Jaws: Anniversary Collector's Edition

 (41 customer reviews)

...is that this IS the original soundtrack recording. This is the same recording used in the actual film. The old soundtrack released was a re-recording, done by John Williams especially for the soundtrack release, hence variations in track lengths and tempos when compared to this release.

Jaws is a fantastic score - one of John Williams' best, and certainly one of the best scores ever composed. And it is wonderful to finally hear the music as it is heard in the film. The old release had its points, but the sound was muffled and full of tape hiss. This new release has better sound and more music. Recommended.

I would like to respond to unclesparky's review. You seem to be confused as to the content of the 2000 release of the Jaws soundtrack. It is this recording that contains the original scores tapes as heard in the movie, not the original album release, which was a rerecording of some of the cues as "concert" arrangements. You seem to have it backwards.
Now, as for my opinion, I personally detest rerecordings and always want to hear music as it is heard in the film. This album does a magnificent job of restoring the original master tapes. The cues are short, however, so if you don't like short cues, you might want the original CD. Either way, you can't go wrong, but purists should buy this album, while people who are on the fence should probably go for the older album. Great score either way, well deserving of the Academy Award.

In the early 1970s, the craft of the film score was nearly dead. Despite the efforts of established composers like Jerry Goldsmith and Elmer Bernstein, small combos and electronic instrumentation were the rage. More than any other single factor, the popularity of John Williams' mid-'70s soundtracks re-elevated film composition. His splendid music for disaster epics like "The Towering Inferno" were auspicious beginnings, but "Jaws" set the standard. Its popular appeal was staggering, and this newly expanded disc illustrates exactly what it was Williams was doing so well - so much better in fact than anyone else.

The old 1975 LP (and subsequent CD) was truncated but still conveyed the richness and excitement of this seminal movie score. This new, expanded edition nearly doubles the amount of music to be savored; the score has been filled out with a great deal of music not on the original soundtrack album as well as portions cut from the final film. The CD has a...Read more