Jurassic Park is a true masterpiece
- Thread starter Blablurn
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Jurassic Park is a special movie to me, that goes beyond words like favorite, best, or masterpiece. I was very sheltered as a child from movies that my mother considered inappropriate for children. Which naturally led to my sneaking behind her back and watching taboo movies ranging from Gremlins to A Nightmare On Elm Street with my cousins, whom were allowed to watch pretty much anything. The problem with this was that I was never able to see many films in theaters outside of Disney or clearly family friendly pictures.
I was 9-years-old when Jurassic Park hit cinemas, and hadn't even heard of it until opening weekend when my cousins came to my house the night after they had seen it. They were raving on and on about how absolutely mind blowing it was, and how incredibly lifelike the dinosaurs were. Like practically every little boy, I loved dinosaurs. At that point, I regularly watched dinosaur films ranging from Godzilla to, my then favorite, Dinosaurus! But they were extremely adamant about how I'd never seen anything like Jurassic Park. It was about that time that the "controversy" about whether Jurassic Park was appropriate for children started cropping up on the nightly news, and naturally my parents got wind of it. So when I went to them begging to be taken to see it, they flat out refused.
So I spent the next three months obsessing over Jurassic Park. I interrogated my cousins daily, hoping to squeeze the tiniest bit of detail from them they might have forgotten. I collected the Topps trading cards. I even scrapped some loose change from around the house together and bought Michael Crichton's novel. While I was reading books far beyond my grade level at the time, this was my first adult novel. I enjoyed reading it for the most part, but a lot of it just flew over my head, and didn't satiate my desire to see the film.
Finally, after months of pestering and agreeing to give my Game Boy up for a month (they didn't like how much time I spent playing it), I was finally able to persuade my parents to take me to see it. I had never been more excited for anything in my life, and it completely lived up to the hype. That first glimpse of the Brachiosaurus was utterly amazing, and completely blew my mind. The T-Rex break out was the coolest thing I had ever seen, the Gallimimus stampede was exhilarating, everything involving the Velociraptors was terrifying, and Alan Grant was my hero. I left that theater feeling like I had won the lottery, and pulled a fast one on my parents, whom were terrified by what they saw. My obsession with the film only grew from there, and I collected all manner of memorabilia: toys, models, soundtrack, junior novel, comic books, t-shirts, etc.
February the following year I had an accident, breaking my back falling off some bleachers. According to the doctor, had it broken an inch higher or lower, I would have either been paralyzed or died. It was a really depressing time for me, being bedridden in a hospital until a special experimental back brace was made for me. I was going to miss the entire little league baseball season, and was stuck watching the same half dozen movies my family brought from home. That was until my uncle acquired a bootleg VHS of Jurassic Park from a friend of his who ran a movie theater for me. I can't even begin to describe how happy it made me, and it really helped take my mind off what could have happened to me, and what I was going to have to go through to recover. I can't imagine going through that part of my life without it.
To this day, I still watch the film on almost a weekly basis.
I was 9-years-old when Jurassic Park hit cinemas, and hadn't even heard of it until opening weekend when my cousins came to my house the night after they had seen it. They were raving on and on about how absolutely mind blowing it was, and how incredibly lifelike the dinosaurs were. Like practically every little boy, I loved dinosaurs. At that point, I regularly watched dinosaur films ranging from Godzilla to, my then favorite, Dinosaurus! But they were extremely adamant about how I'd never seen anything like Jurassic Park. It was about that time that the "controversy" about whether Jurassic Park was appropriate for children started cropping up on the nightly news, and naturally my parents got wind of it. So when I went to them begging to be taken to see it, they flat out refused.
So I spent the next three months obsessing over Jurassic Park. I interrogated my cousins daily, hoping to squeeze the tiniest bit of detail from them they might have forgotten. I collected the Topps trading cards. I even scrapped some loose change from around the house together and bought Michael Crichton's novel. While I was reading books far beyond my grade level at the time, this was my first adult novel. I enjoyed reading it for the most part, but a lot of it just flew over my head, and didn't satiate my desire to see the film.
