About the Exhibition

Science-fiction, fantasy, and horror movies are fitting genres to explore the furthest reaches of the human imagination. Movie artists of all disciplines collaborate to create awe-inspiring worlds and unforgettable characters. The immersive magic of the films featured in this gallery requires elaborate world-building through costume design, directorial vision, makeup and hairstyling, models and miniatures, music, production design, set decoration, sound, and visual effects.

In Inventing Worlds and Characters: Encounters, objects such as the Aries-1B lunar landing shuttle from 2001: A Space Odyssey (UK/USA, 1968), a costume worn by Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Reloaded (USA/Australia, 2003), a prosthetic suit worn by Doug Jones as the amphibian man in The Shape of Water (USA, 2017), and porg puppets and animatronics from Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (USA, 2017) offer unique opportunities for close encounters with fantastical elements previously experienced only onscreen.

Inventing Worlds and Characters: Encounters also includes Behold: Ben Burtt, a site-specific installation created by Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt (b. 1948). Burtt has received four Academy Awards for his work on films such as Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (USA, 1977) and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (USA, 1982). In this experience specially created for the museum, he takes visitors on a voyage through the cosmos, covering more than a century of motion pictures that dream skyward.

This gallery is curated by Senior Exhibitions Curator Jenny He and Associate Curator Sophia Serrano.

A full list of films found in Behold can be found here.