A Reel 20: JURASSIC PARK

“I own an island…”

 

This month marks the 20^th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s JURASSIC PARK.

The year that was 1993 was a life-changing, one-two punch for Steven Spielberg. In November of that year, he would release his WWII holocaust-drama SCHINDLER’S LIST; a film which would earn him seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. But only a few months before he devastated people’s emotions in that stark, hard-to-watch, black-and-white film, he would thrill the world giddy with living, breathing dinosaurs in JURASSIC PARK.

The film, in which a billionaire and his team of genetic scientists bring dinosaurs back to life, ignited the imaginations and awoke the kid in all of us. By using a combination of animatronics and a new, Lucasfilm-driven technology called CGI, it was suddenly possible to play with, run with, and run away from dinosaurs. The usage of the new technology was a landmark in filmmaking, and the movies have never been the same since. But JURASSIC PARK should not just be remembered for the technical achievements, because it’s what Spielberg did with the new tech that had audiences screaming and ducking. The chase scenes and cliffhangers had real terror and dread…and most of all, fun. Spielberg’s usage of the new technology was proof that the tool is only as good as the hand that wields it.

The results were spectacular, and the world reacted. JURASSIC PARK became the highest-grossing film of all time; a position it would hold for four years. To this day, it is the 15^th highest-grossing film in North America, and the 18^th highest-grossing worldwide. It is Spielberg’s biggest money-maker of his career. A 3D re-release in 2013 would make another strong box-office run, and the film would win three Oscars for Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

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The legacy of JURASSIC PARK is a large one; box office numbers, Oscars, and technical achievements only begin to scratch the surface. JURASSIC PARK would be the last of the summer-blockbuster designed films of Spielberg’s career, as his work in SCHINDLER’S LIST would then point him towards more serious works. But JURASSIC PARK’s true achievement was re-awakening the kid in all of us; the one that chased and played with imaginary dinosaurs in the back yard and over piled-up sofa-cushions. Spielberg himself once said, “I dream for a living”, and no other film in the past 20 years has dropped us into a dream like JURASSIC PARK.

“Life found a way…”