Finally, after months of pestering and agreeing to give my Game Boy up for a month (they didn't like how much time I spent playing it), I was finally able to persuade my parents to take me to see it. I had never been more excited for anything in my life, and it completely lived up to the hype. That first glimpse of the Brachiosaurus was utterly amazing, and completely blew my mind. The T-Rex break out was the coolest thing I had ever seen, the Gallimimus stampede was exhilarating, everything involving the Velociraptors was terrifying, and Alan Grant was my hero. I left that theater feeling like I had won the lottery, and pulled a fast one on my parents, whom were terrified by what they saw. My obsession with the film only grew from there, and I collected all manner of memorabilia: toys, models, soundtrack, junior novel, comic books, t-shirts, etc.
February the following year I had an accident, breaking my back falling off some bleachers. According to the doctor, had it broken an inch higher or lower, I would have either been paralyzed or died. It was a really depressing time for me, being bedridden in a hospital until a special experimental back brace was made for me. I was going to miss the entire little league baseball season, and was stuck watching the same half dozen movies my family brought from home. That was until my uncle acquired a bootleg VHS of Jurassic Park from a friend of his who ran a movie theater for me. I can't even begin to describe how happy it made me, and it really helped take my mind off what could have happened to me, and what I was going to have to go through to recover. I can't imagine going through that part of my life without it.
To this day, I still watch the film on almost a weekly basis.
Zoramon089
Banned
Falch said:
Be careful, you might get what you wish for
OgTheClever
Member
Seconded. This would probably be the game of forever for me.MehsterChief said:
PhoenixDark
Banned
Cheebs said:
IJ4 over AI and Hook? :lol
Yes, great space doco! I've actually seen the whole series twice. First was on late night tv then months later in class. Sam Neill just has such an awesome narrating voice and him playing god and destroying worlds with black holes and asteroids was epic. I've got to buy this series somewhere.Mr. Sam said:
Dabookerman
Member
I'm just watching the making of, and it's amazing to see how primitive the software they used to do all the CGI.
Amazing stuff man.
Amazing stuff man.
kkaabboomm
Member
i've actually still got my ticket stub from the jurassic park sneak preview i went to. this has been my favorite movie ever since. i don't know if it's the best movie ever, if that makes any sense, but it is by far my favorite movie.
question for GAF parents - what would you consider the minimum age to watch this? I have a 5-year old girl who loves dinosaurs, and an 8-year old boy.
I watched it again last night to check things over, and its definitely a jumpy movie, with lots of scares, but its not *that* violent. Its also pretty slow for the first half. Famous rainy T-rex attack scene doesn't start until 1 hour in, but after that its pretty much non-stop thrills and scares
- 'thats a big pile of shit' is the only swear word I can remember. We avoid swearing in front of our kids, but I'm sure my elder son knows them. Don't fancy my daughter repeating them
- guy in toilet gets eaten by T-rex, but no blood or bits go flying
- Samuel L Jackson's arm is probably the most bloody and in your face, and it goes on for quite a few seconds.
- kids in jeep with sunroof being nearly eaten by T-rex.
I think overall though its the amount of shocks and especially those shocks often involving the kids being in peril that mean they might need to wait a few years. Plus the girl does a terrified face really bloody well.
I watched it again last night to check things over, and its definitely a jumpy movie, with lots of scares, but its not *that* violent. Its also pretty slow for the first half. Famous rainy T-rex attack scene doesn't start until 1 hour in, but after that its pretty much non-stop thrills and scares
- 'thats a big pile of shit' is the only swear word I can remember. We avoid swearing in front of our kids, but I'm sure my elder son knows them. Don't fancy my daughter repeating them
- guy in toilet gets eaten by T-rex, but no blood or bits go flying
- Samuel L Jackson's arm is probably the most bloody and in your face, and it goes on for quite a few seconds.
- kids in jeep with sunroof being nearly eaten by T-rex.
I think overall though its the amount of shocks and especially those shocks often involving the kids being in peril that mean they might need to wait a few years. Plus the girl does a terrified face really bloody well.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Dabookerman said:
Bow motherfuckers, bow.
