Jurassic Park

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

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