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The beach is a surprisingly versatile location to stage a scene. The bright sunny skies and crystal-clear blue waves of the sea make for a visually arresting image, which can either be complemented by characters having fun and enjoying some me-time or contrasted with conflict.
Just look at the musical party vibes of Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), the iconic make-out sesh in From Here to Eternity (1953), and the terror of a killer shark in Jaws (1975), and you’ll see the endless possibilities a beach sequence can provide. The beach can be sexy, terrifying, relaxing, tense, or all of the above; regardless, it’s a place where things are happening.
Ahead, we look at some of our favorite beach scenes from film and TV we can’t help but think about whenever we bust out the sunblock and set foot on that coarse sand.
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Everett Collection
The most famous, most essential beach scene in film history has to be Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster’s forbidden embrace in Fred Zinnemann’s From Here to Eternity. The iconic scene, in which the adulterous lovers kiss like there’s no tomorrow — maybe because there kind of isn’t — was originally written with them standing up; it was reportedly Lancaster’s idea to shoot it lying down, with water washing over them. —Mary Sollosi
Baywatch (1989–2001)
Everett Collection
There are beach scenes, and then there are beach series. That’s Baywatch. The legendary TV show lasted for 11 seasons, inspired a 2017 film adaptation, and made a red one-piece the most iconic piece of swimwear on the planet. —M.S.
Barbie (2023)
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Forget the Barbie Beach House, Greta Gerwig’s candy-colored comedy spectacular is a whole beach experience. As we get to know the many wonderful qualities of Barbie (Margot Robbie), we also learn a few facts about Ken (Ryan Gosling)…namely that his job is „just beach.“ The film features multiple great beach scenes, including Ken and his rival challenging each other to a „beach off,“ Barbie and Ken visiting Venice Beach in the real world, and an all-out beach war/interpretive dance between the Kens at the film’s climax. —Kevin Jacobsen
The 400 Blows (1959)
Everett Collection
François Truffaut’s seminal French New Wave classic ends with the troubled young hero Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), who has never seen the ocean, running away to the beach. He slows down to take a few steps in the water, walks back toward the shore, and then looks directly into the camera for one of the most iconic freeze-frames in film history. —M.S.
Top Gun (1986)
Paramount
Sure, Maverick (Tom Cruise) and his fellow badass fighter pilots-in-training have the need for speed — or whatever — but, thankfully, director Tony Scott never forgot that we have the need for sweaty, homoerotic beach volleyball. And director Joseph Kosinski did not disappoint with his equally as sensual callback to the original beach scene — this time playing football — in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. —M.S.
The Notebook (2004)
Melissa Moseley/New Line
One of the sweetest, swooniest scenes in the dreamy romance of Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) in this weepie based on the Nicholas Sparks book takes place at a beach (and features some seriously perfect 1940s swimwear). Now say it: If you’re a bird, I’m a bird. —M.S.
Die Another Day (2002)
Keith Hamshere/MGM
Fresh off her Oscar win for 2001’s Monster’s Ball, Halle Berry’s next step was to join the James Bond franchise in 2002’s Die Another Day as NSA operative Jinx. In the grand tradition of Bond girls — most notably Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in 1962’s Dr. No — Berry rocked a bikini to make a showstopping entrance on the beach. —M.S.
Casino Royale (2006)
Columbia Pictures
Not to be outdone, James Bond himself got an eye-turning beach scene in Casino Royale (2006). Daniel Craig left fans shaken and stirred in his first 007 film, as the dashing agent walks out of the water in nothing but a pair of short blue swimming trunks. —K.J.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
David James/DreamWorks
Not all beach scenes have to do with vacations. With Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg set out to make the most realistic war movie he possibly could. The invasion of Normandy sequence — in which our heroes are among the American soldiers storming Omaha Beach during WWII — is one of the most brutal battle scenes ever caught on film. —M.S.
