It doesn't matter that the story line is slight or the characters underdeveloped. The dinos are what we come to see, and the dinos are what we get.
Even the two kids, Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards playing Attenborough's grandchildren, are engaging in spite of their sometimes irritating screaming and screeching. About the only time we get really annoyed is when the little girl shines a large flashlight at the T. rex for no apparent reason, giving away her location. Otherwise, they are both precocious and intelligent young people. Perhaps all the characters are caricatures, but as I say, it doesn't do anything to spoil the fun because they are all appealing caricatures.
Video:
Next, let's talk about the technical qualities of the disc. The 1.74:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen picture is, for all intents and purposes, practically flawless. Universal usually do good transfers, but this one is about as good as it gets. I recall executive-producer Spielberg being less than enthusiastic about the picture quality of "Twister" on DVD, but he could surely have no objections here. Every leaf on every tree in the jungle is clearly visible.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is at least equally remarkable, not only for its ability to render the big, deep roars and stomps of the animals, but to reproduce the delicate sounds of rain drops and forest murmurs. It even does a good job replicating dialogue, which can sometimes be overwhelmed by the ambient noise. In a movie theater in 1993, this film was the first one I remember truly impressing me with its surround sound. I felt I really was deep in a rain forest environment, and that impression continues with the DVD.
Extras:
The "Fight Club" and "Terminator 2" discs set the standard for bonus materials, and this Universal "Collector's Edition" doesn't quite measure up. Disappointingly, there are no commentary tracks at all. I was hoping for Spielberg, or one of the actors at least, to talk us through the picture. There is, however, a fifty-minute documentary hosted by James Earl Jones, made in 1995 and titled "The Making of Jurassic Park," that covers a lot of the CGI and special-effects work on the film. It's in full frame and was evidently made for television as a promotion of some sort. Unfortunately, it does not include much new material or many cast-member interviews. Nevertheless, pre-production meetings are included on the disc, along with production photographs, production notes, storyboards, design sketches, and conceptual paintings, a short, dinosaur encyclopedia, some location scouting, cast and filmmaker bios, and dinosaur-supervisor Phil Tippett's "Dinosaurs in the Kitchen." For those viewers who also have a DVD-ROM player in their computers, there are DVD-ROM links, including a hotlink to the set of "Jurassic Park III." Oddly, Universal provide only a miserly twenty scene selections, but there are widescreen theatrical trailers for both "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World," plus a teaser snippet for "Jurassic Park III." English and French are the spoken languages, English and Spanish the subtitles.
Parting Thoughts:
"Jurassic Park" is an adventure film par excellence, at times short on logic and certainly short on plot, but long on thrills and amazement. Once you see (and hear) the dinosaurs, they're tough to forget. In addition, it's hard to resist Sam Neill's transformation from a hater of children to a protector of them. It adds a touch of poignancy to what is otherwise just an opulent thrill ride. In the final analysis, "Jurassic Park" is a film worth watching again and again, which is what a home-theater library of DVDs is all about. For the ultimate experience, Universal also offer a deluxe, boxed edition of "Jurassic Park" and its sequel "The Lost World." The drawback, though, is that you might have to watch "The Lost World."
Video:
Next, let's talk about the technical qualities of the disc. The 1.74:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen picture is, for all intents and purposes, practically flawless. Universal usually do good transfers, but this one is about as good as it gets. I recall executive-producer Spielberg being less than enthusiastic about the picture quality of "Twister" on DVD, but he could surely have no objections here. Every leaf on every tree in the jungle is clearly visible.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is at least equally remarkable, not only for its ability to render the big, deep roars and stomps of the animals, but to reproduce the delicate sounds of rain drops and forest murmurs. It even does a good job replicating dialogue, which can sometimes be overwhelmed by the ambient noise. In a movie theater in 1993, this film was the first one I remember truly impressing me with its surround sound. I felt I really was deep in a rain forest environment, and that impression continues with the DVD.
Extras:
The "Fight Club" and "Terminator 2" discs set the standard for bonus materials, and this Universal "Collector's Edition" doesn't quite measure up. Disappointingly, there are no commentary tracks at all. I was hoping for Spielberg, or one of the actors at least, to talk us through the picture. There is, however, a fifty-minute documentary hosted by James Earl Jones, made in 1995 and titled "The Making of Jurassic Park," that covers a lot of the CGI and special-effects work on the film. It's in full frame and was evidently made for television as a promotion of some sort. Unfortunately, it does not include much new material or many cast-member interviews. Nevertheless, pre-production meetings are included on the disc, along with production photographs, production notes, storyboards, design sketches, and conceptual paintings, a short, dinosaur encyclopedia, some location scouting, cast and filmmaker bios, and dinosaur-supervisor Phil Tippett's "Dinosaurs in the Kitchen." For those viewers who also have a DVD-ROM player in their computers, there are DVD-ROM links, including a hotlink to the set of "Jurassic Park III." Oddly, Universal provide only a miserly twenty scene selections, but there are widescreen theatrical trailers for both "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World," plus a teaser snippet for "Jurassic Park III." English and French are the spoken languages, English and Spanish the subtitles.
Parting Thoughts:
"Jurassic Park" is an adventure film par excellence, at times short on logic and certainly short on plot, but long on thrills and amazement. Once you see (and hear) the dinosaurs, they're tough to forget. In addition, it's hard to resist Sam Neill's transformation from a hater of children to a protector of them. It adds a touch of poignancy to what is otherwise just an opulent thrill ride. In the final analysis, "Jurassic Park" is a film worth watching again and again, which is what a home-theater library of DVDs is all about. For the ultimate experience, Universal also offer a deluxe, boxed edition of "Jurassic Park" and its sequel "The Lost World." The drawback, though, is that you might have to watch "The Lost World."
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]5391[/release]