Jaws: Revenge, The (1987)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Jaws 2; Jaws 3
Rating
Year Of Production	1987
Running Time	86:21
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (55:36)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Joseph Sargent
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Lorraine Gary Lance Guest Mario Van Peebles Karen Young Michael Caine
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$36.95	Music	Michael Small

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English German Dutch Swedish Norwegian Danish Finnish	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Every now and then a movie comes along which makes you wish home theatre had never been invented. Jaws: The Revenge is just such a movie. It would be prudent of me to note that in the 1988 "Razzie" awards, it blitzed home winning worst Visual Effects, and was nominated for Worst Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, Picture and last but surely not least, Worst Screenplay.

    I was not cognisant of a plot whilst watching the picture, though I do recall there being a shark which mysteriously was after the wife of Police Chief Brody and her sons - somehow it knew where they were and singled them out. I also remember incredibly poor acting by Lorraine Gary (Ellen Brody). The ending, such that it was, involved the shark exploding for no apparent reason, and the cast floating in a water tank with a sky painted on the backdrop, with water lapping upon it.

    Quite simply, it never should have been filmed, and along with the previous sequel went a long way towards dragging the whole series to the bottom of the ocean. It might have helped had the movie made more than it cost, but sadly it couldn't even manage to do that. Like they say, "We'll always have Jaws."

Video

    Amazingly, yet true to form, this transfer is absolutely perfect, and is quite certainly reference quality in every respect. Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and with 16x9 enhancement, this is a feast for the eyes and was the only quality which made watching it even mildly bearable. Whilst the 2.35:1 aspect is at odds with the original intent (believed to be 1.85:1), there seemed to be no framing problems, though it is unusual to have a wider aspect ratio for a transfer than the theatrical print (unless my information is incorrect).

    Stunning clarity and depth of image is on display at all times, with a sharpness and smoothness to the picture which took me quite by surprise. Distant details resolve wonderfully, and foreground images are razor sharp. Why couldn't a myriad of other, far better titles look half as good as this? There is no noise or grain of any kind, and shadow detail is very good. There is a complete absence of edge enhancement, making for a very natural and film-like appearance.

    Colours are equally stunning, with the scenes in the Bahamas being good enough to walk into. Vibrant and fully saturated, bright primary colours feature heavily, as do the more subtle shades of the green-blue water and white beaches. Amazing stuff. There is no chroma noise nor any edge bleed.

    No MPEG artefacts were observed, nor were there any film-to-video artefacts. There were some minor film artefacts throughout, consisting of small nicks to the print.

    The disc is RSDL formatted, with the layer change occurring between chapters 9 and 10 at 55:36.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two audio soundtracks, being both English and German in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround.

    Dialogue was always clear, though at many times seemed unnatural due to looping and the non-existent integration with the visible environment. There were no audio sync problems.

    The music was serviceable though unremarkable, borrowing heavily from the original Jaws now and then, but offering little in the way of genuine suspense. Indeed, at times the music was altogether unfitting of the action.

    Although credited on the cover as being merely stereo, the soundtrack is indeed surround encoded, with ambient noises such as rain and wind being presented nicely, along with a touch of the score. Still, the presentation was by and large upfront and centred.

    The subwoofer was left alone for most of the movie, and I think he turned himself off completely a few times out of sheer boredom. I indeed felt myself that an "off" switch would come in handy during the sitting, and was jealous of the sub.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Theatrical Trailer

Trailer

    The R1 version misses out on:

• 16x9 Enhancement
• Theatrical trailer
• Jaws 2 & 3 trailers

    Well, what is there to say. Perhaps the dullest, blandest movie yet made which never should have been. Thoroughly un-entertaining apart from the wonderful video transfer. I have given it zero for plot, since I wasn't aware of any being present. Avoid like the plague unless you are a serious fan only, or must have the complete Jaws collection.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall