Customer Reviews

Jurassic Park

5 star:		(293)
4 star:		(101)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

When a rich entrapreneur finances a bold experiment, and succeeds in the cloning of Dinosaurs, he needs the authorization of a few experts and critics to ok his new attraction after a fatal accident occurs. However, during the tour, a Tropical Storm hits the secluded island of Isla Nublar, and all hell breaks loose....and that pretty much sums up one of the greatest movies ever to grace the silver screen. It was only a matter of time before the release of the Special Edition DVD.

Usually when you see the words 'Special Edition' you can look forward to Deleted Scenes, Outtakes and behind the scenes documentaries. Well, unfortunately, there really isn't much anything 'special' about this. Don't get me wrong, the quality of the movie is outstanding. I have never seen the movie in such great sound and picture quality before. There are a few 'making of' documentaries and other related things. There are also a few trailers. However, there is some footage that is still missing from the movie, footage that was NOT cut in the theatrical release, but was cut in the transition to home video. Now on DVD you would expect some of these scenes back. That is not the case. There really isnt much making the DVD 'special' other than its incredibly high quality and behind the scenes documentaries. There are also some fun facts about the Dinosaurs on the island, but it still feels like there could have been more. All in all, a very good DVD, a must own for fans of the movie.

The movie is great. What more can be said?

Well, I'll tell you. I bought this DVD to replace my aging VHS tape. The tape actually sounds BETTER! When Universal had the initial master made, the level of the bass track wasn't right. When T-Rex walks, you're supposed to FEEL it. The VHS tape (in THX) and the Digital Dolby DVD both have the bass level set properly.

What did they do? They made a new master (after six months). They did NOT recall the bad DVDs from distributors. The new DVDs are available (they sound great), but VERY hard to locate. They also didn't change the UPC on the case, so there's no way to tell which DVD you're buying, until you open it up. Finally, they didn't tell anyone that a mistake had been made, so that it could be corrected. In short, they didn't so ANYTHING that might cost them one cent.

How do you tell the difference (other than sound)? The bad DVD has a code of 'D2R1' on the inner rim of the disk. The good DVD has a code of 'D2R2' in the same place.

It's indeed rare when a movie comes along that is so special, and has such a tremendous impact on audiences of all ages, that when it happens, it's an occasion for celebration; which is exactly what Steven Spielberg gave the world with "Jurassic Park," a film that made the impossible possible: It enabled dinosaurs to walk among us. He put these monsters from a bygone era on the screen for all to see, and the unique thing about it was that they were real; so real you could reach out and touch them it seemed. And in doing so he touched the imaginations of every child who sat there in the dark of a theater and watched his creations come to life, and he touched the child that still resides within every adult who came to see his show as well. Jaded moviegoers and those who affect cynicism as a mission statement of life may scoff, especially now, after some time has passed and the magic has worn off somewhat, but it doesn't alter the fact that with this movie, Spielberg surpassed any and all standards of the cinematic world and set the precedent for all that would follow. To borrow a line from one of his own characters, he "Spared no expense," and simply made one of the most exciting and memorable films in the history of the Silver Screen. Spielberg pulled out all the stops to make this remarkable film, and it goes without saying that the special F/X are incredible; what's easy to overlook amid all the spectacle of it, however, are the performances turned in by one and all, and most notably by Jeff Goldblum, who brings such nuance and style to the role of Dr. Ian Malcolm. It's a supporting role into which he immersed himself to create one of the more memorable characters in the film, and his performance-- with the countenance and attitude he lends to Malcolm, even the commanding, mesmerizing way he speaks-- has never received the attention it so richly deserved. Nor has the performance of Richard Attenborough, as John Hammond, the entrepreneur who makes Jurassic Park a reality. He's such a gifted performer that he makes you forget he's acting; Hammond becomes real, which makes what he's doing real, and it's just another example of the many things that add up to make this such an incredible movie. Spielberg and his cast and crew have given such care to detail that it, in effect, releases the viewer from the baggage of even having to suspend disbelief because they're given a world that is "real" from the ground up. The result of using all of the magic available, and using it wisely. Also turning in outstanding-- and entirely believable performances-- are Sam Neill, as Dr. Alan Grant, and Laura Dern, as Dr. Ellie Sattler, each creating figures central to the plot and around whom much of the action revolves. And there are a number of performances in supporting roles that are just too good to go unmentioned as well, including Bob Peck, as Muldoon, the park's head gamekeeper; Martin Ferrero, as the "blood-sucking" lawyer, Donald Gennaro; Wayne Knight, as computer hacker Dennis Nedry; Samuel L. Jackson, as computer programmer Ray Arnold; and last, but not least, Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards as Hammond's grandchildren, Tim and Lex, through whose eyes the child in all of us vicariously experiences the wonders of Jurassic Park. The wonderful thing about a movie like "Jurassic Park" is that, not only will it forever remain as a testimonial to a filmmaker of genius and vision, but that it will be there for all the generations that follow to discover anew. The world may change drastically around us, even from one day to the next, but as long as even a single spark of imagination survives, one thing will always remain constant: The fascination by children of all ages for these legendary beasts that once ruled the earth. And that is why, when all is said and done and the skeptics have become no more than shadows and dust, this film-- as well as Steven Spielberg-- will remain a cause for celebration. This is the legacy, and the true magic of the movies.

