Before Crichton's novel was published, four studios put in bids for its film rights. With the backing ofUniversal Pictures, Spielberg acquired the rights for $1.5 million. Crichton was hired for an additional $500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen. Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence, and featured numerous changes to the characters. Filming took place in California and Hawaii from August to November 1992. Post-production lasted until May 1993, supervised by Spielberg in Poland as he filmedSchindler's List. The dinosaurs were created with groundbreakingcomputer-generated imagery byIndustrial Light & Magic, and with life-sizedanimatronic dinosaurs built byStan Winston's team. To showcase the film'ssound design, which included a mixture of various animal noises for the dinosaur sounds, Spielberg invested in the creation ofDTS, a company specializing in digitalsurround sound formats. The film was backed by an extensive $65 million marketing campaign, which included licensing deals with over 100 companies.
Jurassic Park premiered on June 9, 1993, at theUptown Theater in Washington, D.C., and was released two days later throughout the United States. It was ablockbuster hit and went on to gross over $914 million worldwide in its original theatrical run, surpassing Spielberg's ownE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to becomethe highest-grossing film of all time until the release ofTitanic (1997).Jurassic Park was praised for its special effects, sound design, action sequences,John Williams' musical score, and Spielberg's directing. It won 20 awards, including threeAcademy Awards for technical achievements in visual effects and sound design. Following its 20th anniversary re-release in 2013,Jurassic Park became the oldest film in history to surpass $1billion in ticket sales and the 17th overall.
The group witnesses the hatching of a babyVelociraptor and visits the raptor enclosure. During lunch, they debate theethics of cloning and of the park in general. Malcolm warns of the implications ofgenetic engineering while Grant and Sattler express uncertainty over the ability of humans and dinosaurs to coexist. Hammond's grandchildren, Lex and Tim, join the others for a park tour in twoself-driving electric vehicles, while Hammond observes them from the control room. Most of the dinosaurs fail to appear, and the group encounters a sickTriceratops. The tour is cut short as atropical storm approaches. The park employees leave for the mainland on a boat while the visitors return to their vehicles; Sattler stays behind to study theTriceratops.
Jurassic Park's disgruntled computer programmer, Dennis Nedry, was previously bribed to steal frozen dinosaurembryos by Lewis Dodgson, a man working for Hammond's corporate rival. To access the embryo storage room, Nedry deactivates the park's security system, cutting power to the tour vehicles. Most of the park's electric fences have been deactivated, which allows aTyrannosaurus rex to escape and attack the touring group. TheTyrannosaurus devours Gennaro and injures Malcolm while Grant, Lex, and Tim escape. On his way to deliver the embryos to the island's docks, Nedry gets lost in the rain, crashes his vehicle, and is killed by a venom-spittingDilophosaurus.
Sattler helps the game warden Robert Muldoon search for survivors; they find Malcolm just before theTyrannosaurus returns and chases them away. Grant, Lex and Tim take shelter in a tree and encounter aBrachiosaurus herd, then discover the broken shells of dinosaur eggs the following morning. Grant concludes that the dinosaurs are breeding, which is possible because of theiramphibian DNA—animals likeWest African frogs canchange their sex in a single-sex environment.
Unable to decipher Nedry's code to reactivate the security system, Hammond and chief engineer Ray Arnold decide to reboot the park's systems. They shut down the power grid and retreat to an emergency bunker while Arnold heads to a maintenance shed to complete the rebooting process. When Arnold fails to return, Sattler and Muldoon go to the shed, and discover that the shutdown has released theVelociraptors. Sattler turns the power back on before being attacked by a raptor and discovering Arnold's severed arm. While she escapes, Muldoon is killed by anotherVelociraptor.
Grant, Lex and Tim reach the visitor center. Grant leaves to look for Sattler, leaving Lex and Tim inside. The raptors appear and pursue the children through a kitchen, but they escape and join Grant and Sattler. The group reaches the control room, and Lex restores the park's systems, allowing them to contact Hammond, who radios for a helicopter to take them off the island. As the group tries to leave they are cornered by two raptors, but theTyrannosaurus appears and kills the raptors. The group flees and boards the helicopter, and Grant and Hammond agree not to endorse the park.
Michael Crichton's book attracted the attention of directorSteven Spielberg (right) even before it was published. Crichton was also responsible for the film's first scripts.
Michael Crichton's 1990 novelJurassic Park was originally conceived as a screenplay in the 1980s, and went through numerous changes before being published as a book.[1][2] In the late 1970s, a bidding war began for the film rights to Crichton's then-upcoming novelCongo, which would not be made intoa film until 1995. WithJurassic Park, Crichton hoped to avoid another bidding war and the same protracted outcome by offering the film rights at a fixed price of $1.5 million, as he was primarily concerned with ensuring that a film actually be produced; he was less interested in receiving a top offer.[3]
Crichton submitted theJurassic Parkmanuscript to his publisher in May 1990. DirectorSteven Spielberg learned of the novel that month while he was discussing a screenplay with Crichton that would become the television seriesER. Spielberg, who had a life-long fascination with dinosaurs and had long admired the work ofRay Harryhausen, expressed interest inJurassic Park. After reading thegalleys, he committed to direct the film adaptation.[4][5] He liked the novel's sense of adventure and its scientific explanation for dinosaur resurrection,[6] saying it provided "a really credible look at how dinosaurs might someday be brought back alongside modern mankind".[7]
Crichton was represented by an agent atCreative Artists Agency. Spielberg recalled that "the agency got ahold of it; and they, of course, encouraged a bidding war, even though Michael had kind of promised me the book privately."[5] Major studios bid for the film rights, each with a director in mind. This includedWarner Bros. andTim Burton,Columbia Pictures andRichard Donner, and20th Century Fox andJoe Dante.[8] Crichton spoke with each director and endorsed Spielberg as the most likely candidate to get the film made, noting it would be "a very difficult picture" and calling Spielberg "arguably the most experienced and most successful director of these kinds of movies".[9]Universal Pictures, also backing Spielberg as director, acquired the rights on May 15, 1990,[10][11] less than a week after they were offered for sale and six months before the novel's publication.[12] The film was announced on May 25, 1990.[11]
James Cameron revealed in 2012 that he had tried to purchase the rights, only to discover that Spielberg had acquired them a few hours prior. Cameron said his version ofJurassic Park would have been "much nastier", comparing it with his 1986 filmAliens. He realized he was not the right director forJurassic Park after seeing the finished product, commending Spielberg for making a film which could be enjoyed by children.[13] Dante also praised it, but disagreed with Spielberg's decision to make Hammond more of a protagonist, a departure from the novel.[14]
Storyboards and sketches were already being produced weeks after the rights were acquired.[15] In order to ensure the scenes would work in 3D space, the storyboards were later expanded by Amblin employee Stephan Dechant into simple animatics made with anAmiga 2000 and theVideo Toaster.[16] Because of the island setting and abundance of dinosaurs, Spielberg believed it would be advantageous to hire a production designer as soon as possible, choosingRick Carter about two years before the start of filming. They both read the galleys and held many meetings to discuss which scenes would work best in the film adaptation.[17]
Spielberg, who, as a child, had been fascinated with dinosaurs and imagined what it would be like to meet one, felt that it was important to channel that childlike sense of wonder for the film.[7] Spielberg said that withJurassic Park, he "was really just trying to make a good sequel toJaws, on land."[18] He was also heavily inspired by the 1933 filmKing Kong,[19] calling it the "high-water mark" for special effects and for imagining "what it would be like to do aKing Kong of today."[20] He cited the 1962 filmHatari! as another inspiration, calling it "the high-water mark of man versus the natural in a feature film."[21] Spielberg described the 1956 filmGodzilla, King of the Monsters! as the most masterful dinosaur film of his youth, stating that it made him and viewers believe it was really happening.[22][23] Although he did not set out to make a dinosaur film better than any others, he did wantJurassic Park to be "the most realistic of them all."[23]
