Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ Massachusetts Filming Locations Then and Now
Steven Spielberg‘s Jaws is one of filmmaking’s very best blockbusters ever to hit the silver screen. It continues to haunt moviegoers when they even think about heading to the beach. However, one Jaws fan sought out the filming locations and directly compared them from then to now. There are some significant changes made to the Massachusetts locations since Spielberg shot the 1975 movie.
The beach film locations in the ‘Jaws’ opening scene changed over time
The Nick P Was Here YouTube channel explored all of the Jaws filming locations possible in Massachusetts. Nick started with the movie’s opening scene, but there have been some significant changes to the beach since the original filming.
The video starts at South Beach at the Herring Creek Road entrance. Nick spoke with locals and learned that all of the new sand dunes flattened because of the surging floodwater. There used to be a lot more beach, so it looks quite a bit different now.
However, it’s a different beach when Chrissie Watkins (Susan Jane Backlinie) actually enters the water before her legendary death scene. Nick mentions that was shot at Edgartown Beach, which is private.
Steven Spielberg’s Brody House went under construction
Next, Nick went to the house of Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), which is located at 265 East Chop Drive, Vineyard Haven. However, Nick explained that the home was demolished “many years back” and rebuilt. There’s a new home standing on the same land, but Nick heard that the detached unit was the same structure used for the garage.
It also appears that the driveway was moved, so it no longer is center-aligned with the structure. However, the road that Brody drives down looks the same.
A walk around Amity Island for Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ filming locations
After Nick had examined the location where the Amity Island sign once stood, he moved into the town. He started with the Jaws police station filming location. This can be found at Davis Lane and South Water Street, Edgartown. Nick perfectly captured the scene with a side-by-side comparison with the film. The structure certainly had some modifications over the years.
The next Jaws filming locations include the medical examiner’s office, the Amity Gazette, Bad Hat Harry’s Bike Rental, and Amity Hardware, which are also in Edgartown. Nick once again captures the angles, making it easy to recognize the locations. Many of these streets look identical.
The Amity Ferry introduces a new waterline compared to Steven Spielberg’s film
Nick headed to the Amity Ferry Jaws filming location next, which is also in Edgartown. He went to Chappaquiddick, displaying the same ride that the characters take in the movie.
When he got to the other side, he realized that the waterline was in a completely different place now than in the original scene where Brody told his son to play in the pond.
This area was also susceptible to flooding because the waterline moved a lot closer to the main road than during production. Nick explained the difficulty in finding some of the exact Jaws filming locations due to the changes in the landscape.
Nevertheless, Nick did his best to match the scenes by the water with the locations in real life.
Next, he explored the Amity Town Hall, which is actually Edgartown Town Hall. Unfortunately, the specific room where the film introduced Quint (Robert Shaw) and he scratched his nails on the chalkboard doesn’t exist anymore. However, the same clock and desk from the movie remain.
Nick ventured to the Jaws docks filming locations. He again tracks each sequence, including where they strung up the tiger shark they thought was responsible for the attacks.
Quint’s shack offers an iconic ‘Jaws’ filming location
The final Jaws filming location that Nick explored was Quint’s shop. It’s located at 511/515 N Road, Chilmark. This was where the main cast disembarked to seek out the shark. He went to the location where Quint’s shack once stood, which was only there for filming. However, they pulled it down after they finished shooting.
Spielberg created one of the most iconic movies of all time with Jaws, which the filming locations only enhanced. These picturesque locations perfectly captured the film’s atmosphere, creating something truly special that stands the test of time.