JURASSIC PARK is one of the best, if not the best, movies made about dinosaurs ever. It's also one of only a handful of movies ever made based on a novel that was already in preproduction before the novel ever was released. It's also one of the first movies to use CGI in significant scenes throughout the film. It's also the movie that gave Sam Neill a break and reinvigorated the career of Jeff Goldblum. The movie (promoted by the release of the novel about a year earlier) got the general public (and not just kids) excited about dinosaurs again and did to paleontology as a major what RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK did to archaeology.

The premise, seeped in pop science, is that a multi-billionaire, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) brings dinosaurs back to life by cloning the dino-DNA taken from mosquitoes trapped in amber. He builds a zoological theme-park he calls Jurassic Park. However, in order to call off a bunch of lawyers after an accident with one of the park's workers, Hammond has to get a group of scientific experts to endorse that the park is safe and viable. Thus, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) arrive to tour the facilities. Hammond's grandchildren, Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim Murphy (Joseph Mazzello), are also along for the ride as test subjects. Due to a hurricane and the shenanigans of a greedy employee, the park experiences a major breakdown and the dinosaurs get loose.

JURASSIC PARK set records upon its initial release in 1993 and it isn't difficult to see why. The CGI effects that have become common in just about every movie since then were in their infancy then, yet the creatures appear completely lifelike. Of course, Spielberg not only used CGI but he had some live action dinos and models involved as well. It was a massive undertaking, but one that had a huge payoff.

There's not much to complain about with JURASSIC PARK. Sam Neill is great as Dr. Grant (the role was originally offered to Harrison Ford and I'm actually glad he turned it down) and Jeff Goldblum is almost always a delight to watch on screen. After 15 years of directing his own movies, Richard Attenborough came back for the perfect part as John Hammond. The action sequences in the film are still as exciting to watch as they were when the film first was in theatres. The movie is classic Spielberg and those are some of the best movies ever made.

This DVD includes a very informative documentary about the making of JURASSIC PARK, some clips from an early production meeting (it's probably the closest an average person can come to meeting the real Spielberg), some storyboards and other illustrations, Phil Tippett's Animatic of the "Raptors in the Kitchen" sequence showing the raptors as they were originally conceived with having lizard-like tongues, trailers for all three JURASSIC PARK movies, a dinosaur encyclopedia featuring the dinosaurs seen in the movie, some production notes, and a list and partial filmography of the cast & crew.

I got the DVD hoping the movie would still be fresh after all the years of not seeing it. Its theater release was amazingly successful. You know why? It is a Spielberg production to a Michael Crichton novel that is treated with respect. This is not trash that is all too prevalent in cinema today. This is a movie for all to enjoy, except for those who try to find something wrong purposely.
The cast is great. Sir Richard Attenborough has been in acting for quite a while and is perfect as Hammond, the tragic millionaire who's honest intentions prove disastorous (even if it's not totally his fault). Sam Neill and Laura Dern are totally believable as scientists who find themselves coming to grips with the revelations about their work and why their way of life could be jeopardized. Jeff Goldblum is immersive as the 'mathmetician' who argues the moralities and possible repercussions of the park. Wayne Knight and Samuel L. Jackson support an already stellar cast.
Aside from the great performances, the story is really what makes the movie work. Michael Crichton sparked a timeless screenplay. You just have to assume that the innovative and ground-breaking visual effects at that time can hold an audience only for so long. The audience has to care about who's on screen as well as what is. It's a classic and merits its longevity. Oh...the DVD's transfer is great and sound is theater-quality perfect. The DVD extras are above normal fare. However, the whole package is a steal for basically an average priced DVD. I rank this as a must-have for collectors everywhere.

