JAWS! The original summer blockbuster. The movie that put Steven Spielberg on the map as a big-time Hollywood director. And the movie that made everyone afraid to get in the water! It happens to be my favorite movie and the reason why at only 6 years old I decided someday I would be a marine biologist.
Well, I never made it to the PHD, but I do have one heck of a movie collection, and today we're talking about all of the VHS releases for my favorite movie of all.
JAWS was first released on VHS in April of 1980 (above), previously the only other version for home viewing was on the LaserDisc released in 1978. The case for the 1980 release is distinct as it's the only one in a mostly black box with blue MCA letters at the bottom.
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The next release came in 1987 (above), coinciding with the theatrical release of JAWS: The Revenge which was the fourth installation of the series. It is easily distinguished by the red MCA Home Video logo in the bottom corner. However, this version is also the subject of much debate. Many collectors and sellers refer to this copy as the 1983 release because it has a 1983 copyright on the back of the box. But this copyright is due to the distribution rights between Universal Pictures and MCA Home Video and is not the release date of the cassette. I hate to put the kibosh on all those collectors and sellers but JAWS was never released on VHS in 1983.
The next time JAWS was released was in 1991 (above). This version is exactly the same as the 1987 release, with the exception of the logo in the bottom right corner of the box. Now saying MCA Universal, at this point Universal Pictures had absorbed MCA Home Video as its home distribution arm.
1995 would be the first time JAWS was released in widescreen format on VHS (above), coinciding with the film's 20th anniversary. This version also contains a short video documentary with interviews from the cast and crew. Also noteworthy, this is the first VHS release where the bather is swimming from left to right as she is on the original theatrical poster. It is unclear why she is swimming from right to left on all the previous releases. The entire image of the swimmer and the shark is reversed on every version until the 1995 release but no one seems to know why. Look closely at the shark's teeth and the shadow on its nose and you'll see the difference in versions.
The year 2000 was the final time JAWS saw a VHS release (above). This time in a double-sized box containing two cassettes. One is the feature-length film and the other contains 75 minutes of bonus features like a "Making of" documentary, outtakes, and original theatrical trailers.
It is also easily spotted because of its darker-colored box with metallic shine.
It is also easily spotted because of its darker-colored box with metallic shine.
One last thing of note, I find it interesting that there seems to be some ever-increasing censorship of the box art through the years. You can see in these images below how the breasts on the swimmer changed from the original home release in 1978 to the last version to be released on VHS in 2000.
