Rating: PG-13
Starring:
Jurassic Park
Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant
Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler
Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm
Richard Attenborough as John Hammond
Bob Peck as Robert Muldoon
Martin Ferrero as Donald Gennaro
Joseph Mazzello as Tim Murphy
Ariana Richards as Lex Murphy
Samuel L. Jackson as Ray Arnold
BD Wong as Henry Wu
Wayne Knight as Dennis Nedry
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm
Julianne Moore as Dr. Sarah Harding
Pete Postlethwaite as Roland Tembo
Richard Attenborough as John Hammond
Arliss Howard as Peter Ludlow
Vince Vaughn as Nick Van Owen
Vanessa Lee Chester as Kelly Curtis Malcolm
Peter Stormare as Dieter Stark
Jurassic Park III
Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant
William H. Macy as Paul Kirby
Téa Leoni as Amanda Kirby
Alessandro Nivola as Billy Brennan
Trevor Morgan as Erik Kirby
Michael Jeter as Mr. Udesky
John Diehl as Cooper
Bruce A. Young as M.B. Nash
Special Features:
Return to Jurassic Park – Never-before-seen six-part documentary featuring all-new interviews with directors Steven Spielberg and Joe Johnston plus cast and crew, including Sam Neill, Laura Dern, William H. Macy and more
Behind The Scenes:
?Early-Preproduction Meetings
?Location Scouting
?Animatics
?Before and After the Visual Effects
?Foley Artists
?Storyboards
?Tour of Stan Winston
?A Visit to Industrial Light & Magic
?Production Archives
Archival Featurettes:
?The Making of all 3 Jurassic Park Films
?Original Featurettes on the Making of the Films
?Steven Spielberg Directs Jurassic Park
?Hurricane in Kauai Featurette
?The Jurassic Park Phenomenon: A Discussion with Author Michael Crichton
?The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park III
?The Special Effects of Jurassic Park III
?The Industrial Light & Magic Press Reel
?The Sounds of Jurassic Park III
?The Art of Jurassic Park III
?Montana: Finding New Dinosaurs and More
Jurassic Park III Feature Commentary with Special Effects Team
Pocket Blu
D-Box Motion Code Enabled
BD Live Enabled
Digital Copies Of Feature Films
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.85:1)
DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Sound
Spanish and French Languages
Spanish and French Subtitles
Running Time: Jurassic Park – 2 Hours 7 Minutes, The Lost World: Jurassic Park – 2 Hours 9 Minutes, Jurassic Park III – 1 Hour 33 Minutes
The Details:
The following is the official description of the film:
“Experience one of the biggest movie trilogies of all time like never before with the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy! ‘You won’t believe your eyes’ (Rolling Stone) when dinosaurs once again roam the Earth in an amazing theme park on a remote island. From Academy Award®-winning directors Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park) and Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III), the action-packed adventures find man up against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking filmmaking that has been hailed as ‘a triumph of special effects artistry’ (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times), this epic trilogy is sheer movie-making magic that was 65 million years in the making. ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park.'”
“Jurassic Park” is rated PG-13 for intense science fiction terror.
“The Lost World: Jurassic Park” is rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence.
“Jurassic Park III” is rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence.
Mini-Review:
Since I was born in the early ’70s, there are very few movies that I’ve seen on the big screen that can legitimately be called ‘game changers.’ “Star Wars” obviously counts as it revolutionized sci-fi movies, visual effects, and movie licensing. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” redefined adventure movies and created an iconic movie character. There are very few others. But “Jurassic Park” was one of those game changers because it unlocked the true potential of CG animation. Up until that point CG visual effects in movies looked very CG, or at least like water tentacles in “The Abyss” or silver robots in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” But when “Jurassic Park” came along, we got photo-realistic CG dinosaurs. It was unlike anything seen before. It was simply mind blowing seeing it on the big screen. I remember at the movie theater when the first Brachiosaurus appeared on the big screen with John Williams’ rousing score, a kid about 4 years old bolted from his parents and ran yelling down the aisle towards the screen with his hands in the air believing he was seeing a real dinosaur. It was an amazing moment in the theater and one I haven’t really experienced since. At that moment, I realized that anything that people could imagine could be put on the screen.
Nearly 20 years later the CG effects in “Jurassic Park” still hold up, even on Blu-ray. While some of the effects are pretty basic now, the dinosaurs still look good. A lot of that is thanks to the technical skills of ILM, but you can also chalk it up to the fact that the dinosaurs have a lot of personality. From the surly T-Rex to the crafty raptors, each dino is distinct in its behavior. You can also credit the excellently choreographed action scenes that make you actually care about the characters. You care about the kids being attacked, about Grant, and about the others. So while you initially marvel at the revolutionary visual effects, you quickly forget about that and get into the roller coaster ride of the plot. It’s not Steven Spielberg’s best film, but it’s certainly one of his most fun popcorn flicks.
As much fun as the first film was, the sequel “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” was a bit of a letdown. Much of it seemed like a rehash of the first film and though it followed the Michael Crichton book pretty well, it was a bit of a disappointment. But it got quite interesting when Spielberg elected to depart from the book and drag the mother and baby T-Rex into the city. We were then treated to a King Kong-like monster movie with the king of the dinosaurs rampaging through the suburbs. It was a blast, but if felt like the rest of the movie was simply built around that one action scene.
After the disappointing sequel, we got the third movie directed by “The Rocketeer” director Joe Johnston. While nobody expected much from it, it ended up being a fun return of the dinosaurs to the big screen. We got Sam Neill back as Dr. Alan Grant and cool new dinosaurs with the Pterodactyls and the Spinosaurus. The only problem with it was the abrupt and all-too-convenient ending. Still, it showed the series still had some life to it and it reminded audiences that they wanted to see dinosaurs on the big screen.
Now with the “Jurassic Park” trilogy on Blu-ray, adult fans can revisit it while younger fans can experience it for the first time. My three kids don’t remember having ever seen the movies, so it’s a new experience for them. And not only do you get the movies in HD for the first time, you also get them in downloadable digital format for your portable devices. As for the bonus features, you get all of the previously released extras along with a new 6-part retrospective on the making of the movie. They re-interview Steven Spielberg, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, the original kids, and a bunch of the other cast and crew. As a major “Jurassic Park” fan, I had heard a lot of their stories before, but it was still fun to hear it from them again after nearly 20 years of perspective on them.
If you’re a fan of “Jurassic Park,” Steven Spielberg, or dinosaur movies then this is a Blu-ray set that you’re going to want to add to your collection. Trade in those old DVDs and pick this up.
