Jurassic Park (1993)

Universal is a proud studio. Universal is an iconic studio. It has an illustrious history that spans the century. With thousands of titles, however, if there was a single film that the studio could, and I would argue, should symbolize Universal, it would be Jurassic Park.

To condense my thoughts about this movie is a dauntless task, but I accept my assignment with respect and humility. This is a film that proves that a studio can perform the act of creation through sheer force of will. Because film will find a way. In this film, we had a collaboration between four men: Stephen Spielberg, Michael Crichton, Stan Winston and Phil Tippett.

When the film first came out, it was Tippett who stole the headlines. Tippett was the genius who was hired to make the full size dinosaurs by using a method called “Go Motion.” Go Motion was a form of stop motion that addressed an issue with stop motion…when standard stop motion (like King Kong) is made, it works best with slow moving creatures. Once the object moves quickly, it seems off because it would have the blur that quick action often creates in film. Go Motion addressed that issue. Tippett was prepping the film and learned of CGI animation, which was not commonly used at the time. When confronted with how it looked on film, he knew Go Motion was extinct. He took over the CGI animation and the rest is history. When I first saw the film in the theater, I remember the collective gasp at that first scene of the dinosaur eating leaves off the top of a tree…and the tears that welled up in my eyes.

I ain’t afraid of no ghost, but that dragon there has me terrified.

Winston was the unsung hero of the effects. When the dinosaurs had to interact with the actors more closely, CGI effects were not going to do the trick. Winston was an expert in puppet creature effects and he made a full size Tyrannosaurus Rex and the close up Raptors that terrified a generation of movie goers. Most amazingly, Tippett and Winston’s designs matched up and seamless.

Crichton wrote the novel the film was based upon, along with past film successes like The Great Train Robbery, Westworld, and Runaway and created the television series ER. His specialty was creating science fiction that had the verisimilitude to seem like it could happen. Much has been made of the similarity of this film and the concept of Westworld with an amusement park that goes wrong. For those, I remind them that the park never even opens in Jurassic Park.

Spielberg faced similar criticism that this film was just Jaws on land. I like to point out Spielberg already did that film: Duel, a TV movie he made early in his career about a man in a car being stalked by a fierce and beastly semi truck. This film is more complicated in many ways than his earlier efforts. The intensity level is high throughout and in this film, they don’t show the creatures to build suspense, not because the effect wasn’t working. What Spielberg learned from those earlier films is that you need to connect with the characters so when they are in jeopardy, you are right there with them.

To make this happen, Spielberg went after naturalistic actors that could instill the gravitas needed to make for a good victim. Look at the cast they assembled. In a role intended for Harrison Ford, Sam Neill was just right for the brave, but somewhat more vulnerable type of hero. Laura Dern does a great job as the affable female lead. Blockbuster magnets Jeff Goldblum and Samuel L. Jackson add great comedic touches and spout expository material quickly and entertainingly. Richard Attenborough’s personal charisma makes him the perfect mix of Walt Disney style entertainer/theme park creator and mad scientist. A cast for the ages.

The film also has some of my favorite lines ever uttered by characters as I alluded to earlier. My favorite, used so often it is hard to even explain, was this:

Donald Gennaro: [Tim pops up wearing a pair of night vision goggles] Hey, where’d you find that?

Tim: In a box under my seat.

Donald Gennaro: Are they heavy?

Tim: Yeah.

Donald Gennaro: Then they’re expensive, put ’em back.
Jurrasic Park, 1993

Honestly, it comes up so often. Lines like “life finds a way,” “so worried if you could do it, you never thought about if you should,” and more remarkably can be used in everyday conversations.

At its heart, though, Jurassic Park is an adventure film. The premise is set in the first 15 minutes and we build the characters for the first half of the film. Then, the dinosaurs start to stalk the very characters we just grew to love. The film grabs you and never lets up.

When I first visited Islands of Adventure in Orlando, it was recreations of the physical buildings and the egg hatching scene that impressed me even more than the showy T Rex finale in the ride. Every detail of the film was so well thought out, you instantly recognized it when recreated in the real world. They originally had a Triceratops Encounter with a single animatronic Triceratops that I was stunned with. Part of what makes it work so well, is that the entire surrounding world was faithfully reconstructed and brought you back immediately.

This is a trip worth repeating.