It eventually became clear to Spielberg thatJurassic Park would require more time in development, in order to determine the effects needed to create the dinosaurs. He shifted focus to his 1991 filmHook, while continuing to monitor progress onJurassic Park, including script revisions. The art department went on an eight-month hiatus fromJurassic Park to work on the 1992 filmDeath Becomes Her, another Universal film.[24] After completingHook, Spielberg wantedSchindler's List to be his next film.Sid Sheinberg, president ofMusic Corporation of America (Universal's parent company at the time) gave thegreenlight toSchindler's List on the condition that Spielberg makeJurassic Park first.[8] Set designs began to be finalized in January 1992; a hotel was among locations at the fictional park that would be cut from the film.[25] The film's budget is disputed; some sources place it at $63 million,[26][27] while others, including Spielberg, have stated that the budget was $56 million.[28][29]
Kathleen Kennedy, who co-foundedAmblin Entertainment with Spielberg, would serve as a producer onJurassic Park alongsideGerald Molen, who had worked with Amblin in the past.[30] Kennedy handled the creative aspects of the project, while Molen managed production-related elements.[31]Dean Cundey, thecinematographer forHook, would rejoin Spielberg forJurassic Park, signing on to the project relatively late inpre-production. However, he had followed the film's progress through an association with Carter;[32] both had worked onDeath Becomes Her.[33] Cundey described his cinematography as "a realistic, crisp, color-saturated look," aligning with Spielberg's vision for the film.[32] He described the look of the film as "heightened reality", with unrealistically dramatic lighting and imagery, but withoutdiffusion orcamera filters.[34] He explained that one of his largest challenges working on the film was balancing the necessity of the effects crew of placing dinosaurs primarily in shadow, Spielberg's penchant for dramatic imagery, and the audience's expectation of realism.[35]Michael Kahn, Spielberg's longtimefilm editor, would also return forJurassic Park.[36]
Crichton had mixed feelings about being offered a further $500,000 to write the film adaptation: "I wasso tired of the whole area that I didn't really want to do the screenplay. I was sick of Malcolm and I was sick of Grant–and I was even sick of the dinosaurs. But I really felt that I knew the dimensions of the story." Crichton recognized that, by writing the screenplay himself, the project could avoid the same issues he experienced while developing the novel.[37]
Before writing the film, he met several times with Spielberg to discuss which aspects of the book he liked and disliked. Crichton completed his first draft later in 1990, but said "nobody was happy with it at all"; the draft skipped ahead to action rather than building up to it, as in the novel. At Spielberg's suggestion, Crichton rewrote the script in 40-page increments, with the first batch being better received. Crichton was aided by existing storyboards and sketches as he continued to rework the script, with the remaining 80 pages completed in early 1991.[38] Production designerRick Carter held story meetings with Crichton while he wrote, suggesting ideas for Crichton to implement.[39] Some notable ways Crichton's early drafts differ from the finished film include Hammond initially being less sympathetic and having a much less prominent role, Malcolm lacking a sense of humor, and a different opening sequence featuring the daughter of a beachgoing family getting attacked by dinosaurs, which got retooled into the opening of the film's sequelThe Lost World: Jurassic Park.[40]
Crichton had agreed only to write a preliminary version of the film: "I told Steven, 'I'll do a draft for you and cut it down to budgetable size; but then you're going to want somebody else to polish the characters.' I think that sort of surprised him, because writers never say, 'Get somebody else.'"[15] After Crichton's departure, Carter modified Crichton's revised draft, incorporating into it a number of ideas that they had discussed together. Several key elements of the finished film began with Carter's edits, including Hammond recruiting Grant and Sattler, as well as Hammond's general demeanor and the development of his character arc.[41]
During this time, Spielberg was filmingHook, the latter co-written byMalia Scotch Marmo and produced by Kennedy. While on the set ofHook, Scotch Marmo was reading theJurassic Park novel and learned from Kennedy about the film adaptation, accepting an offer to work on its screenplay. Scotch Marmo began writingJurassic Park in October 1991. She chose to start from scratch, with the novel as her basis, although she did read Crichton's screenplay and consulted with him. Spielberg also agreed to provide her with his own copy of the novel, which contained highlighted aspects of the book that he enjoyed. In addition, she looked at the numerous storyboards produced up to that point.[42]
