Jurassic Park (1993)
On a remote
island off the coast of Costa Rica, a special park is about to open. A handful
of scientists are invited to inspect it first-hand, and are shocked and amazed
when they discover the attractions are real, living dinosaurs. The parks
creator has found a way to play God and bring the extinct creatures back to
life. Awe and wonder soon turns to horror, as the dino’s escape their cages and
wreak havoc on the island.
Jurassic
Park was based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, who had already
found some success with other books and directing one of his own novels, “The
Great Train Robbery”. The plot for his book about dinosaurs and humans coming
face to face sounded impossible to replicate on screen, especially given the
special effects needed to make it look authentic probably didn’t exist yet. But
when you’re Steven Spielberg, impossible is an invitation to do exactly that. He
brought the book to life in a way never seen on screen before.
Special
effects in movies were beginning to take leaps and bounds in the late 80’s and
early 90’s, and at the time “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” had taken the cake for
giving us some of the most believable special effects ever seen. Star Wars had
come and gone but its own SFX company Industrial Light & Magic had the
money and brains to achieve anything. Spielberg was at the top of his game, and
combining all those elements meant it was a whole new ball game. Jurassic Park
blew moviegoers away with its jaw dropping special effects, thrilling action
and showing us dinosaurs that looked alive. Nothing had been achieved so well
in movies before, and as it went on to become the highest grossing film of all
time in 1993, Jurassic Park showed filmmakers and audiences alike what was
possible for the future of movies.
The
original film still holds up well today with its effects almost thirty years
later. It took the summer blockbuster to all new heights, just as Spielberg had
done with “Jaws” twenty years earlier. The most influential filmmaker of all
time was everywhere in the 90’s, and scored a double hit in ‘93 with this
blockbuster and the highly acclaimed and awarded “Schindler’s List”. The whole
world saw Jurassic park. Kids who just liked dinosaurs before now loved them,
and the merchandising that came out of the film was everywhere; toys, board
games, posters, lunch boxes and back packs.
Jurassic
Park was followed by “The Lost World”, also based on the novel by Michael
Crichton. It was darker and moody, but still a sight for the eyes. “Jurassic
Park 3” came and went in 2001 without making much of a splash, so perhaps
audiences were now bored with seeing dinosaurs on screen? After resting in our
memories for a while, the world of dinosaurs and humans coming face to face was
reinvigorated again in 2015 with “Jurassic World”, which saw the once doomed
theme park finally open to the public. But of course, that all went pear shaped
as well.
In relation to its impact on special effects, movie making and what ideas could be realised on screen, Jurassic Park wrote the book on this all the way back in 1993. Its legacy is still felt today, as audiences have come to expect that special effects should now be practically flawless (which they can be with the right amount of money), and if they’re going to get up off the couch and travel to the movies, they want bang for their buck. I didn’t have to pay to see the original Jurassic Park in cinemas at the age of 10, but I definitely got everything I could have dreamed of and more. It was a film like no other, and even if all things are possible in movies today, it wasn’t always that way. We can thank Jurassic Park for that.
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