Which is why I hated it. The book was raw, bloody and visceral, whereas the movie ended up being a terror film for kids. I walked out immensely disappointed, and I must say that Spielberg was a GOD to me. I think he began to lose his edge around that time.mrklaw said:
FishSquared
Member
In terms of film, what they did with the T-Rex was impressive, and the Raptors.
I watched it as a kid a lot, but I don't think I have any mad itch to rewatch it again.
I watched it as a kid a lot, but I don't think I have any mad itch to rewatch it again.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
I watched the trilogy a few months ago.
They all still look fucking phenomenal. I was expecting to go in noticing all sorts of fuzzy and dated graphics. Like a lot of people, I was blown away that this is actually a 15-year-old movie. That T-Rex is still the best looking computer generated thing ever made.
The movie itself is definitely '90s Spielberg, though. I can look past it I guess because of nostalgia, but I imagine anyone watching it for the first time now would wonder why anyone else gives a shit other than the T-Rex scenes.
They all still look fucking phenomenal. I was expecting to go in noticing all sorts of fuzzy and dated graphics. Like a lot of people, I was blown away that this is actually a 15-year-old movie. That T-Rex is still the best looking computer generated thing ever made.
The movie itself is definitely '90s Spielberg, though. I can look past it I guess because of nostalgia, but I imagine anyone watching it for the first time now would wonder why anyone else gives a shit other than the T-Rex scenes.
SecretBonusPoint
Banned
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
Completely destroys all CGI today. Animatronics is a lost art these days. It brought us the awesome live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the amazing dinosaurs from Jurassic Park.
CGI really has been a step backwards for this decade. Things like the dinosaur chase in King Kong remake just make me cringe at how awful they are. Might as well just show the green screen with filler "Dinosaurs here!" text super-imposed.
Dabookerman
Member
The thing about the CG in Jurassic Park is really the animation. The textures unfortunately do not stand the test of time. But the animation was just so well done, and really, the dinosaurs are not made to do ridiculous things like what CG is used for most of the time today. Usually CG looks the most credible when they just do the most basic things.
The T-Rex in JP animated a lot like a predator today would move and attack, and it's this attention to detail that really sells it. In King Kong, the Dinos were doing really over the top things, the whole stampede would never happen, especially the dinos of that size. That's my view on it anyway.
Also.. Rain seems to make everything look good ;p
The T-Rex in JP animated a lot like a predator today would move and attack, and it's this attention to detail that really sells it. In King Kong, the Dinos were doing really over the top things, the whole stampede would never happen, especially the dinos of that size. That's my view on it anyway.
Also.. Rain seems to make everything look good ;p
Roude Leiw
Member
Dabookerman said:
That's pretty much it. I totally agree.
Katana_Strikes
Member
Seen the film loads and went to the cinema multiple times. It was great. I haven't seen it in a while but I'll be certain to pick it up on Blu-ray whenever that day happens...
bengraven
Member
Cheebs said:
SPR should be higher on the list. Crystal Skull much lower. Empire of the Sun and Catch me if you Can lower. WotW higher.
Jonm1010 said:
I wish more people felt that way.
Jurassic Park by all rights is the most abused franchise. It's sci-fi mixed with dinosaurs mixed with adventure mixed with survival horror and it works. What's the problem, Universal?
Jurassic Park is perfection. I don't understand the "meh" comments.
It's a fantastic film. I still am in awe of the special effects. I feel that we rediscovered dinosaurs the same moment the characters did on the film. An amazing feeling, soundtrack and all.
Plus, it's one of the few epic movies that doesn't have a love story intertwined in the story. That's tough to do.
It's a fantastic film. I still am in awe of the special effects. I feel that we rediscovered dinosaurs the same moment the characters did on the film. An amazing feeling, soundtrack and all.
Plus, it's one of the few epic movies that doesn't have a love story intertwined in the story. That's tough to do.
Just finished watching all three of them back to back. Cameron, Bay, Nolan (yes even Nolan) take a LOOK, THIS is what you STILL haven't surpassed. It's funny, supposedly CGI has gotten "better" these days with new techniques but the T-Rexes in all 3 movies absolutely smokes the movies that release today. :lol Pathetic. It's like inventing a car and going back and using a horse carriage.