Scotch Marmo focused on building up the characters "to give them more life and more purpose" than in Crichton's novel and screenplay. She removed Malcolm from the story and tried to incorporate his characteristics into Grant, whom she found to be underdeveloped. She also sought to emphasize the major themes of the novel, specifically the "fatal flaw of trying to control nature," for instance by showing jungle vegetation creeping into the park's unfinished visitor center: "The idea was that nature was always in the way, always pushing hard against the intrusion."[43] In the novel, Hammond is killed by a group ofProcompsognathus.[44] Both of Crichton's drafts had also included death scenes, with Hammond dying essentially the same way as in the novel in the first draft, and being killed byVelociraptors at the visitor center in the second.[45] In Scotch Marmo's draft, Hammond chooses to stay behind onIsla Nublar, and then drowns in a puddle, with the film's final shot being a mosquito landing on his arm.[46]
Scotch Marmo spent five months writing her draft and worked closely with Spielberg, noting that their collaboration was unlike most films in which writers "get an assignment, go home, write it and turn it in." She would send him 15 pages at a time, and then would rework them to his liking, sending the revised pages back along with the next 15.[47] She completed her draft in March 1992; Spielberg read it twice and was dissatisfied. She recalled later, "As a writer, that's a terrible feeling. The natural urge is to say: 'Give me another week. I can work it out. I know I can.' But the truth is, sometimes you do hit and sometimes you miss. It's just a shame that it takes so long to find out."[48]
The final drafts ofJurassic Park were written byDavid Koepp (pictured in 2022)
Spielberg immediately began searching for a new writer,[49] and Universal presidentCasey Silver recommendedDavid Koepp, who co-wroteDeath Becomes Her.[50][51] Koepp had not read the novel, but quickly obtained a copy, and later discussed the book with Spielberg. Koepp disliked doing rewrites because "it's very hard to get into the mind of somebody else and try to follow what they were doing." Spielberg told Koepp he could start from scratch, allowing his own ideas to fully develop. He read through the novel four times before he began writing the screenplay, and chose not to read the earlier drafts until he finished his own. Two sequences from the novel were mandated: theT. rex attack on a tour vehicle, and the raptors in the kitchen. Otherwise, Koepp was generally allowed to make his own creative choices.[52] Spielberg instructed Koepp to be unconcerned with what technology allowed, so Koepp wrote sequences without knowing if they would be possible to film.[53]
Koepp found it difficult to condense the novel's scientific exposition, especially the dialogue that explains how the dinosaurs were created. Spielberg devised an idea to easily convey the cloning process through a short, animated film shown to the park visitors, inspired by the 1957 educational television specialHemo the Magnificent.[53] Koepp named the film's cartoon narrator "Mr. DNA", after Spielberg jokingly referred to the character as such.[54] Like Scotch Marmo, Koepp also sought to flesh out the characters of the novel while merging Malcolm's traits into Grant;[54][55] he found Malcolm too difficult to write due to the character's dialogue being heavy on math andchaos theory.[53]
After Koepp finished his first draft, Spielberg sent it to Scotch Marmo for her opinion, and she replied with 12 pages of input; these were forwarded to Koepp, who found them helpful. He continued to work closely with Spielberg and with additional feedback from Scotch Marmo.[56] Malcolm was written in at Spielberg's insistence, afterJeff Goldblum auditioned for the film and was deemed perfect for the role.[53] Koepp tried to make the characters interesting by adding moments such as Malcolm flirting with Sattler, leading to Grant's jealousy.[7] Koepp refocused Hammond's motivation towards a desire to entertain, and made Malcolm into a more comedic character.[57] He also tried to avoid excessive character detail because "whenever they started talking about their personal lives, you couldn't care less."[58] Koepp described one scene, in which Sattler and Hammond discuss the park while eating ice cream, as the hardest in the film to write; the scene was rewritten 27 times. Drawing inspiration from Spielberg's earlier filmJaws, Koepp kept theT. rex offscreen prior to its breakout scene, instead implying the violence it caused, in order to increase tension.[53] Spielberg suggested modifying that scene so that theT. rex pursues the characters in a Jeep; originally, it only depicted them driving away after hearing the dinosaur's footsteps.[59]