Chariots of Fire (1981)
20th Century Fox Film Corp/Courtesy Everett
Even if you haven’t seen this Oscar-winning British sports drama, you likely know that iconic synth-y Vangelis score and the running scene that goes along with it. Often parodied but rarely equalled, the flashback in the first scene of Chariots of Fire finds a group of enthusiastic athletes running down a beach ahead of the 1924 Olympics. —K.J.
The Karate Kid (1984)
Everett Collection
„Wax on, wax off“ gets a lot of attention, but The Karate Kid‘s beachside training scene, in which Daniel (Ralph Macchio) works on his balance while developing his „crane technique,“ is a thrilling step in his evolution. —M.S.
„The Doorway,“ Mad Men (2013)
Michael Yarish/AMC
No book, song, or weekday matinee movie was ever just a throwaway period detail on Mad Men. So naturally, when Don Draper (Jon Hamm) appears in the season 6 opener on a Hawaiian vacation with his beautiful young wife, Megan (Jessica Paré), he’s reading Dante’s Inferno — which is a much better indication of his state of mind than the heavenly beach setting might suggest. —M.S.
Jaws (1975)
Everett Collection
Steven Spielberg’s classic shark movie is the greatest summer blockbuster of all time for a reason. The suspenseful scene, in which Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) watches a crowd of beachgoers first playing in the water and then turning to run from the terror beneath the surface, is a classic of great white proportions. —M.S.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Everett Collection
It’s one of the great twists in cinematic history: Set centuries into the future, a group of astronauts who had been in hibernation while traveling at light speed land on a strange planet where apes rule over humans. In the film’s final moments, our heroes manage to escape the simian overlords and reach freedom on a beach — where they find the remains of the Statue of Liberty, revealing that the foreign planet was their own all along. —M.S.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Focus Features
One of the most memorable, most Wes Anderson-y sequences in the filmmaker’s delightful coming-of-age comedy is when 12-year-old runaways Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) dance and kiss on the beach. Setting the mood is Suzy’s favorite yé-yé record, Françoise Hardy’s „Le Temps de l’Amour,“ the lyrics of which translate roughly to, „It is the time for love, the time for friends, and for adventures.“ —M.S.
South Pacific (1958)
Everett Collection
Joshua Logan’s film adaptation of the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein WWII-set musical gets its best beach moment in nurse Nellie Forbush’s (Mitzi Gaynor) song, „I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair.“ Of course, though Nellie lathers and rinses admirably, it’s a task much easier sung than done, and pretty soon she’s belting „I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy“ as if she had never shampooed him away at all. —M.S.
10 (1979)
Everett Collection
In the throes of a midlife crisis, George (Dudley Moore) becomes infatuated with his dentist’s daughter, Jenny (Bo Derek), and follows her to Mexico on her honeymoon. His interest becomes a full-blown obsession when he spots her running on the beach, wearing a nude swimsuit. If we were grading these scenes on a scale, this iconic beach moment would earn a perfect 10. —M.S.
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Everett Collection
Ingmar Bergman’s classic, based on his own play, opens and closes with a famous pair of scenes by the sea. Because what better destination for a chess game for your life — that is, playing against Death — than a beach? —M.S.
Point Break (1991)
20th Century Fox
In Kathryn Bigelow’s crime drama, FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) spends a lot of time on the beach undercover with a group of surfers suspected of being bank robbers. Johnny finds himself drawn in by the surfers’ way of life, leading to a memorable final scene in the rain where the agent allows the group’s leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), to ride a killer wave rather than capture him. —K.J.
„Hollywood (Part 3),“ Happy Days (1977)
ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
This might not be one of the best beach scenes ever, but it is, in its way, one of the most significant. This season 5 episode of Happy Days sees Fonzie (Henry Winkler) on water skis, jumping over a shark (while still wearing his leather jacket, naturally). The ridiculous and out-of-character episode was widely derided but never forgotten, as it inspired the phrase „jumping the shark.“ —M.S.
