I’ve been lucky enough to attend screenings in the presence of cast members before, but last week I had the unnerving experience of watching JAWS with honest-to-god actual sharks swimming only a few feet away.

This evening Sky Movies HD will be premiering Spielberg’s 1975 classic in high definition and as a run up to this event a small group of people were invited to a preview. I couldn’t begin to guess how many times I’ve seen this movie, but I’d have gone to see it on the big screen again anyway. It’s one of those rare movies that never seems to get old and I never ever tire of seeing it. That the Sky screening was taking place after hours in the depths of the London Aquarium right next to the shark tank was icing on the cake…

JAWS in HD is a thing of beauty. Bruce still holds his own against CGI upstarts that fade and out-date almost immediately while Amity and the water has never looked so inviting. I don’t truck with satellite or terrestrial transmissions myself (seems a little 20th century), but if you have the opportunity to tune in this evening around 8pm you will see the movie in all its crystal clear glory. Hopefully we can expect a blu-ray release soon…

So did having the sharks doing their thing right next door distract as much as say some idiot’s mobile phone going off in a regular cinema? Not really. I’m not convinced they were too interested in what we were up to and even Robert Shaw’s demise met no sly winks of approval, but the few times I was aware of the other humans around me it was nice to note that the reappearance of Ben Gardner still causes people to jump and that the beautiful character study of three men on a boat still elicits a warm response.

In fact it’s a credit to the film that even after 35 (!) years and multiple viewings that the only eyes not glued to the screen were the cold dark ones on the other side of the tank…