verfilmung dieser Geschichte, die in Amerika einen noch größeren Erfolg hatte, als "Der Pate" und "Der Exorzist", ist auch schon in Deutschland angelaufen." Interessant, die deutsche Version zu lesen. Wer eine neuere Auflage hat, darf sich gerne mal melden, ob da zu lesen steht, dass Ellen denkt, Brody sein eine Art Urinmonstrum, weil er am nur einmal am Tag pinkelt (habe ich gelacht!). Aus Erfahrung weiß ich, dass bei neueren Auflagen, diverse Handlungsstränge oder Ausdruckweisen einfach wegfallen oder geändert werden. Leserinnen oder Leser werden auf jeden Fall eine Überraschung erleben, sind die Charaktere unserer Helden doch so ganz anders als im Film. Wer auf den Film abfährt, kann gerne zum Buch greifen. Ist schon komisch, dann dabei ständig die Gesichter aus dem Film zu sehen (auch wenn Quint als Glatzkopf beschrieben wird).