Jurassic Park

“Jurassic Park” was the second Steven Spielberg film that I saw after "E.T.". However, this film was the first time that I took notice of Spielberg’s name as the director. I remember being scared and entertained when I first saw this movie. My cousin was a big fan of the film and around this time, I began to acknowledge those people behind the scenes when I watch a movie. “Jurassic Park” has a great story that was adapted from Michael Crichton’s novel, memorable music as always from John Williams and the cast does a good job. The most important part of this film however is the special effects because even today, those CGI dinosaurs look pretty real. Another reason why this film works is because it is not a monster movie. These dinosaurs act like animals and Spielberg’s vision creates moments of both fear and wonder with these animals brought to life before our eyes.

Before “Jurassic Park”, nothing organic was effectively created on film through CGI. The Oscar winning effects that were seen on James Cameron's “The Abyss” and “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” included fictitious elements and at first, Spielberg was working on improving stop motion animation for “Jurassic Park”. Slightly unsatisfied with the results, he saw great potential in the CGI tests that were being done and the rest is history. The reason why the dinosaurs still look real today is that they were designed to intercut with the late Stan Winston’s robotic dinosaurs. The only way I can tell weather I am looking at a CGI or robot creature is by their movement, not by the texture of their skin. The three greatest scenes in the film are the opening Brachiosaurus scene, the T-rex attach and scene in the kitchen with the raptors. These moments show Spielberg’s genius for storytelling. It is little touches that make Spielberg’s films special such as the eye of the T-rex dilating or the Raptor slowly understanding that he just opened the kitchen door.

When you see this movie for the first time, you are amazed at a scene and then the next great moment in the film surpasses the previous one. The novel’s story was well adapted so that audiences of all ages would be entertained. I have read the novel and liked it but it was clearly meant for an older audience. Spielberg loved the book but wanted to create something the whole world would enjoy. I will therefore concentrate my analysis on the adaptation and not the original story from the book. The good news is that Michael Crichton co-wrote the screenplay. I like the story arc where Alan Grant overcomes his dislike of children. I also like how we as an audience feel lost watching many of the scenes at the start of the film before the helicopter arrives at Isla Nublar. One moment at the start of the film that has the opposite effect however is when Grant tells the child about what it would be like to meet a Velociraptor. Sam Neill’s performance is perfect in that we are prepared for the “real-life” dinosaurs that we will meet. We have all seen bones in a museum and this scene bridges our presumption of dinosaurs before this film with our understanding of them that is yet to come. The arrival on the island is powerful because of John Williams’ theme. The emotional effect of that scene is forgotten once you see the Brachiosaurus and again, John Williams’ music does a lot to make what we see even more emotionally powerful. The exposition is well written throughout the movie because even as a child, I understood most of what was happening. Once Grant, Ellie and Malcolm get over the awe of seeing dinosaurs, they realize the danger of what Hammond has done should he lose control. The film explores not only the power of nature but also how power is envied by all. One might argue that things could have worked out for the park had Nedry not screwed everything up but imagine what would have happened if Nedry or someone else succeeded in stealing embryos. To use Malcolm's analogy, dad's gun would have been taken from the kid by an even more irresponsible kid. Accidents happen at zoos all the time and Hammond had the audacity to think that he could create a perfect attraction. Nature must be respected as well as power. This film not only introduced me “formally” to Spielberg but also to the entire cast, particularly Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L. Jackson and Wayne Knight. The characters that all the actors play have purposes for the story and they fulfill them wonderfully. They are crafted in such a way that you can't tell who is going to make it home alive by the end of the film. Goldblum gives great humor as Malcolm and Attenborough convincingly portrays the reinvented character of John Hammond (Spielberg wanted a more appealing Hammond in the film than the character in the novel). Back in the early 80's, “Ghandi” and Attenborough as its director won Best Picture and Best Director over Spielberg and "E.T.". Attenborough admitted though that he felt that “E.T.” and Spielberg should have won instead. Spielberg appears to have rewarded him for his compliment by casting him in this film. Spielberg is a "Seinfeld" fan so it is no wonder that Wayne Knight was cast as Nedry. Knight plays a great slob but is still able to depict reputable jeopardy indirectly for our main characters.

The movie won all three Oscars that it was nominated for: Best Visual Effects, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing. “Jurassic Park” announced to the world that Spielberg’s time as a blockbuster director was far from over. “Schindler’s List” was released the same year as "Jurassic Park" and went on to win Best Picture. In the late 90’s, shortly after making the sequel “The Lost World”, Spielberg also directed “Saving Private Ryan” for which he won his second directorial Oscar. It would take too long to mention all the things he made as a producer in the 90’s. Many directors have one good decade but Spielberg went right on truckin’ from the 80’s into the 90’s partially because of “Jurassic Park”. The impact of this film was huge on other filmmakers. It showed George Lucas (who was helping on its post-production because Spielberg was busy filming "Schindler's List") that technology was now advanced enough to make the “Star Wars” prequels. Peter Jackson saw the film and he began to refocus his career on his childhood affection for the fantasy genre (thus “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” came forth). The American Film Institute rates "Jurassic Park" at #35 on its list of the most thrilling movies of all time. I never got to see this movie in theaters when it was first released and that is why I am grateful for the 3D release. The conversion was quite impressive, especailly when you consider all the vegetation, but I felt that "Titanic" in 3D was better. I also felt that the IMAX 3D version of "Jurassic Park" was a little much because of the multiple close ups. The original movie wasn't made to be on such a big screen. The film itself contains a good story with great characters and it is my favorite film from 1993. It is also one of my favorite sci-fi films. Technological boundaries were expanded and directorial prowess can be seen and felt. Samuel L. Jackson’s line in the film should be recalled whenever you are about to see a Steven Spielberg creation: “Hold on to yer buts.”

4.5 Stars