Jaws

For 50 years, audiences all over the world have watched and marveled at the brilliance of Jaws. It’s long been one of the true masterpieces in the history of movies and, starting next week, you’ll get to experience it in a way you never have before: by actually being in its presence. On September 14, the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, CA, is opening “Jaws: The Exhibition,” an unprecedented collection of over 200 items from the development, production, and release of the Steven Spielberg classic. And if you consider yourself a fan, you will not be able to contain your joy and amazement at what it entails.

io9 was invited to a press preview of the exhibit, which included opening remarks from Academy president Amy Homma, exhibit curator Jenny He, and Spielberg himself. The director regaled the audience with some stories from the making of the film (many of which are told in an equally excellent documentary released this year), but he also spoke of his amazement at what the exhibit actually had in store.

Spielberg spoke of “a collection of memories stimulated just in the last hour and a half by walking through the exhibition that they have so ingeniously assembled from the archives of collectors all over the world.”

These collectors “somehow knew something that I didn’t know,” the director continued. “I mean, why wouldn’t anybody… when we shot the opening scene of Chrissie Watkins being taken by the shark, and we had a buoy floating in the water, how did anybody know to take the buoy and take it home and sit on it for 50 years and then loan it to the Academy? How did they know? I didn’t know. I thought my career was virtually over halfway through production on Jaws.”

Well, you knew a little bit, Steven. Because, while yes, the buoy and much more were donated by private collectors, the exhibit is filled with pieces from Spielberg’s collection too. The exhibit has screen-used barrels from the Orca. It has the main character’s actual costumes. It has Hooper’s backpack, Quint’s beer, the shark cage, the spear, and Ben Gardner’s head. All original props that appear in the movie itself. Some are from private collectors, some are from the studio, and others are from Spielberg, but for all of them, being that close to something you’ve watched in a movie so many times is almost indescribable.

Here are a few of our favorite screen-used props from the exhibit. Click on each image to see it larger.

But that’s not all. Those props are spread across the multi-room space, which takes up the entire fourth floor of the museum and follows the narrative of the film as its structure. You enter through the seaweed of the opening credits and emerge on the beach. There, props and stories about the making of the opening greet you. Next, there’s Chief Brody’s house and objects from the town of Amity Island, all the way through the story of the film, culminating in a room with props from the Orca, a mechanical shark, and more.

Along the way, not only are there props, but there are also behind-the-scenes photos, script pages, concept art, and so much more. Plus, there are some super fun interactive things too. You can pose your arm to make it look like it was found chomped up on a beach. You can sit in the depths of the Orca and talk about scars. In the John Williams section, complete with some of the actual items he used during the writing and recording of the score, there’s a keyboard that shows you how to play his iconic theme. You can control a mechanical shark, and there’s even a place for you to do your own dolly zoom shot.

Using a QR code to access a webpage (see it here), you place your phone in the exhibit, and an employee gives you a dolly zoom, which you can then download on your phone. Here are a few highlights

Once you get through the film’s narrative, a room celebrates the legacy of Jaws since its release, with tickets from its premiere, all manner of merchandise, posters, and so much more. It’s not as extensive as other parts of the exhibit, but it’s a fond reminder of how the film has endured over the years. Be sure to make a stop in the gift shop before you leave, because there’s plenty of Jaws stuff for sale there too. Here’s a peek at some of that and just general signage.

As a massive fan of Jaws (and, really, who isn’t?), it was magical to stand in these spaces and look at the actual props and costumes from such an iconic movie. I’ve seen that arcade machine or that machete a million times watching Jaws. And now, I’m standing two feet from the same thing. It’s pretty fantastic.

“The fact that now, 51 years after the production and 50 years after it was released, people have a chance between now and July to come here to the Academy Museum and live for the first time some of the experiences I’m trying to relive for you here, I’m just so proud of the work they’ve done,” Spielberg said. “What they’ve put together here, this exhibition, is just awesome. Every room has the minutiae of how this picture got together and proves that this motion picture industry is really, truly a collaborative art form.”

“Jaws: The Exhibition” will be on display starting September 14 and will run through July 26, 2026. The museum has also announced that it has begun work on a retrospective covering Spielberg’s entire career that’s opening in 2028. And while that’s extremely exciting, and Spielberg has certainly made many incredible, unforgettable movies, I’m not sure anything will ever be as enduring as Jaws.

For more on the exhibit and museum, visit the Academy Museum website.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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One of the greatest films ever made, Jaws, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and to commemorate the occasion, it returns to theaters this weekend. And not just regular theaters. Jaws is being re-released in 3D, IMAX, and even 4DX. Yes, you can ride along in your theater seat and feel the watery mist alongside Brody, Hooper, and Quint as the Orca sets sail.

