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JAWS 2


Reviewed by: James Welch
Genre: Action/Adventure
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Language: English, Spanish, French
Subtitle: English, Spanish
Length: 1 Hour 57 Mins
Rating: PG
Release Date: 22 May 2001
Studio: Universal
Commentary: None
Documentaries: The Making Of Jaws 2
Featurettes: Jaws 2:A Portrait by Actor Keith Gordon John Williams: The Music Of Jaws 2 The French Joke
Filmography/Biography: Cast and Filmmakers
Interviews: None
Trailers/TV Spots: Theatrical Trailers
Alternate/Deleted Scenes: Yes
Music Video: None
Other: Shark Facts, Production Notes, Storyboards, Production Photographs
Cast and Crew: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Keith Gordon, Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer, Collin Wilcox, Ann Dusenberry
Screenplay by: Carl Gottlieb and Howard Sackler
Produced by: Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown
Directed By: Jeannot Szwarc
Music: John Williams
The Review: That old saying of "you can't beat the original", may well be true in all but the rarest of occassions, and indeed Jaws 2 is no exception. Granted, it doesn't pack the same dramatic punch that Spielberg's classic original does, but that's not to say that Jeannot Szwarc's follow-up is a disaster. Far from it. Much like many blockbusters made today, Jaws 2 went through a very troubled production, with initial director John Hancock being fired after one month's shooting, to eventually be replaced by the young Frenchman Jeannot Szwarc whose only previous experence had been on roughly 100 episodes of television work (including Rod Serling's Night Gallery), and a low budget horror flick called Bug. Spielberg was approached, and initially hinted that he may even direct, but eventually pulled out. Hell, even Universal almost pulled the plug entirely after the fiasco of Hancock's firing. Considering these problems, plus the fact that the studio was told by the censors to tone down the graphic shark attacks (meaning the original body count of 12 would never survive!) to a point where there must be hardly a drop of blood visable if the picture was to get a PG certificate, it's amazing really how good Jaws 2 actually is. Szwarc deserves huge credit for creating some superb set-pieces with the shark, with the water ski chase and the electrifying finale being the highlights amongst many others, and Carl Gottlieb and Howard Sackler's script does a commendable job at keeping the characters interesting enough for us to care as to what fate befalls may befall them. This is even more surprising considering the sheer amount of teenage characters they had to write for, and it was only upon Szwarc's insistence that their characters had to be fleshed out in order for them to appear like real people, that the film's last half hour or so actually succeeds. Especially shocking, is the scene where Marge is eaten "whole" by the shark, right in front of a terrified Sean Brody. Perhaps the finest achievement of Jaws 2, is through it's music score, supplied by the original film's composer John Williams. It's a remarkably expansive piece of work, that remains one of his most under-rated scores, and it assists Szwarc's vision perfectly. Indeed, not only is it as good as his score for the original Jaws, it's actually a far more complex piece that deserves far better recognition. Jaws 2 may miss the dramatic tension and interplay between Scheider, Dreyfuss and Shaw, but then it's a different kind of film. A more straight forward blockbuster it may well be, but as far as sequels go, it's certainly one the better ones and remains hugely entertaining.
Image and Sound After the excellent quality of the visuals and sound on Universal's impressive Jaws DVD, I was dubious as to what efforts they would put into cleaning up Jaws 2. After all, previous versions on video and even Laserdisc have been very soft transfers, with unimpressive mono sound that all but renders Williams' wonderful score redundant. Thankfully, the quality of picture on the DVD is excellent, far exceeding what I expected. Colors are far brighter and alive than ever before, and the soft image is replaced with good sharp detail. Even the underwater sequences look clear, with hardly any grain or picture drop-out noticeable, something evident on previous releases. Soundwise, I'm afraid Universal didn't pull out all the stops as they did with the original film, in that we just get the usual mono soundtrack, here presented in a lifeless Dolby Digital 2.0. True, the film was originally recorded in mono, but Williams' score still sounds less impressive than it actually is. A Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, if done properly would have given the film a new lease of life. Having said that, it's still the best the film has sounded, with dialogue nice and clear throughout. However, if you want to appreciate just how good Williams' score is, you will have to buy the CD soundtrack.
