Jurassic Park (1993)
September 28, 2022 8:13 AM - Subscribe
Paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park's mastermind, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt.
Also starring Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, BD Wong, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Samuel L, Jackson, and Wayne Knight.
Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by David Koepp, based on the novel by Michael Crichton. Music by John Williams. Cinematography by Dean Cundey (Halloween).
92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Currently streaming in the US on HBO Max and Peacock. Also available for digital rental on multiple outlets. JustWatch listing.
Also starring Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, BD Wong, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Samuel L, Jackson, and Wayne Knight.
Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by David Koepp, based on the novel by Michael Crichton. Music by John Williams. Cinematography by Dean Cundey (Halloween).
92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Currently streaming in the US on HBO Max and Peacock. Also available for digital rental on multiple outlets. JustWatch listing.
can I just say I love this movie SO.MUCH. I have seen it many times, and will continue to watch it for the rest of my life. its just perfect in its cliques and cheesiness. so perfect.
posted by supermedusa at 9:28 AM on September 28, 2022
posted by supermedusa at 9:28 AM on September 28, 2022
This movie has its flaws, but I went to see dinosaurs eat people, and it delivered.
As a bonus, I also got to see dinosaurs eat other dinosaurs! The final shot of the T-Rex roaring triumphantly is brilliant.
posted by Gelatin at 10:39 AM on September 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
As a bonus, I also got to see dinosaurs eat other dinosaurs! The final shot of the T-Rex roaring triumphantly is brilliant.
posted by Gelatin at 10:39 AM on September 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
When it was released there was a kid in a market throwing a tantrum because his mother wouldn't get him something with Barney on it and I REALLY wanted to tell him "Barney went to Jurassic Park"
posted by brujita at 11:19 AM on September 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 11:19 AM on September 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
The coolest girl in my second-grade class lived and breathed Jurassic Park. She wouldn't talk about anything but velociraptors. My mom said this movie was too scary for me so I didn't get in good with the cool kid.
posted by potrzebie at 1:53 PM on September 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by potrzebie at 1:53 PM on September 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
This has aged so well. The pacing of this film is absolutely top notch.
posted by simonw at 2:37 PM on September 28, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by simonw at 2:37 PM on September 28, 2022 [4 favorites]
That opening scene was perfect. (Phil, you had ONE JOB!)
posted by mikelieman at 3:29 PM on September 28, 2022
posted by mikelieman at 3:29 PM on September 28, 2022
I was like 10 when this movie came out, which put me right in the pocket of the perfect audience for it. My mind was blown to such a degree that I'm still not over it. I've been told it is actually a very good movie, but I'm not qualified to judge because there remains a 30-year-old hole torn in my higher-order thinking by the part where a friggin T-Rex comes out of nowhere and throws a friggin velociraptor through a skeleton and then she roars and the "welcome to Jurassic Park" banner falls down it's the best movie ever
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 4:17 PM on September 28, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 4:17 PM on September 28, 2022 [9 favorites]
This still stands up well, especially if you ignore all the increasingly-bad sequels. The special effects hold up especially well, I suppose because they used practical effects for the close-ups, but still, it was nearly 20 years and you would think that cgi had improved a bit since then.
It was the last film I watched with my late father, and while he was impressed by the dinosaurs, I remember how disappointed he was that neither if th "obnoxious american brate" was eaten.
posted by Fuchsoid at 4:21 PM on September 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
It was the last film I watched with my late father, and while he was impressed by the dinosaurs, I remember how disappointed he was that neither if th "obnoxious american brate" was eaten.
posted by Fuchsoid at 4:21 PM on September 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
I was young, nerdy and flush from working at my first real job - so, that night - I went to see two movies on opening night: "The Last Action Hero" and "Jurassic Park" (Take a wild guess which one I enjoyed more)
But - it was so new, and this was pre-internet, so buzz hadn't gone out about what exactly this type of 'dino' movie was (I was prepped, as I knew there was a book aimed at adults, even though I hadn't read it yet).
This was the era of Barney.
There were soooooooooo many young children in the theater... Too many.
Everything was mostly ok, until we got to the calm before the storm, when they were baiting the T-Rex, I heard a tiny, little voice behind me ask:
"Mommy, what's the goat for?" .... "Shhhhh" was the reply.