Rewrites continued until just before the start of filming.[56] Crichton noted that the final draft differed drastically from his earlier script, but praised the changes and said the new screenplay "seems very compatible with my way of thinking—it fits in my mind."[60] Scotch Marmo did not receive credit for her work.[61]
Crichton said that because the novel was "fairly long,"[62] at nearly 400 pages,[49] the film adaptation would only have about 10-20% of its content; scenes were dropped for budgetary and practical reasons, and the violence was toned down.[62] Spielberg said, "What I wanted to do was boil the book down and choose my seven or eight favorite scenes and base the script around those." In a departure from the novel, Spielberg sought to reduce the number of dinosaurs, believing it would not be "physically possible" to make the film otherwise.[6] Koepp said the novel was written "more or less like a movie," making it one of the easier book-to-film adaptations he had worked on. He commented that, like with any adaptation, the most difficult part of his writing assignment was to determine the overall structure of the story.[49] The film was also considerably lessgraphically violent than the novel. Crichton explained that he had made the novel graphic to force readers to take the dinosaurs seriously, which the film was able to naturally accomplish through the appearance of the dinosaurs, rendering the novel's gore unnecessary. He additionally attributed the film's reduced violence to his view that onscreen graphic violence breaks the audience'ssuspension of disbelief.[62] Crichton was accepting of changes to his novel, stating that because novels and films were different mediums, changes to the novel sometimes improved the film, and that his goal was not accuracy to the source material, but rather creating the best film possible.[2]
Spielberg removed an early scene in the novel, in which a pack ofProcompsognathus kill a baby, as he found it too horrific.[63] Another scene set in apterosaur aviary was also removed, as it did not move the plot along.[64] A major sequence, present in the novel and the two earlier screenplays, involved theT. rex chasing Grant and Hammond's grandchildren in a raft down a river. Koepp chose not to include this in his script: "I never wanted the raft sequence. It seemed to me that at certain points in the book we were being taken on sort of an obligatory tour past every dinosaur the park had to offer." He said the omission was an easy choice, calling the sequence redundant and noting that it would have been "monstrously expensive" to shoot.[65][66]Computer-generated imagery would be used to create some of the film's dinosaurs, and the technology's limitations at that time were another factor in removing the raft sequence. Koepp said that "making aT. rex, period, was going to be this enormous challenge. In the early '90s, water was still a big challenge for CG, and so the idea of making aT. rex and then having it swim was a bridge too far."[66] Scenes from the novel that were cut from the film adaptation would gradually be included in sequels,[67][68] with the raft sequence being featured in the 2025 filmJurassic World Rebirth.[69]
Several characters were modified for the film. Hammond, who was originally a ruthless and greedy businessman in the novel, was rewritten to be sympathetic, as Spielberg related to the character's obsession with showmanship.[70] The ages of Tim and Lex were switched; Spielberg did this because he wanted to work with the youngerJoseph Mazzello, and it allowed him to introduce the subplot of Lex's adolescent crush on Grant. For the film, Lex would also take on Tim's interest in computers.[71] In another change, Grant and Sattler are made a couple for the film, adding subtle romance.[72] Koepp changed Grant's relationship with the children, making him initially hostile to them to allow for more character development.[8] This is partly reflected through his relationship with Sattler, who wants them to have children of their own.[73] Removed from the film wasEd Regis, the park's public relations chief, whose cowardly traits were merged into Donald Gennaro.[74] Several other characters were reduced to one scene each, including Henry Wu,[75] Dr. Harding,[76] and Dodgson.[77] The name of InGen's corporate rival and Dodgson's employer,Biosyn, is also omitted and was eventually featured in the 2022 filmJurassic World Dominion.[78]