Michael Crichton's novel gets the Spielberg treatment, doing for dinosaurs what Jaws did for sharks. Sam Neil, in his good guy persona (a la Dead Calm, not Event Horizon!), and Bruce's daughter Laura Dern (Nic Cage's wife in David Lynch's Wild at Heart) play the husband and wife paleontologist team invited to view a monumental advancement in amusement park technology by billionaire oddball Richard Attenborough (Ghandi director who failed in his Great Escape years earlier). Jeff Goldblum (The Fly and that Pilsten Hols /Apple advertiser) makes another canny mega-movie appearance (remember Independence Day?) as a chaos mathematician also along for the tour. Samuel L. Jackson is seriously wasted as a lowly computer technician - his `action' career took off over the next three years with the triple whammy of Pulp Fiction, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Throw in Dickie's grandkids, Bob Peck (Slipstream) as a big game hunter, and a nerdy insurance/accountant type and you've got plenty of fodder for the real stars of the movie - the animatronic and Silicon Graphics generated dinosaurs! Most full body shots are computer generated, most body part shots are animatronic - who cares when the effects are so gobsmacking and seamlessly integrated.

There are plenty of holes to pick in the plot if you want to get scientific, but that's not what this film is about. It's a terrific rollercoaster ride of a film that all the family (except the smallest maybe) can hold hands together to watch. One point that many argue is the velociraptors were only six-foot long and half the height of humans - Spielberg obviously wanted more dramatic impetus. Strangely enough, during filming scientists uncovered evidence of a 10-foot-tall variety, now named Utahraptors - so how's that for a bit of Spielberg magic?

The soon to be released DVD edition is a Universal Collector's Series (like Dragonheart, End of Days, Fast Times at Ridgemount High, Conan the Barbarian, and many a Hitchcock classic) and Universal rarely puts a foot wrong with these specials. Expect a first class transfer -especially since it's taken Spielberg long enough to approve the release, and maybe throw in some trailers in the Universal showcase or recommendations sections, and this should be one memorable monster movie release!

I believe that Steven Spielberg's original "Jurassic Park" is the ultimate dinosaur flick. It is a truly "fun" movie experience from start to finish. And evidently a bunch of other folks agree with me, because "Jurassic Park" earned approximately 357-Million dollars at the box office after premiering in movie theaters on June 11, 1993, placing the film in the Top 10 of all-time money-makers in motion-picture history (as of this writing, the film ranked #10).

Spielberg was making "Jurassic" at precisely the same time he was also directing the emotionally-draining "Schindler's List", which is a film that would go on to win the 1993 "Best Picture" Academy Award. Talk about a large workload! But Mr. Spielberg seemed to thrive on this juggling act of making two pictures at virtually the same time. And both movies came out in fine shape too, a fact which is backed up by the accolades (and huge box-office numbers) each movie garnered. ("Schindler's" earned just under $100-Million at the U.S. box office; and approximately $321-Million in worldwide release.)

The personal storylines that were written for "Jurassic Park" are a smidge on the weak side, true. But that doesn't really matter all that much in the final analysis -- because the movie is so much fun otherwise! And the choice of actor Jeff Goldblum to play the part of "Dr. Ian Malcolm" was the best casting decision made for the whole picture, in my view. He adds a lot of humor to the film.

