Jurrasic Park (1993) - 10/10

It's our 50th review and it's time to take on our next masterpiece movie: Jurassic Park. This is one of the most iconic and beautifully crafted movies ever made. Moreover, the team behind making it is one of the most prolific groups of creatives ever put together. I am in the middle of writing the Deep Dive that will go into far more detail about how this movie came to be, so for now we are just going to stick to a quickish review. 

1. Acting 

This is not only a solid group of actors, but it is also a group that really seems to understand the tone of the film. I don't think any one particular performance sticks out from the crowd as better, rather the effort of the ensemble is its strength. 

Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough serve as the primary set of stars. Each brings a strong sense of individualism to each character and they all contribute in unique ways. Neill brings a strong sense of grumpy yet caring emotionalism to Alan. He is passionate about his work, but also the people around him - albeit begrudgingly. Dern crafts Ellie as someone of who both highly competent in her field, but also highly capable and caring about others. Attenborough does a great job of making Hammond a pseudo villain. He is charismatic and brings sense of gravitas to Hammond at first. As the plot progresses he subtly shifts into a sort of petulance that alters Hammond away from his initial character. And then in the final act brings him back towards sympathetic. Last but not least, Goldblum just has Malcolm chew up every scene. Every line delivery from him is fantastic, which was essential since he is given the least amount of plot to actually be involved in due to his injuries. 

Perhaps another get strength of the film is its supporting cast. The child actors do a great job making Lex and Tim sweet kids who ping pong between endearing and terrified.  Wayne Knight does great making Dennis a completely unlikable side villain. Bob Peck made for a wonderful game warden and creates a memorable character with very little screen time. And can anyone make repeated use of the phrase 'hold onto your butts' or chain smoking cigarettes down to the filter as iconic as Samuel L. Jackson can? 

2. Cinematography 

When people think about Jurassic Park, they often think of Steven Spielberg. And of course they should. But far fewer people will think about famed cinematographer Dean Cundey. Amongst his varied filmography includes iconic movies that featured early VFX such as the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Apollo 13, and many more. 

Point being, together Spielberg and Cundey were able to craft Jurassic Park into something truly special. Even more so, their collaboration looks so effortless here. I found myself early on wondering what exactly was happening that made every single shot look so visually compelling and casual at the same time, but I don't think it is just one thing.

First off, I think the locales and production teams are helping out a lot. Spielberg likes to fill his frames with a fullness and level of detail that can get often overlooked. The tropical locale adds a lot to the aesthetic of the shots and the Park really does feel like the characters suddenly got dropped 65 million years in the past. It also captures a sense of beauty that juxtaposes against the horror and transmits a sense of romanticism despite what's playing out on screen. As for the production value, every scene seems to be filled with thoughtful props and set designs that turn simple scenes of characters walking through a room into something transportive. 

Second, Spieldberg rarely seems to want to keep the camera still. He uses longish takes and keeps the camera either moving with characters, or stationary while they move closer to the frame. Its more subtle than other flashy directors, but imposes a sense of energy that is visually engaging. His willingness to stay within a shot for a prolonged period also build tension within the scene. And it's not as if these are super long shots - they just tend to linger for a couple seconds more than other directors would - as if he is going to wait and suck every bit of drama possible before cutting to the next thing. It seems to be a pure type of instinct that you can't just teach or emulate. 

There is plenty more to talk about in terms of how the film is shot, but we will keep things moving in a second. I'll just quickly remark that Jurassic Park has some of the most iconic shots that I've ever seen to include shots like the overhead shot of the raptor skeleton from the dig site, the entire sequence of the initial Brachiosaurus reveal, the 'Welcome to Jurassic Park' shot, the T-Rex emerging from its confinement and roaring, the 'objects in mirror are closer than they appear' sequence, and of course the final roar of the T-Rex inside the welcome center from the finale. All of these are burned into my head and will always stick with me. 

3. Production/Costume Design 

I just mentioned how wonderfully scouted the real world locales are in creating the sense of the world the characters are in; as well as the richness the prop teams brings to the table in terms of filling each frame in compelling way. It's not just a few shots either. Every bit of this movie feels fully formed and lovingly crafted. The park feels completely real in a way that subsequent movies were never able to fully tap back into. 

On top of the set designs and location shoots, the production team also did an incredible job bringing the dinosaurs to life. It's crazy to me that Spielberg even felt emboldened enough to try to pull this movie off in 1993. Yet, thanks to the unbelievable animatronics work by Stan Winston Studios, all of the dinosaurs feel real. In particular, Sam Winston built two full-sized T-Rex robots that were not just gigantic in scope, but able to move in convincing enough ways to sell the whole thing (in partnership with ILM's CGI work). But, I'll probably get more into the specifics on the Deep Dive.

Lastly, a quick shout out to the costume department which managed to make each character look unique and in fitting ways for their character. Goldblum's all black leather ensemble, Alan's memorable hat, and Hammond's all white aesthetic and amber cane are just a few examples of the fullness with which the movie is made.  

