In 1993 Steven Spielberg released two films. Schindler’s List would win seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Jurassic Park won another three, two of them for sound and the third for Visual Effects. It doesn’t detract from Schindler to note that Jurassic Park continues to grip the popular imagination, its cautionary take on cutting edge DNA science still feels relevent, and its own cutting edge CGI fx still impress. Along with Jaws, this is Spielberg’s most Hitchcockian and suspenseful movie, and to experience it on the big screen — with great sound — is truly a walk on the wild side.
Of all the Jurassic movies, this one has the strongest cast. Richard Attenborough (brother of David) is inspired as the largely benevolent entrepreneur of a tropical dinosaur theme park, while Sam Neill and Laura Dern are two of the more credible scientists in Hollywood lore. But Jeff Goldblum steals the human side of the cast list with his wisecracking shtick as that most essential of consultants, the chaos theorist.
This movie doesn’t just stand the test of time, it transcends it.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Steven Spielberg
Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Samuel L Jackson
USA
1993
English
Violence; coarse language
Open to youth!
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Credits
Screenwriter
Michael Crichton, David Koepp
Cinematography
Dean Cundey
Editor
Michael Kahn
Original Music
John Williams
Production Design
Rick Carter
Also in This Series: Spielberg for Beginners
Savour seven of Spielberg’s hits and family favourites on the big screen this spring break.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
One of only a handful of live action children's films to capture the imaginations of generations, E.T. has a luminous warmth; it's a suburban symphony of emotion, and it's fascinating to revisit it in the light of The Fabelmans.
The Adventures of Tintin
Could this be Spielberg's most underrated film? It's his only stab at animation, and it moves like Raiders of the Lost Ark on caffeine. The plotting may be antiquarian but the action never lets up. It's delirious stuff, often laugh-out-loud funny.
The Fabelmans
Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, Steven Spielberg's bittersweet movie memoir is a portrait of the artist as the product of his artsy mom (Michelle Williams), his techy dad (Paul Dano), and a broken home.
Jurassic Park
Two paleontologists are invited to preview a new Central American theme park by an avuncular entrepreneur (Richard Attenborough). What they encounter is truly a walk on the wild side. Spielberg's jaw dropping adventure movie still kills on the big screen.