Because much of the film's budget was going toward its dinosaur effects, Spielberg sought to cast relatively unknown actors, saying: "Basically, I wanted good, solid actors who weren't going to charge outrageous prices. I didn't want to spend three to five million dollars apiece on actors".[79]Kurt Russell andRichard Dreyfuss were considered for the role of Alan Grant, but were deemed too expensive.[80]William Hurt,[81]Harrison Ford,[82] andTim Robbins turned down the role, which eventually went toSam Neill.[83]Laura Dern was cast as Ellie Sattler,[84] afterRobin Wright andJuliette Binoche turned down offers to play the character.[85][86]Embeth Davidtz,[87]Gwyneth Paltrow, andHelen Hunt had also auditioned for the role.[88] Despite a 20-year age difference between Neill and Dern, they found their onscreen romance appropriate for the time. Upon reuniting forJurassic World Dominion, Dern said she was surprised to realize how much of an age gap there is between them.[89]
Casting director Janet Hirshenson felt thatJeff Goldblum was right to play Ian Malcolm after reading the novel, althoughJim Carrey also auditioned for the role.[87] According to Hirshenson, Carrey "was terrific, too, but I think pretty quickly we all loved the idea of Jeff".[90] Other actors considered for the part includedTim Curry,Albert Brooks,Fisher Stevens,Barry Miller,Judd Nelson,Kevin Pollak,Timothy Hutton, andCharles Grodin.[91]Richard Attenborough was cast as John Hammond, but was initially hesitant to join the project, which marked his first acting role in 14 years. He eventually signed on at the insistence of Spielberg, who told him, "I can't see anyone else playing it but you".[92]Sean Connery, who Crichton had previously worked with onThe First Great Train Robbery, was also a top choice for Hammond, but Connery's fee was too high.[93][94] Neill, Dern, Goldblum, and Attenborough were cast late in pre-production, with only a few weeks to prepare for their roles.[95] According to Neill, the process "all happened real quick. I hadn't read the book, knew nothing about it, hadn't heard anything about it, and in a matter of weeks I'm working with Spielberg".[90] The start of filming was delayed a month to accommodate Neill's schedule.[96]
Ariana Richards, who plays Lex Murphy, said: "I was called into a casting office, and they just wanted me to scream. I heard later on that Steven had watched a few girls on tape that day, and I was the only one who ended up waking his sleeping wife off the couch, and she came running through the hallway to see if the kids were all right".[90]Christina Ricci also auditioned to play Lex.[97]Joseph Mazzello hadscreen-tested for a role inHook, but was deemed too young. Spielberg promised him they would work together on a future film, subsequently casting him for the role of Tim.[90]
Hirshenson, who previously castWhoopi Goldberg in the 1990 filmGhost, hadSamuel L. Jackson audition as Ray Arnold after Goldberg noted his performance in the 1991 filmJungle Fever. Spielberg and Hirshenson were instantly impressed with Jackson and gave him the role.[55] Spielberg choseWayne Knight to play Dennis Nedry after seeing him in the 1992 filmBasic Instinct.[72][98]BD Wong was cast as Dr. Henry Wu, both of Asian descent. He was disappointed by how small the role turned out to be compared with the novel, believing the character's reduced screentime to be the result of racism.[75]Cameron Thor had worked with Spielberg onHook, and initially auditioned to play Malcolm, before being cast as Dodgson.[77] Molen took on the small role of Dr. Harding.[76] In the novel,Richard Kiley provides the voice of the guide for the park's tour vehicles. For the film, Kiley was cast in the same role,[99] althoughJames Earl Jones was also considered; Jones later hosted the documentaryThe Making of Jurassic Park.[100]
Production designerRick Carter did not want the fictional theme park to have "a lot of commercialized edifices that feel shallow and overly bright and overly energetic. Even though that is something that the park would probably evolve into if it were finished, I thought as a film it would feel shallow. This is, after all, notDisneyland."[101] Carter designed the theme park to incorporatebuilding designs characteristic of the film's setting of Costa Rica.[7] The exterior design of the park's visitor center was loosely based on aJerusalem temple.[102] The interior design featured a dinosaur theme, including skeletons and a mural, the latter by artist Doug Henderson.[103][104]
For the control room, set designer Lauren Cory referred to computer environments at several theme parks as well as theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.[105][106] The set included a wall-mounted 6-by-8-foot (1.8 m × 2.4 m) screen and numerous computers,[105] lent byApple,Silicon Graphics,UMAX Technologies, andThinking Machines Corporation.[107][108][109]Jurassic Park was the first film to have computer screens running on-camera in real time. In previous films,CRT monitors failed to display correctly on film due to technical issues, resulting in computer screens needing to be inserted in post-production. The film crew solved this issue by dropping therefresh rate in the screens displayed in the film to 48 hertz.[110] A second room was built adjacent to the control room, in which a team controlled the graphics seen on the screens in the control room. A full 3D model of Isla Nublar was created to display on the main projection screen, and Earthwatch, a company that made 3D visualizations for computer stations, provided a hurricane model to use on the projection screen.[111]