 

4. Writing 

In addition to the film's visual prowess, it also features an incredibly tight screenplay. I've talked before about how important setups and payoffs are to a good script. We can see lots of examples of this within the first few opening scenes. In particular, while at the dig site we learn a couple of things. First, Alan makes a remark about how he doesn't like computers and technology. This gets payed off later when the collapse of the park almost entirely due to the failure of computers and technology. Second, when Alan is describing raptors to the kid at the dig site, he makes a remark about how T-Rex's only see movement. Later, this comes into play when the cast is fleeing the T-Rex after escaping its enclosure. Third, in that same speech, Alan describes how smart raptors are and how they hunt. Again, we see this get payed off later when the raptors kill the game warden in that exact way. Fourth, Alan and Ellie discuss his dislike of children which sets up his arc later when he becomes the protector and caregiver for Lex and Tim. These setups and payoff are happening constantly throughout the script - Malcolm's proclamation of 'life finds a way', the lights signifying the electric fence being live, Hammond eating the ice cream because it was melting (the raptor later slips on water while in the freezer). All of these show a level of thoughtfulness that was curated during development and also primes the audience for what is about to happen without the need for overt exposition.  

The script, while not the deepest in terms of dialogue, does manage to craft some very memorable lines. I already mentioned a few such as Malcolm's "life finds a way". But we also get plenty of others like Alan's "They do move in herds", or Hammond's - "Welcome, to Jurassic Park". These are made all the better by the cast's fantastic deliveries. They manage to stick the landing over and over without veering too far into campiness. Also, anything that Malcolm says throughout the film is perfect - no notes.  

5. Sound Design 

Let's start with the obvious; how god damn good is John Williams? The score for this film is one of the greatest ever conceived and is instantly recognizable. It brings such a perfect sense of wonder and adventure while still bringing thrills and horror elements into the fold. It doesn't get much better than this. 

But outside of the infamous score, there is still plenty of great sound design choices going on. Part of bringing dinosaurs to life for the first time, for example, requires creating a realistic sound for them that feels both new and familiar to audiences. The foley team landed on a mix of different animals that included tigers, elephants and alligators. 

There is also some smart choices when integrating the sound effects. A simple example is when the jeeps break down next to the T-Rex enclosure. There is a goat tied up that was put there earlier to entice the T-Rex to come out during the tour. Throughout the entire first section of the scene, you can hear the goat bleating in the background. Then, after the power at the park goes out, the goat bleating stops. The camera hasn't cut back to it, so the only indication is the sudden absence of the bleating. The audience probably won't clock what has happened until the camera pans to the goat, but they are noticing something is off. That sort of priming is a smart tool to wield that many sound teams would not even think of. 

6. Editing 

The editing here is smart and largely subtle enough that you won't pick up on what they are doing. I already mentioned the willingness to linger in longer shots is very effective. There is also a significant portion of the film where there are multiple different factions of characters taking part in different story lines. For instance, Alan and the kids are on the run after the T-Rex attack, while Hammond and his team are working from the control room, and Ellie and game warden are out rescuing Malcolm. We cut between all these different story lines with ease while also still integrating them. An easy example is the use of parallel editing between Alan and the kids climbing the electric fence while Ellie, Malcolm, Hammond and Muldoon are trying to restore electrical power to the park. The editor is smartly cutting between these two scenes knowing that even though the characters are unaware of their conflicting goals - the audience does. It's a great way to build tension as we watch Ellie flick on the power grid and get closer and closer to the switch that will restore power to the electric fence her companions are climbing on.  

7. Visual Effects 

The CGI in Jurassic Park was highly advanced for its time and we will get more into during the Deep Dive. For now, I will just point out that the reason this film's CGI still works nearly 32 years later is because the filmmakers understood its limitations. Too often I see newer movies with collosal effects budgets and brand new technology turn in a subpar final product because they don't know how to integrate the real with the fake. For JP, the ILM team recognized that the best way to sell the fake was to integrate it with the real. In some cases that meant using animatronics instead of going straight to digital. In other cases, it meant using the lighting of the scene to your advantage, such as the T-Rex looking best during the nighttime scenes. 

With that said, we can't pretend that the photo-realism in the newer Jurassic Park isn't incredibly impressive. But, there is something undeniable about the original film and how good it still looks today. 

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation 

The movie is obviously based on Michael Chichton's novel of the same name. I don't claim to know much about the book, but I do know that they changed a lot in order to make it work in film form. If you are somebody that was hoping for a direct reenactment of the novel, this probably isn't it. If you don't care, then the 'inspired by' film version is more than sufficient. 

9. Stunt Coordination 

Bit of a mixed bag but mostly good. The action sells well, but is definitely supported by the filming and editing.  

10. Direction 

It's crazy to think that Jurassic Park is basically just another day at the office for Steven Spielberg. He has one of the greatest filmographies of all time and Jurassic Park is mostly just another feather in his remarkable cap. I fear what this movie would have been without him.  

Legacy/Final Thoughts

Jurassic Park's legacy is undeniable. It spawned a mega franchise for Universal Pictures and inspired countless creatives from every facet of film to do what they do. It pioneered new technology, it created iconic imagery, it spawned an incredible score, and, above all, it's just really fun to watch.