Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993): USA

Reviewed by William Conlin. Viewed on DVD.

When I was six years old I remember going to the movies and seeing a film that not only made me interested in dinosaurs (a phase which lasted about a year), it made me interested in films and how they’re made (a phase that has never ended). In fact, when Steven Speilberg’s epic adventure Jurassic Park came out on video, I watched it over and over again, trying to dissect every little detail of how it was made. What I found was a truly spectacular film with very few flaws and about as much entertainment as you can find in any film.

Adapted from Michael Crichton’s bestselling novel Jurassic Park is the story of a theme park/zoo full of genetically reborn dinosaurs. Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are specialists brought into the park to appraise its economic feasibility when an act of corporate espionage sends the park into chaos. Now, Dr. Grant must protect two young children while navigating his way through the dinosaur-infested jungle while Dr. Satler and Dr. Malcolm must restore power to the park. Featuring amazing supporting performances by Richard Attenborough, Samuel L. Jackson and Wayne Knight, this film truly has a stellar cast.

It’s hard to find a science fiction film that can stand up over fifteen years after production, but in this case, it more than stands up. A large number of contemporary science fiction films fail to deliver the realism that Stan Winston and Phil Tippet’s special effects achieved. The dinosaurs literally roar to life on screen and are as terrifying as ever. Spielberg’s mastery of the directing process is self evident within the first 5 minutes and John Williams rousing score is now considered a Hollywood classic.

This is one of those great films where every scene leaves you in awe and every action sequence leaves your heart pounding. I still find myself yelling: “Run!” even when I know what’s about to happen next. Although it’s sequels never delivered quite as much as the original Jurassic Park still stands tall among the modern cinema giants.


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