A handful of films will always be remembered for their significance in cinematic history: The Jazz Singer for its status as the first talking picture, Steamboat Willie for introducing Disney’s animated charms, Gone with the Wind for first grossing $100 million, and even Avatar for its revitalisation of the 3D medium. While it endures for a plethora of other reasons, Jurassic Park deserves to rank among their number, with Steven Spielberg’s vision of an amusement park populated by cloned dinosaurs a landmark achievement in computer-generated imagery.
Before the director best known for Jaws and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial adapted Michael Crichton’s novel for the screen, using a script drafted by the author and revised by David Koepp (Death Becomes Her), CGI was utilised in films but limited in scope and imagination. Over the 20 years since the feature was first released, filmmakers have embraced the creativity that advances in technology can bring, with Jurassic Park credited as the first film to show what electronic graphics were truly capable of.
There’s no denying the sense of wonder the feature elicits as a result, with its ancient creatures – the lumbering Brachiosaurus, hulking Tyrannosaurus and predatory Velociraptor among them – responsible for the gaping jaws of many viewers. In the simple storyline of wealthy entrepreneur John Hammond (Richard Attenborough, Miracle on 34th Street), his cherished theme park, and those brought in to sample its charms prior to opening, the humans come second to the dinosaurs in their midst; however, in a rare effort, the shift in focus is not to the film’s detriment.
Spielberg constructs Jurassic Park using an amalgam of adventure, science fiction and horror conventions, placing palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill, The Piano) and paleobotanist Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern, Wild at Heart), mathematician Dr Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum, The Fly), and Hammond’s grandchildren Lex (Ariana Richards, Tremors) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello, Shadowlands) into a fantastical world and taunting them with the menacing creatures. Greed and god complexes prove pivotal in the threats that unfold, but the lethal might of the genetically-engineered beasts conquers all.
Although many of its components are elementary (the emotional manipulation of John Williams’ score included), thanks to its technical and visual display Jurassic Park remains a cinematic treat to behold. The evident realism of the inherently fanciful scenario, augmented by the lifelike dinosaurs, could have been comical in its contrast; instead, aided by its apparent mastery of suspense, the film entertains, immerses and involves. 3D rendering for the current re-release also proves more than a gimmick, increasing the intensity of the action in carefully-metered doses. With the added dimension, the sheer spectacle still endures as Jurassic Park’s greatest feat, and will do for decades to come.
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
Jurassic Park 3D
Directors: Steven Spielberg
USA, 1993/2013, 127 min
Release date: 4 April
Distributor: Universal
Rated M
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