The Extras Even more surprising than Universal's caring treatment of the picture transfer for Jaws 2, is the work they've put into the supplemental material. Surely we'd just get a bog standard Theatrical Trailer, much like the sequels to Superman and Rocky. Instead, we get more extra features than many so-called "special editions" actually have (in fact it's a bit of a missed opportunity for Universal, in that they haven't classed Jaws 2 as a "special collector's edition"). For starters, and best of all, is a brand new 45 minute documentary. Written, produced and directed by Laurent Bouzereau (the guy responsible for the Jaws and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind laser disc documentaries) it's a first class insight into the making of the film, with contributions from all the key members of the crew, including Jeannot Szwarc, producers Zanuck and Brown, writer Gottlieb and production designer Joe Alves. I suppose the only disappointment is that Roy Scheider isn't interviewed, but to be honest I was so interested in what people like Alves and Szwarc had to say, that Scheider isn't really missed. The documentary carefully goes through the production of the film, from the very beginning where Zanuck and Brown had to decide whether they wanted to be part of a sequel that Universal would make with or without them, to the difficult and challenging filming itself where Szwarc and co supply a breakdown of all the key scenes, accompanied with some excellent production photographs (such as the long shot of the "shark rig" which shows just how complicated the special effects were). What's clear from the documentary is how much respect everyone involved with Jaws 2 still has for the film, particualrly director Szwarc who states that when he looks back upon it now, he feels very proud of what he and his crew managed to achieve. Watching it myself, I would have to agree. Next up we have two featurettes lasting about 8 minutes each. The first is "Jaws 2: A Portrait by Actor Keith Gordon", which is a fascinating if all too short look at Gordon's memories of the film and what filmmaking lessons he took from his experience, going on to become a director himself. Again, it's nice to see that Gordon is far from derogatory about the film, and still believes it stands up as a successful sequel. Secondly, "John Williams: The Music Of Jaws 2", is a worthwhile tribute to the contribution from Williams, including new interview footage where Williams talks about the challenges of scoring music for a sequel to work he's already performed in the original. Both featurettes maybe short, but they are also filmed by documentary specialist Laurent Bouzereau, and as with all the work he seems to come up with, remain engaging and interesting viewing. "The French Joke" is an amusing little piece where Szwarc explains about the problem the title, Jaws 2, had in being translated in his native country. Nothing substantially significant here, but a nice little extra all the same. The deleted scenes which mainly consist of dialogue scenes between Chief Brody, Ellen Brody and Len Peters, are again intriguing, as they flesh out the feeling of jealously that Brody feels towards Peters, who obviously would like Ellen to be more than just a work colleague. They were cut due to time constraints, as Szwarc mentions that they probably interupted the pace of the film too much, but they're scenes that work well and would in my opinion have added to the character interplay more, especially when it comes to the firining of Brody later in the film. The best deleted scene though, has to be the attack underwater on the pilot of the helicopter, which for me should definitely have been kept in the film as it rivals the intensity of the "cage" scene from the original. The section marked "Production Photographs" often disappoints on some DVD's, as they sometimes are literally a collection of a dozen or so photos that have been scanned in from the film print itself and aren't really "production" photos at all! Not so the case here, as once again Universal come up trumps and provide us with some brilliant photographs, the majority of which are either from behind the scenes, or are publicity shots that aren't in the film itself. Especially impressive are all the photos on the shark, as you really get an idea of how big the entire rig is, and how difficult it must have been to design, create and operate. Storyboards can also come across as either redundant, or simply so in-depth that they begin to bore you by the time you reached the 100th storyboard, but again the producers of this DVD have been wise and chosen three key scenes to illustrate the storyboard to film process. They are, "Water Sking Attack", "Shark Attacks Doug's Boat", and "Underwater Concept Sequence". Of these, the last is probably the most interesting, as it features the alternative fate of the character of Marge, who in the theatrical release was of course eaten "whole" by the shark. Well, in the storyboard, the pilot of the helicopter manages to escape from his mangled helicopter and swims away to help and save Marge just as the shark is about to eat her. It was a sequence that was being forced upon Szwarc, as Universal was worried about not getting a PG, and Marge therefore was going to survive. Thankfully, Szwarc and co had the good sense to risk it, and the original scene did survive, though of course Marge didn't! The two theatrical trailers are almost identical, and are shown in full-screen. The obligatory production notes and cast and filmmakers biographies also turn up, and both are as brief as you have come to expect on DVD's, although the production notes are a little more informative than usual and do feature information not included in the documentary. Finally, the inclusion of "Shark Facts" is a nice touch, as they are exactly the same as the ones printed in the original "Movie Programme", even if some of them are far too alarmist and may result in you never wanting to set foot in the ocean again!
Commentary None
Final Words: Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Water.... One of the best tag-lines in movie history, to one of the most under valued sequels. Jaws 2 will never be able to stand with Spielberg's original, but in all fairness it's not as far behind as people believe it to be. It was trying to do something different, and in that the filmmakers succeeded. While it's set in the same Amity Island that Spielberg's was, the entire structure and focal point of the story is as far removed from the original as you could want it to be. Brilliant action sequences, visually stunning, a great music score, and fine performances from a competent script, Jaws 2 is really as good as a sequel to a truly classic film can be. It's fitting therefore that Universal have managed to put together a DVD that is on a par with it's predecessor in terms of quality and value for money. What's more, the supplemental material is so informative and interesting that it may even make you think of the film in a more favourable light. Don't believe me? Then pick up a copy and see for yourself. It will be interesting after the extensive work on Jaws 2, whether Universal will pull out all the stops for Jaws 3. Could we really get a similar documentary, and maybe even two versions of the film - one in 3-D and the other in the normal "flat" format? I have my doubts, especially as Jaws 3 is nowhere near as good as Jaws 1 or 2, but I hope Universal will prove me wrong again.


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 June 13, 2001