JAWS Gets Its Very Own Museum Exhibit To Celebrate 50 Years Of Aquatic Terror

To celebrate fifty years of the greatest aquatic horror film ever made, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is bringing Steven Spielberg’s Jaws to life like you’ve never seen before. The museum just announced more details on Jaws: The Exhibition, curated by Senior Exhibitions Curator Jenny He and Assistant Curator Emily Rauber Rodriguez, with Curatorial Assistant Alexandra James Salichs, which will feature over two hundred objects from the production of the 1975 film, including some from Spielberg’s personal collection. 

“The Academy Museum celebrates film history and with this exhibition we can bring never-before-seen movie experiences to a public audience,” said Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma. “This exhibition will create a space where the worldwide community of Jaws fans can gather and relive the movie while giving new audiences the joy of discovery.”

The exhibition, which opens in September, will be split into seven sections, tracking both the plot of the film and its development behind the scenes. The first, “The Unseen Danger,” launches museum visitors into the opening scene of the film and how Spielberg got the project off the ground, featuring production objects, photography, and a recreation of the sand dune where Chrissie Watkins is discovered.

Next comes “Amity Island Welcomes You,” which introduces the creative team behind the film, including Richard Zanuck, production designer Joe Alves, and Peter Benchley, who wrote the original 1974 novel, and teaches audiences about location scouting. “Sunday at the Beach” focuses on the film’s cinematography, helmed by Oscar nominee Bill Butler, and features an interactive area where museumgoers can experience the film’s famous dolly zoom effect. 

After that comes “The Shark’s Rampage,”