You can find showtimes and buy tickets for all of those at this link. But, to get even more excited about seeing the Steven Spielberg classic back on the big screen, we decided to rank the 10 best moments in the film. When you look at this list, you realize that’s not an easy task. Seemingly every shot in Jaws is awesome in its own way and limiting this list to 10 leaves off some major, major moments. Are these the 10 you’d pick? Did we miss your favorite? Read on and find out.

10. “A what?”

Part of the magic of Jaws is that for many of the supporting roles, Steven Spielberg cast actual people who lived on Martha’s Vineyard, where it was being filmed. It gives the film a real, authentic quality but few characters stand out more than the guy who reacts in the most perfect manner ever when Hooper tells him the shark caught early on is a tiger shark. “A what?” he says in a perfect New England drawl. It’s one of those moments that might pass you by on a first or second viewing. But by your 100th viewing, it’s absolute, hilarious perfection. Jaws is filled with those moments, so we decided to pick this one to represent them all.

9. The cage

When Brody and Hooper arrive on Quint’s boat, there’s a brief exchange about the cage that Hooper is bringing. Then, a ton of things happen, and you almost forget about it. And yet, that information lingers, making the moment Hooper actually goes into the cage that much more terrifying. That he not only encounters the shark but gets kind of really messed up by it, then takes it up a few notches.

8. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Throughout Jaws, the film reaches various points of escalation. Scenes or lines where the characters learn, often in violent fashion, that things are much worse than they had originally thought. The most famous and fun one of these is when Sheriff Brody is off-handedly throwing chum into the water and is greeted by a shark much, much bigger than he’d imagined in his head. His resulting message to Quint has become the film’s most quoted line, and hearing it, you can’t help but smile.

7. The Orca‘s journey begins

Jaws is almost two movies. There’s the first half where everything is set up, and then the second half on board the boat. Each is amazing in its own right, and the transition between them is incredibly special. As the Orca leaves the dock to head out to sea, the camera films it from Quint’s shack and through a set of shark jaws. It’s Spielberg’s way of setting up everything to come. They are going into the belly of the beast, and it may not go well. (Oh, and the rising, adventurous John Williams score doesn’t hurt either.)

6. Dining room mimicry

A crucial throughline in Jaws is that Sheriff Brody is scared of the water. So what makes him face that fear and head out on the Orca? Well, we know because of this small, beautiful little scene, as his youngest son, Sean, just randomly starts mimicking his father. Brody plays along, and we see exactly why he’d risk everything, without anyone saying a word.

5. The slap

One of the many things that makes Jaws so good is just how much is going on. Case in point, before you even get to all the cool shark stuff, we are forced to wrestle with seeing our main character, Sheriff Brody, bow to political pressures and open up beaches he knows he shouldn’t have. This, of course, doesn’t go well, and when the late Alex Kintner’s mom slaps him in disgust, you can feel her pain and his regret in every single frame.

4. “Smile, you son of a…”

Here’s how good Jaws is. We’re ranking the film’s biggest, most exciting, rousing moment fourth on this list. There’s no denying that Brody’s realization of how he can kill the shark, the editing of it, and the tension all come together to give us the perfect ending to such an exciting adventure. And yet, as unforgettable as this moment is, we think there are a few that are better.

3. Quint’s introduction

Clearly, Jaws is filled with iconic moments featuring everyone’s favorite shark hunter. But the second best (spoiler alert) is his introduction. Nails on the chalkboard. A room goes silent. The gruff confidence exudes as he just plainly explains how he’ll fix the shark problem for a price. You instantly understand this guy and want to know more about him. An all-time introduction for a character.

2. The split diopter shot

Arguably, Jaws‘ most famous shot is the Alfred Hitchcock-inspired moment where Sheriff Brody realizes opening the beaches was a terrible mistake. To convey it, Spielberg hits us with the split diopter, drawing the center of his image closer and pushing the background further away. It perfectly conveys the dread of the realization that someone is about to die and that Brody is partially at fault.

1. The Indianapolis Speech

Come on. Could it be anything but this? That harrowing revelation of where Quint’s intense hatred of sharks came from is packed with terror, sadness, and despair. Shaw gives an amazing performance, and we, like Hooper and Brody, can’t take our eyes off it. That it comes on the heels of the joyous scar comparison makes it even more powerful and unforgettable.

So, what did we miss? Is it the opening kill? All the scenes with the mayor? Hooper’s faces? The eyeball? Let us know below but please, be kind. Amity, as you know, means friendship.