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| The spine-tingling title graphic and the sensational tagline effectively builds amazing anticipation on this poster for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park |
Wealthy businessman John Hammond invites his grandchildren, a mathematician and two eminent paleontologists to Isla Nublar, a private Costa Rican island where through cutting edge DNA technology, he has created the world's first dinosaur park...
Jurassic Park is written by David Koepp (Panic Room (2002)) and Michael Crichton (The Terminal Man (1972)), based on his same-titled 1990 novel, and directed by Ohioan master filmmaker Steven Spielberg (Firelight (1964)), whose 14th film it is.
As a kid of the 90s, I love this film like few others. It is the incarnation of Hollywood at its best, when the greatest, towering machinery there works, and magic results. Technically the film is out of this world extraordinary and a trailblazer for CG visual effects. But the story also continues to fascinate, a surprisingly good adventure story for all ages, with incredible high points of amazement, shocks and nerve-racking thrills.
Laura Dern (Mask (1985)) is lovely and cool, and Jeff Goldblum (Hotel Artemis (2018)) is fun as the chaos theorist. There's a great mix of characters; some cartoonish; the despicable, overweight fool Nedric (a terrific performance from Wayne Knight (Black Cloud (2004))) and Samuel L. Jackson's (Shaft (2000)) character; and a realistic anchor in Richard Attenborough's (Hamlet (1996)) Hammond, - along with Dern and Sam Neill's (Rams (2020)) dino expert heroes and a pair of terrific child stars: Joseph Mazzello (The Social Network (2010)) and Ariana Richards (Angus (1995)).
John Williams' (Jaws (1975)) music sets the wonderful pace and is an unmissable part of the thrilling ride status that few films achieve as perfectly as Spielberg's masterpiece. It is a wild classic.
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The Post (2017) - Spielberg returns to mastery with a thrilling salute to the virtues of real, critical, brave journalism
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
Lincoln (2012) - Spielberg's inspiring presidential portrait stands tall
War Horse (2011) - Spielberg visits WWI with problematic horse drama
The
Adventures of Tintin/The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the
Unicorn (2011) - Affinities for Tintin, earlier Spielberg and film will
decide your experience of this 3D mo-cap adventure
Super 8 (2011) - Abrams' nostalgic family crowdpleaser (producer)
The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Band of Brothers - TV mini-series (2001) - WWII-sacrifice and -comradeship portrayed with skill and integrity (producer)
Top 10: Best future-set movies
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - A robot fairy tale with both heart and mind
Amistad (1997) or, Must... Free... Slaves!
Hook (1991) - Arr, Spielbergian folly
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - The nostalgic last of the 'original' Indy movies
Empire of the Sun (1987) - Spielberg's grand production of boy-in-China-during-WWII is a misfire
The Goonies (1985) - Sweet child performances drive Donner's beloved, uneven adventure (story)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) - The ultimate thrill ride for a child (and many adults too!)
Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology
Top 10: Best family movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Spielberg's greatest accomplishment
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Spielberg reasserts himself with tremendous boyish adventure
1941 (1979) - Spielberg's bizarre 'comedy spectacular' sinks like a rock
Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Duel (1971) - Spielberg's truck terror is ideal afternoon fare
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 63 mil. $
Box office: 1,104.3 mil. $
= Blockbuster (returned 17.52 times the cost)
[Jurassic Park premiered 9 June (Washington DC) and runs 127 minutes. Spielberg and Universal Pictures bought the novel rights for 1.5 mil. $ and paid Crichton another 500k $ to write a first draft. A Universal CEO greenlit Spielberg's Holocaust epic Schindler's List on the condition that he make Jurassic Park first. Shooting took place from August - November 1992 in California, including Los Angeles, and in Hawaii. The film was completed under-budget and before schedule. Spielberg oversaw post production from Poland, where he was busy shooting Schindler's List. The film's marketing campaign cost 65 mil. $, based on partnerships with 100 companies that pushed 1,000 Jurassic Park-themed products. It opened #1 to a 47 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for another 2 weekends and spent another 8 in the top 5, grossing 357 mil. $ and 914 mil. $ worldwide in its original run. It was the highest-grossing film ever until Titanic (1997). The film has been re-released many times since, with the 2013 3D re-release being the most significant, adding 118 mil. $ to the film's total gross. Spielberg's ingenious profit participation deal means that he has made approximately 250 mil. $ from the film personally. It was nominated for and won 3 Oscars: Best Sound, Sound Effects and Visual Effects. It also won 2/3 BAFTA nominations and was nominated for a Grammy, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The film spun an explosive new interest in paleontology and a franchise with 2 direct sequels (The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001) by Spielberg) and a reboot film series (2015; 2018; 2022; 2025...). IMDb's users have rated the film in at #141 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between All About Eve (1950) and There Will Be Blood (2007). Spielberg returned with Schindler's List (1993). Neill returned in The Simpsons (1994, TV-series) and theatrically in Sirens (1994); Dern in Fallen Angels (1993, TV-series) and theatrically in A Perfect World (1993). Jurassic Park is certified fresh at 83 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Jurassic Park?
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