The screaming and fear that ensued shortly thereafter meant that, while I enjoyed the movie - I have been kinda low-key concerned for decades over a semi-traumatized group of children.
posted by rozcakj at 6:20 AM on September 30, 2022
But - it was so new, and this was pre-internet, so buzz hadn't gone out about what exactly this type of 'dino' movie was (I was prepped, as I knew there was a book aimed at adults, even though I hadn't read it yet).
This was the era of Barney.
There were soooooooooo many young children in the theater... Too many.
Everything was mostly ok, until we got to the calm before the storm, when they were baiting the T-Rex, I heard a tiny, little voice behind me ask:
"Mommy, what's the goat for?" .... "Shhhhh" was the reply.
The screaming and fear that ensued shortly thereafter meant that, while I enjoyed the movie - I have been kinda low-key concerned for decades over a semi-traumatized group of children.
posted by rozcakj at 6:20 AM on September 30, 2022
The first 3D movie I saw was actually the briefly-released 3D rework of the film in 2013, and I'm still impressed by it- it looked SO GOOD and the effects really held up. It's such a shame that it basically existed for a week and just sits on a hard drive somewhere ever after.
Yes, yes, yes. We sat in really great seats in front of a gigantic screen for this and I absolutely was not prepared for how terrifying this movie would be in 3D. It's so well-paced, the scares are all earned (so far as I'm concerned), and it just looks incredibly good.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:24 PM on September 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yes, yes, yes. We sat in really great seats in front of a gigantic screen for this and I absolutely was not prepared for how terrifying this movie would be in 3D. It's so well-paced, the scares are all earned (so far as I'm concerned), and it just looks incredibly good.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:24 PM on September 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
The screaming and fear that ensued shortly thereafter meant that, while I enjoyed the movie - I have been kinda low-key concerned for decades over a semi-traumatized group of children.
I was SEVEN when my father took my sister and I to see Jaws. Ben's head floating out of the hole in the boat fucked me up for years.
posted by mikelieman at 2:19 PM on September 30, 2022
I was SEVEN when my father took my sister and I to see Jaws. Ben's head floating out of the hole in the boat fucked me up for years.
posted by mikelieman at 2:19 PM on September 30, 2022
I do like this movie, though I often wonder how much better it would have been without the kids.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:00 PM on October 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 3:00 PM on October 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I had devoured the novel years earlier and was so psyched to see the movie when it came out. It's just such a well put together movie, even the annoying kids don't ruin it. It was a huge step forward in special effects, but it's also just a great movie for what it is.
when the music swells and the angle reverses and we see the brachiosaurs for the first time, it absolutely works for me and I get that catch in my throat, every single time. Absolutely perfect.
Such a majestic scene.
posted by Superilla at 7:20 PM on October 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
when the music swells and the angle reverses and we see the brachiosaurs for the first time, it absolutely works for me and I get that catch in my throat, every single time. Absolutely perfect.
Such a majestic scene.
posted by Superilla at 7:20 PM on October 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
It took me a surprising number of rewatches of this to clock how retro the costume design is in this - they all look like they stepped out of a technicolor musical, or something. It’s obviously extremely intentional but I do wonder exactly what the thinking was - it works fantastically well but I can’t put my finger on why, at all.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:50 AM on October 3, 2022
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:50 AM on October 3, 2022
They didn't want you to forget that Dr. Grant is a man and Dr. Sattler is a woman, so they gave him a blue shirt and her a pink shirt. Just in case!
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:49 AM on October 3, 2022
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:49 AM on October 3, 2022
This is back in theaters for the 30th anniversary. I just saw it in 3D last night.
This is an extremely well made movie that is very thrilling and scary even after seeing it probably half a dozen times and knowing every beat and nearly every line (“life uh finds a way” “clever girl” “hold on to your butts”) I’m still a ball of tension and worry.
Really fun to see this in a theater again.
posted by jeoc at 8:33 AM on August 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is an extremely well made movie that is very thrilling and scary even after seeing it probably half a dozen times and knowing every beat and nearly every line (“life uh finds a way” “clever girl” “hold on to your butts”) I’m still a ball of tension and worry.
