JAWS 2 lost footage surfaces on VHS which is 'only known copy'
Footage from JAWS 2 that was once thought lost, has surfaced on video, and we’ve got that scene right here!
Its discovery is exciting news for JAWS fans, but is also somewhat ironic as it relates to the underwater camera that is lost at the opening of this sequel to Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster from 1975.
JAWS 2 sees the return of police chief Brody (Roy Scheider), once again protecting the citizens of Amity Island after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
The opening of JAWS 2 sees two scuba divers posing and taking photos around the sunken remains of Quint’s Orca from the original movie. Then (spoilers) they are both attacked and killed by what we presume to be another giant great white shark.
As the diver’s camera sinks to the sea bed it flashes, taking photos of whatever creature has just made fresh chum out of the aquatic amigos. The photos will prove important later, but how did the images find their way into the hands of the Amity PD?
A local fisherman tells Chief Brody that he has spotted ‘a big cruiser’ in the main channel with a diver’s flag out. Deputy Hendricks (Jeffrey Kramer) is already on the police boat in the harbour so agrees to check it out. In the theatrical cut, Hendricks is seen back at police head quarters with the camera. However, the recovery of the camera was shot and recently discovered on an old VHS.
Lost footage
The recovered sequence begins with Red (old man) and Hendricks getting ready to depart Amity.
Then the police boat pulls up alongside the diver’s ship.
Two divers are sent to search the immediate area, find the diver’s camera….
…and take it back to the surface.
Later in the film is then taken to Phil Fogarty’s for developing, where one shot appears to show the outline of a giant shark…. that or seaweed.
Video
The following scene has been sourced from a Brazillian VHS copy of JAWS 2. It is currently the only known source of this scene. The English voices of Hendricks and Red (old man) were replaced with Portuguese. The first clip is the original version, with the exception of it being stretched to fit the screen instead of in square VHS format. The second clip is my version of it with no speaking and the score at the end has been rescored. Perhaps one day, the full scene will be released in High Definition and English.
Words by Ross Williams and Orca Rebuild
Video via Orca Rebuild
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