I've liked Mr. Goldblum in everything I've ever seen him in; and the "Jurassic Park" films are no exception (he reprised his role as "Ian" in the second "Jurassic" picture as well). His dry humor and easy-going style come across nicely in this film. Such as his humorous line: "Yeah, I'm always on the lookout for a future ex-Mrs. Malcolm." And, of course, THE funniest moment in the movie, when Ian/Jeff utters the hilarious line of dialogue that I've used as the title of this review (after narrowly escaping a rather large predator in a high-speed chase). LOL! :-)

Plus, yet another witty Goldblum-ism (reacting to a disappointing dinosaur-less tour of the park): "Now, John, you will eventually be having DINOSAURS on your dinosaur tour, right? Right?" :)

Mr. Spielberg blends a great deal of comedy in with what should be a major calamity --> dinosaurs coming back to life and running free, spreading death and destruction! Sounds pretty serious, right? Well, it is -- but Spielberg manages to lighten up this scenario skillfully, with several humorous scenes. Besides the aforementioned funny Jeff Goldblum moments, there's also "The Guy On The Toilet Meets Dino" scene; as well as the nerdish computer programmer (played nicely by Wayne Knight), who gets way more than he's bargained for in the end.

The great John Williams composed the music score for "Jurassic Park" -- and it fits the movie like a glove. I don't know how Mr. Williams keeps doing it, coming up with first-rate musical scores for film after film -- but he does. Amazing.

This Universal Studios single-disc "Collector's Edition" DVD of "Jurassic Park" offers up great picture and sound -- via a full and booming Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack and a handsome Widescreen (1.85:1) Anamorphic video transfer. Those pre-historic beasts really "come alive" while watching this DVD.

A generous helping of Special Features is dished out by Universal, too -- with the top prize in the package being the very informative behind-the-movie documentary featurette, "The Making Of Jurassic Park" (hosted by James Earl Jones). Mr. Spielberg has lots of on-camera time during this eye-opening featurette, explaining much of the creative work that went into getting this film to the movie screen.

This Making-Of program throws the viewer right into the center of Steven Spielberg's movie-making process. Included are many details about the computer-generated effects, which were quite new and untested in the motion-picture industry at the time of the film's production in late 1992 and 1993, making "Jurassic Park" a true pioneering film in many "CGI" ways.

Other bonus items on the disc include: An "animatics" feature, storyboards, production photographs, design sketches and paintings, theatrical trailers, DVD-ROM stuff, a "Dinosaur Encyclopedia", and some cast-&-crew text notes.


Additional Data Concerning This DVD .....................

> French language soundtrack included (in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround).

> Subtitles in Spanish.

> Running Time for Main Feature = 2 hrs., 7 min.

> MPAA Rating -- PG-13.

> Any Paper Insert(s)? -- Yes, a 4-page mini-booklet, with some behind-the-scenes pics and a Chapter List (20 total scene selections).

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Parting Jurassic Thoughts ...................

There's a certain "magic" that emanates from "Jurassic Park #1" -- with its three main ingredients for success (and fun) being: Director Steven Spielberg, John Williams' terrific score, and those first-of-their-kind computer-generated images that we see on screen, which make the dinosaurs seem, almost literally -- alive!

The "Jurassic" sequels that were released in 1997 and 2001 were, IMO, okay films in their own right. But you can't top the original.

What do you get when you mix the collaborative efforts of Steven Spielberg, John Williams, and Stan Winston? Simply put, the greatest film ever made! The directing is superb, the music is unforgettable, and the visual effects are never to be matched. "Jurassic Park" brings it all to the table in an adventure film for the ages.
I will never forget going to see this movie in the theaters when I was nine years old. For a nine year old to sit down and watch this is mind-blowing to say the least. It was in that moment that I realized I was a "movie person". I was already a huge fan of Spielberg's "E.T.", but now I had another movie to love. This is THE MOVIE!

But not because it is a great script. It's not really. An amusement park ride from hell-is all that's on paper. What will make this a Classic is the ground-breaking Computer graphic animation. When I first saw this film in the theater, I was completely blown away. Some think that this particular art as been approved upon--I don't hold that same opinion. I see too many movies where you can tell what is real and what is fake. This movie--everything looks REAL and for this film-there lies the horror. Highly recommended.

When I originally saw this movie, it was at a movie theater with an excellent sound system. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed when it came out on VHS a few years back.
I have since bought this version of the DVD, and boy - what a difference!
The DTS sound track will pick you up - toss you in the air then slam you down on the ground - and then youll ask for more.
Clearly the way the move was mean to be seen / heard and FELT.
If you have at least a decent home theater system, with good low frequency capabilities, then this movie is a must buy. Why hear the T-Rex when you can feel it?
As far as the picture quality - its as good as it gets for DVD. No artifactts, discolorations or distortions at any point during the film.