Made me think of this from the other day from Mega64,Zoramon089 said:Be careful, you might get what you wish for
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRIr6Bz15vM&feature=player_embedded
I totally disagree, well, I don't, in that it doesn't all look 'real', but then, neither does JP, but Avatar is a lot closer to it. There are digital environments I could mistake for being real for sure, all of it that looks like places on earth pretty much, the fantasy locations, no matter how good they looked I wouldn't say they looked real.NightBlade88 said:
How long has it been since you saw the film? It's no where near as convincing as I think you think it is. The difference between the CG and the puppets is pretty clear.NightBlade88 said:
I agree with your thoughts about how it's easier to appreciate the realism of something like a dinosaur over a Na'vi for example, but that's why it's better to judge something like that based on the 'real' things in newer films. The forrest in Avatar blows away anything in JP. And it's not surprising given the amount of time between them. I imagine when Spielberg does another similar film, he'll do something very cool with it.
The Forest in Avatar blows away every thing that's ever been created on a computer.stuburns said:
I saw the film just a few minutes ago as I pointed out in an earlier post. I was watching on surround sound, and was taken back to '93, so I guess, you could say I was sucked in and didn't look for faults.Freeza Under The Shower
Member
The only John Williams soundtrack worth listening too. He did nothing else really important, right?
Dabookerman
Member
Zeitgeister said:
Nah, he's a pretty obscure composer really.
Count Dookkake
Member
Zoramon089 said:Be careful, you might get what you wish for
Shit, I will keep wishing then.
CharlieDigital
Banned
Dabookerman said:
The T-Rex "rain scene" was done with an animatronic.
Tornado Condor
Member
I agree, awesome movie.
Rekwest said:
Dabookerman
Member
CharlieDigital said:
Both.
And to the people who are saying the CG is still better than most movies today.
No it is not, it isn't better. The technology has vastly improved, and there is no arguing with that. It's what you do with that technology ;p
His whole damn lists needs to be re worked. :lol. Jaws over Schindler's List? For me it would beKastro said:
1)Schindler's List
2)Raiders of the Lost Ark
3)Saving Private Ryan
4)Jurassic Park
5)ET
6)Hook
7)Jaws
8)AI
9)Munich
10)Land Before Time
11)Everything else is just irrelevant.
bengraven
Member
The Wispy Scoundrel said:Don't ... just don't. I try not to think about it because deep down I know it will never come.
I've been in pain for 24 hours just thinking of it.
Coming out of a maintenance shed and reloading your shotgun with the shells you found inside to find a raptor in the trees ahead of you, staring. You click right mouse button quickly to pull up your iron sights but are suddenly critically attacked by the two raptors you didn't see coming from either side of you.
Clever girls.
Funny, I started reading the book some weeks ago and really liked it until Malcom goes on on all those rants about how science sucks. Then I lost interest and stopped reading. Maybe it reminded me too much of all the "global warming is a scam, Jesus rode a raptor, lol" people.
But I really, REALLY cringe when I think about the things you could do nowadays with animatronics. Loaded with chips and cotrolled per wi-fi and possibly mo-cap (from animals), made from compound materials for really huge ones and sweet, sweet love ;_;
Also the stop motion in the making of really impressed me, I never knew they could get it to be better than most cgi stuff. Just wow. I just remember the hilarious looking ones from Terminator or Robocop:lol
CGI isn´t bad IMO, but many film makers seem to get lazy because of it and it shows in the end.
But I really, REALLY cringe when I think about the things you could do nowadays with animatronics. Loaded with chips and cotrolled per wi-fi and possibly mo-cap (from animals), made from compound materials for really huge ones and sweet, sweet love ;_;
Also the stop motion in the making of really impressed me, I never knew they could get it to be better than most cgi stuff. Just wow. I just remember the hilarious looking ones from Terminator or Robocop:lol
CGI isn´t bad IMO, but many film makers seem to get lazy because of it and it shows in the end.
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