OK. We did it. We went to the Theater and Watched "Jaws" on It's 50th Anniversary. [View all]

The movie's been a running joke between my wife and I for many years, as I claim - and she denies - that she watches the movie at least once a year.

They had it at the Princeton Garden Theater, our local nonprofit theater where we are members. They showed it at 7:00 on Friday (which apparently sold out - rare for the theater) and again yesterday afternoon. The theater was pretty well filled. They showed a short commentary from Steven Spielberg, where he remarked that making the film was so problematic, particularly with the mechanical shark, that he thought it would be the end of his career. He says he was 27 at the time.

He made a lot of movies I like, deeper and more serious, so I'm glad it worked out for him.

I lived in a beach city when Jaws came out - Hermosa Beach, CA - which had a movie theater on Hermosa Blvd when the movie came out. Maybe the theater's still there; I don't know. (It was just before I left to return to Long Island because my mother was dying and they needed my help.) If I recall correctly, swimming was down because of the movie.

The movie is, of course, silly. The character played by Richard Dreyfus is super rich, and scientist for fun and hobby, has a high tech boat early in the movie, with all kinds of detectors, and still they all go out in the rickety boat owned by a crazy guy to kill the Shark.

(The story told by the crazy guy about the sinking of the Indianapolis by a Japanese submarine, shortly after delivering the nuclear weapon that destroyed Hiroshima near the end of World War II, whereupon upon many of the surviving crew are eaten by sharks, is actually a true story.)

The shark is anthropomorphized, kind of like the orange pedophile in the White House, only out for revenge.

The only realistic thing is the willingness - by the Mayor - to let people die in order to assure revenue.

It was fun though, a good chance to laugh at and with my wife.