Really fun to see this in a theater again.
posted by jeoc at 8:33 AM on August 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
I just rewatched this, and wish that I'd seen it in the theater again for last year's anniversary as well. I think that I may have thought of it because Barbasol--the shaving cream brand that got some sneaky product placement since Dennis Nedry's embryo-smuggling container is disguised as a Barbasol can--had a promotion last year for "T-Rex-sized" cans which also had some graphics depicting Nedry's workstation, and I bought a couple of cans and am still using them up. I found myself sympathizing more with Nedry in this rewatch, and was sort of cheering him on as he struggled to get off the island with his stolen embryos, and nearly made it until he inexplicably stopped to chat with a nasty-looking dino, even though he had to have known that he'd just shut down the containment fence for a T. Rex, among other things.
Part of my sympathy toward Nedry is no doubt due to a reconsideration of Hammond, who was notoriously softened from his portrayal in the book, and further cuddilified by having Richard Attenborough (who would shortly star in the Miracle on 34th Street remake as you-know-who) cast for the part. Now, given the last few decades of billionaires behaving badly, his Santa-in-Cancun shtick comes off as an act, and a more jaundiced eye notes that he nearly ruins Grant and Sattler's dig, and steals their champagne, because he's planning to try to bribe them with a big check and apparently thinks that that makes all his actions OK. When the power goes out, he immediately takes all the ice cream out as if it will all melt immediately, when most people would know that it wouldn't (at least for long enough to get the power back on) if you keep the freezer door shut. There seems to be little adult supervision on the island, and the rewatch reminded me that the thing that precipitates most of the principal characters being there was one of the staff being eaten by a raptor and Hammond trying to make the lawyers happy. You don't need Ian Malcolm (who, as some critic said at the time, really does look like the average Eurovision competitor) murmuring about chaos theory to get that the whole place was one spectacular fuckup waiting to happen. Nedry probably was underpaid by the boss.
But, yeah, sense of wonder and all that. It's fun to imagine a remake being done in the form of a four-hour Jenny Nicholson YouTube takedown of the whole experience.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:04 AM on November 26, 2024
Part of my sympathy toward Nedry is no doubt due to a reconsideration of Hammond, who was notoriously softened from his portrayal in the book, and further cuddilified by having Richard Attenborough (who would shortly star in the Miracle on 34th Street remake as you-know-who) cast for the part. Now, given the last few decades of billionaires behaving badly, his Santa-in-Cancun shtick comes off as an act, and a more jaundiced eye notes that he nearly ruins Grant and Sattler's dig, and steals their champagne, because he's planning to try to bribe them with a big check and apparently thinks that that makes all his actions OK. When the power goes out, he immediately takes all the ice cream out as if it will all melt immediately, when most people would know that it wouldn't (at least for long enough to get the power back on) if you keep the freezer door shut. There seems to be little adult supervision on the island, and the rewatch reminded me that the thing that precipitates most of the principal characters being there was one of the staff being eaten by a raptor and Hammond trying to make the lawyers happy. You don't need Ian Malcolm (who, as some critic said at the time, really does look like the average Eurovision competitor) murmuring about chaos theory to get that the whole place was one spectacular fuckup waiting to happen. Nedry probably was underpaid by the boss.
But, yeah, sense of wonder and all that. It's fun to imagine a remake being done in the form of a four-hour Jenny Nicholson YouTube takedown of the whole experience.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:04 AM on November 26, 2024
his Santa-in-Cancun shtick comes off as an act
I feel his story about the flea circus is the key there: Hammond's a flim-flam artist who's simply made it to a larger circus.
Nedry probably was underpaid by the boss.
I like how economically that's played. Clearly *something* happened for which Nedry is supposed to be atoning and about which Hammond is condescending: "I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them." There's just enough hints at a backstory to make it credible that Nedry is feeling chafed by Hammond.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:42 PM on November 27, 2024
I feel his story about the flea circus is the key there: Hammond's a flim-flam artist who's simply made it to a larger circus.
Nedry probably was underpaid by the boss.
I like how economically that's played. Clearly *something* happened for which Nedry is supposed to be atoning and about which Hammond is condescending: "I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them." There's just enough hints at a backstory to make it credible that Nedry is feeling chafed by Hammond.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:42 PM on November 27, 2024
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
The first 3D movie I saw was actually the briefly-released 3D rework of the film in 2013, and I'm still impressed by it- it looked SO GOOD and the effects really held up. It's such a shame that it basically existed for a week and just sits on a hard drive somewhere ever after.
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:27 AM on September 28, 2022 [11 favorites]