Jaws: 30th Anniversary Edition
(Universal)

Jaws is one of those seminal flicks that I had never seen from beginning to end, so it was with great relish that I sat down to watch this slice of classic Spielberg. Roy Schieder is perfect as the new chief of police in a sleepy Long Island tourist town suddenly terrorized by a Great White and who has to deal with a mayor afraid of losing the revenue essential to the community during the Fourth of July weekend. Richard Dreyfuss brings the right amount of enthusiasm to his role as the obsessed marine biologist and the shark….well, it’s a pretty phony looking hunk of rubber, which is why they couldn’t use more footage of it. Nevertheless, Spielberg manages to infuse the story with plenty of tension anyway and knows just how to play the suspense for maximum effect. This latest edition contains a 60-page photo journal, new interview with the director, a two-hour ‘making of’ documentary and a collection of photos, storyboards and more. - David Bassin