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'Jaws' available on Blu-ray August 14th, with remastered audio and restored visuals

'Jaws' available on Blu-ray August 14th, with remastered audio and restored visuals

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The classic 1975 movie "Jaws" will be available on Blu-ray from Tuesday next week, with the film and soundtrack having been extensively restored.

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Jaws poster
Jaws poster

Seminal shark attack film Jaws is set to make its Blu-ray debut on Tuesday, more than 37 years after its 1975 premiere, as part of Universal Pictures's 100th Anniversary collection. The two-disc Blu-ray edition features all the extras and add-ons that you'd expect from a modern release, including two separate documentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a host of deleted scenes, but, most importantly, the movie itself has been extensively restored.

According to an explanatory video, below, the process of restoring Jaws involved hunting through 2,700 separate pieces of material from the Universal archives. After an original negative was chosen as the primary source, it was subjected to a technique known as a wet-gate scan to remove obvious scratches and other artifacts. Digital editors and colorists then worked on the film to boost it to modern standards — thankfully, as The New York Times points out, they resisted the temptation to replace mechanical shark Bruce with a CGI equivalent.

Jaws is presented here in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio, with a remastered soundtrack offering full 7.1 surround sound. The whole package has a list price of $29.98, but is currently available for pre-order on Amazon for $17.99.