Jaws / Jaws 2 (Value Pack)

Rating:
Summary: Two masterpieces for one low price
Review: INTRODUCTION:
In the early seventies, a novel by Peter Benchley about shark attacks was fast becoming a best seller. Because of the book's success, it seemed only natural to turn it into a movie. And who better to direct it than legendary director Steven Spielberg? In 1975, after nearly two years of filming, the film version of the novel hit theaters - only to become the highest-grossing motion picture of all time (that is, until Star Wars beat the record in 1977.) In 1978 the sequel, Jaws 2 was released. And now both of the films have been combined in a value pack! Read on for my review of this set.

BASIC PLOT:
The plot of the original Jaws is simple enough - shark attacks continue occuring off the coast of a New England resort town, and needless to say, this doesn't help tourism any. This is only made worse by the fact that the local mayor (Murray Hamilton) refuses to close the beaches, because he feels it would hurt tourism. After more of these attacks occur, the chief of police (Roy Schieder) decides something needs to be done. He, an expert marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss), and a veteran fisherman (Robert Shaw), set out to put an end to this shark's life once and for all. Jaws 2, released three years later, has a similar storyline. A few years have passed since the events of the first film. During a diving expedition to the wreckage of the Orca (Quint's boat from the first film), a shark attacks the divers. Police Chief Brody becomes convinced that another great white is lurking in the waters around Amity when he discovers a camera from the doomed diving expedition, a beached whale, and the remains of a woman. In a foolish attempt to get rid of what he thinks is the shark, he is fired from his job as police chief. Meanwhile, his two sons sneak off with some friends to go sailing - unaware of the shark that is lurking in the water beneath them, and is just waiting to strike.

FILM OPINIONS:
Can anyone say "great movies"? I never would have thought films that are nearly thirty years old could have held together this well. Even to this day, the Jaws films remain favorites of many. Despite a number of hardships, Spielberg succeeded excellently in making Benchley's novel a movie. As other reviewes have stated, there are some differences between the film and the novel (the film lacks the novel's romantic subplot, Hooper survives the attack in the shark cage, Quint is eaten alive rather than dying the "Captain Ahab" death he dies in the book, the shark is blown up rather than dying from its wounds, etc.) Although many shots were shot with a fake shark, just about EVERY scene the film offers is believable. Perhaps the true attraction of this film is John Williams' score. Whenever this guy does the music for the movie, he does the job right (he also did the Star Wars films.) And, of course, his classic "shark theme" from this film became an instant classic. Combine this with some top-notch acting (especially on Shaw's part) and you've got one hell of a movie. Although Jaws 2 never quite gained the credibility of its predecessor, it was also an excellent film (I think it got a bad rap because the other two Jaws sequels were horrible.) In my opinion, the original Jaws is the superior film of the two featured, but Jaws 2 is also very good.

DVD:
The guys at Universal really outdid themselves this time. In addition to tons of storyboard and production photographs for the first film, we also get production notes, a trivia game, shark facts, a "making of" featurette, hillarious outtakes, and the holy grail of all DVD extras - deleted scenes. One of the deleted scenes hints at the romantic subplot that the final version of the film omitted, and one of them features a battle amongst humans on the water to get the shark - and the reward money. Similar extras can be found on the Jaws 2 DVD. A little message to all the companies out there who transfer films to DVD - THESE ARE THE KIND OF BONUS FEATURES PEOPLE LIKE TO SEE!

OVERALL:
I can't stress enough how excellent (and horrifying) these films are. Spielberg succeeded beautifully with the first film - and it certainly serves as a premonition to his future successes. Regardless of who you are, Jaws is a film you need to see at least once. And don't forget about Jaws 2! If you're not afraid of the water, these are the films that are likely to change your mind!