Jaws 2 - Home Releases

Home Releases

In 1980, MCA Home Video (then known as MCA Videocassette Inc.) released Jaws 2 on VHS and Laserdisc, following its 1980 theatrical re-release in theaters. In the 1990s, MCA-Universal Home Video reissued it on both formats. The film received a DVD release on May 22, 2001. Many reviewers praised it for the quantity of special features, with DVD Authority asserting that it had "more than a lot of titles labeled as 'special edition' discs". It includes a 45-minute documentary produced by Laurent Bouzereau, who is responsible for many of the documentaries about Universal films. Actor Keith Gordon reminisces in a short feature, and Szwarc explains the phonetic problem with its original French title, Les Dents de la mer 2, as it sounded like it ended with the expletive merde (mer deux). This was combated by using the suffix Part 2.

The disc also contains a variety of deleted scenes. These scenes show the animosity between Brody and his wife's boss, and the selectmen voting to fire Brody; the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) is the only person to vote to save him. These scenes were cut because they were slowing the pace of the film. Also included is footage of the shark attacking the coast guard pilot underwater after his helicopter had capsized. The scene was cut because of the struggle with the ratings board to acquire a PG certificate.

Although the audio was presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, a reviewer for Film Freak Central comments that "Williams' score often sounds deceptively stereophonic". The BBC, though, suggest that the mix "really demands the added bass that a 5.1 effort could have lent it".