Splash (1984)
Everett Collection
It’s the ultimate summertime romance: He’s (Tom Hanks) a disillusioned New Yorker; she’s (Daryl Hannah) a mermaid. And we might see it again! A gender-swapped remake of Ron Howard’s charming rom-com fantasy was announced in 2016, with Channing Tatum and Jillian Bell named as leads. In February 2023, Deadline reported the film was still happening and had found a new screenwriter — Bell was still attached, but Tatum was not mentioned. —M.S.
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
Darren Michaels/Columbia Pictures
After the success of McG’s 2000 Charlie’s Angels movie, all three Angels (Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu) returned for this 2003 sequel — and were joined by Demi Moore as a fallen former Angel. Moore’s Madison makes a memorable entrance, meeting Diaz’s Natalie on the beach while the Beach Boys’ „Little Surfer Girl“ plays. —M.S.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Castle Rock Entertainment
For Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), the man who was wrongly imprisoned and then „crawled through a river of s— and came out clean on the other side,“ freedom means a beautiful Mexican beach. At the end of the movie, when fellow prisoner Red (Morgan Freeman) finally convinces the authorities he’s been „rehabilitated,“ he meets Andy there for a joyful reunion. —M.S.
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Everett Collection
When uptight Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) goes on a lunch date with retired astronaut Garrett (Jack Nicholson), he convinces her to drink with him, and then, somehow, they end up driving his convertible on the beach — her foot on the pedal and his on the wheel. „I’m not enjoying this!“ she cries, braking and accidentally throwing him into the water. —M.S.
„The One With the Jellyfish,“ Friends (1997)
Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
You know the best way to ease the pain of a jellyfish sting? Joey (Matt LeBlanc) does, but can’t bring himself to do it when Monica (Courteney Cox) gets stung on the Friends‘ trip to the beach. Chandler (Matthew Perry) steps up to the plate and gets the job done…to the detriment of his campaign to get Monica to date him. „I think you’re sweet, and you’re smart, and I love you,“ she tells him at the end of the season 4 opener. „But you will always be the guy who peed on me.“ —M.S.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Everett Collection
Who can blame Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) for becoming obsessed with Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) and the charmed life he leads, considering this irresistible beach moment where he meets Dickie and his fiancée Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow) on the Mediterranean shore? —M.S.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Everett Collection
While Joe (Tony Curtis) has a close relationship with the woman he loves, Sugar (Marilyn Monroe), there’s just one problem: Sugar thinks he’s „Josephine,“ the female saxophonist in their all-women band. To win Sugar’s heart in return, Joe poses as snobby millionaire Shell Oil Junior on the beach, pointedly appealing to just about every one of her weaknesses with his performance. Telling „Junior“ about her band, Sugar says their music is „real hot.“ „Well, I guess some like it hot,“ he replies, unimpressed. „I personally prefer classical music.“ She’s a goner. —M.S.
„Beach Games,“ The Office (2007)
Trae Patton/NBC
In one of The Office‘s all-time best episodes, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) thinks he’s going to get a promotion. So, he decides to find his successor by taking his staff on a day trip and making them compete in „beach games“ (of course); the „beach games“ are held at a lake (of course). —M.S.
Roma (2018)
Carlos Somonte/Netflix
Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a humble maid for a wealthy Mexican family, experiences the heartbreak of losing her baby in childbirth. After saving one of the family’s sons from drowning, they all embrace her in a prolonged, meaningful hug on the beach, providing an emotional catharsis for all involved. —K.J.
Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)
Everett Collection
There are movies with beach scenes, and there are ’60s teen beach party movies. One of the most quintessential of the subgenre is William Asher’s Beach Blanket Bingo, starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. There’s not much to say about the thin plot, but who cares? There are teens. At a beach. Partying. —M.S.
