Jurassic Park (1993)
The plot: Billionaire philanthropist John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) has guided his bioengineering company, InGen, to a process in which dinosaurs can be cloned using DNA extracted from fossilised mosquitoes. Having created a theme park on an island named Isla Nublar, off the coast of Costa Rica, Hammond is required to demonstrate the safety and viability of the site for a lawyer representing the investors in the park. To achieve this, Hammond recruits palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill), palaeobotanist Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and mathematician and chaos theory expert Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to inspect the place and issue their impressive stamp of approval. Hammond’s grandchildren, Lex and Tim, also join the group for the weekend, which goes awry when a storm approaches, and park operative Denis Nedry (Wayne Knight) deactivates the park security system in order to facilitate his own corporate espionage.
The groundbreaking stuff: The most obvious, notable aspect of Jurassic Park is the visual effects. This film would simply not work unless the audience found the dinosaurs utterly convincing, so Steven Spielberg assembled a combination of disciplines to create what we see on screen. Stan Winston provided the animatronic creatures, Phil Tippett provided ‘go motion’ dinosaurs for long shots, and Dennis Muren of Industrial Light and Magic provided digital compositing. Each of these artists oversaw work that generated new possibilities for the future of filmmaking. Stan Winston’s Studio, for example, created their largest ever sculpture – the Tyrannosaurus rex – standing at 20 feet tall, 40 feet long, and weighing in at 17,500 pounds. For their part, Industrial Light and Magic achieved new technologies that would open the door to the Star Wars prequels, A.I: Artificial Intelligence, The Lord Of The Rings and King Kong, among many others.
Less obvious is the groundbreaking stuff in the script. Written by David Koepp and author Michael Crichton, it challenges action movie stereotypes head-on, and wins hands-down. Though there are only two significant female roles in the film, they are complex, layered and well-written characters that are ultimately responsible for saving the day – a very rare thing in the early 1990s. They both have their own entertaining snippets in which Lex is revealed to be a talented computer hacker, and Dr Sattler is revealed to be an accomplished, self-assured scientist who can cut anyone to the quick with a well-timed, quietly spoken feminist riposte. Dr Grant finds himself stranded in the park looking after two children, Dr Malcolm is quickly relegated to reclining, injured on a table, and John Hammond is overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation. Leave it to Lex and Dr Sattler to work in tandem and get the power and security systems back up and running – with Lex hacking the IT systems in the bunker, while Dr Sattler risks her life running the Raptor gauntlet outside. These women may not get to talk other women, but in and of themselves, they are brilliantly subversive in terms of early-90s cinema.
The highlights: Apart from the overall visual effects and the use of female characters, the highlights of the film tend to be the set-pieces – as is to be expected from Steven Spielberg. The initial striking sequence is the first time the assembled experts see some dinosaurs. The camerawork dictates that we experience the reveal through the eyes of the characters – focusing on Dr Grant’s reaction first, then Dr Sattler, and finally, seeing the spectacle they are faced with as the music builds to an epic fanfare. The second striking sequence is the Tyrannosaur attack on the tour cars. This is an incredible scene that just keeps going and going, as the lawyer is eaten, Dr Malcolm is injured, and the children and Dr Grant are forced over the side of an enclosure, with a car driving down a tree. It’s dark, its raining, and there is a giant carnivorous monster trying to eat some children – but the whole thing is interspersed with beautiful interactions between the children and Dr Grant, which makes the whole thing just palatable enough, as we hold our collective breath and grip our armrests.
Third is a sequence that surely counts as one of the most brilliant in all of cinema – a group of Velociraptors stalk the children through a deserted industrial kitchen. It is horrifying and breathtaking, and feels almost unbearably long. However, it also plays out like a ‘rule of three’ dramatic sequence, culminating in a visual punch-line that makes you want to stand and applaud as the children eventually save themselves. Finally, there is the Tyrannosaur’s last appearance at the climax of the film. The group are surrounded by Raptors in the foyer of the visitor’s centre. It looks like all is lost. Each one of them has fought for their lives and come so close to escape, only to be scuppered at the last possible moment. In crashes T rex – attacking the Raptors just long enough for the group to escape, then – as the survivors flee the scene – it throws back its head and lets out a roar that brings both goosebumps and tears to the viewer. As a banner falls behind it, emblazoned with the phrase, “When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth”, we hear a noise from this creature that is both fearsome and pained, but leaves us in no doubt – men may have meddled, but this is her house.
The lowlights: Make no mistake – Jurassic Park is gold standard filmmaking from start to finish. It is a movie that is almost flawless. As such, issues are little more than mild annoyances. Firstly, there is the fact that the female characters don’t really get to talk to other women. Secondly, it could be argued that Ariana Richards – the young actress playing Lex – is perhaps the weak link in terms of casting. Thirdly, the way in which Dr Malcolm is seen reclining with his shirt blatantly falling open like a cheesy oil painting has always been an eye-roll inducing irritation. These are minor infractions, however, while the whole remains a masterpiece.