The park's vehicles were designed by art directorJohn Bell.[112] The novel has electric-poweredToyota Land Cruisers as the tour vehicles, but Spielberg made a deal with theFord Motor Company, which provided sevenFord Explorers.[113][114] They received a custom paint job and a plexiglass roof. Like in the novel, the vehicles are presented asautonomous cars. They travel on a track that, in reality, was non-functional.[115]Industrial Light & Magic, along with veteran customizerGeorge Barris, modified the Explorers to be controlled by drivers hidden in the trunk of the vehicles,[112] with front-mounted cameras allowing them to see the road. Barris also customized theJeep Wranglers used by the park's workers.[116] For the sequence in which the Explorers are attacked by theT. rex, special effects supervisorMichael Lantieri used a complicated system of cables, winches, and rams to rig the vehicles to essentially crush themselves.[117]
In the film, Dodgson gives Nedry a container, disguised as a can of shaving cream, which is used to transport the stolen dinosaur embryos.[118][119] According to Bell, the script did not specify a brand of shaving cream, so he browsed at a drug store and eventually choseBarbasol for its distinctive design.[7][120] In addition, Bell designed prop night vision goggles used by Tim prior to theT. rex breakout,[120] which were in reality nonfunctional.[121]
The decision was made to forgo acostume designer.[122] Instead, Molen brought on the costume supervisors fromHook, who selectedready-to-wear clothing for the cast from various retailers. Malcolm's all-black outfit was an aspect lifted from the novel, and Goldblum added to it by wearing a black leather jacket. Hammond's all-white outfit was meant to evoke him as a sort of religious figure or deity.[123] Their outfits are meant to form a dichotomy, with Malcolm and his dark clothing symbolizing Crichton's cynicism and Hammond and his white clothing symbolizing Spielberg's optimism.[124]
Much of the Hawaiian shoot took place on the island ofKauaʻi, with many of the locations standing in for Isla Nublar
The film's fictional setting of Isla Nublar is located nearCosta Rica, which was briefly considered as a filming location early on; this idea was scrapped as production would have occurred during the country's rainy season.Puerto Rico was seriously considered as well, until Spielberg settled onKauaʻi, Hawaii. He attributed this decision to his age: "Had I been twenty-six instead of forty-five, I might have gone toYucatan or thePhilippines or Costa Rica–someplace really rugged." He also liked the idea of "staying in a nice Hawaiian hotel with room service and a pool", while stating that the tropical landscapes were as good as, or better than, the alternative sites.[125] In addition, Spielberg was familiar with Hawaii, having filmed there in the past, and was concerned about infrastructure and accessibility at the other locations.[7] Set construction began in early June 1992, nearly three months before the start of filming. Some of the locations were remote and only accessible with off-road vehicles.[126]
After 25 months of pre-production, filming began on August 24, 1992, at Olokele Canyon.[127][108] Richards and Mazzello attended school during filming, and Spielberg would sometimes pull Mazzello, who had expressed interest in directing, out of classes to give him lessons about the profession.[128] The three-week Kauaʻi shoot was focused on exterior scenes, many of them set on Isla Nublar during daytime.[129] Spontaneous cloud coverage occurred frequently, necessitating the use of lighting and film exposure tricks in order to match with previously shot footage.[130] Scenes of the park's visitors arriving and departing Isla Nublar, via helicopter, were filmed atMānāwaiopuna Falls, which became commonly known as Jurassic Falls after the film's release.[131][132] Keōpuka Rock, alternatively known as Jurassic Rock, was used for an early shot of the helicopter as it approaches Isla Nublar. The rock is located near the island ofMaui, but filming otherwise continued on Kauaʻi.[132]
The exterior of the Jurassic Park visitor center was built on the grounds of the Valley House Plantation Estate.[133] It was constructed as a 60-foot (18 m) high facade, nearly 200 feet (61 m) in length.[134] A Jurassic Park gate, marking the start of the theme park tour, was built at the base ofMount Waiʻaleʻale.[135]
Trees atAllerton Garden, used for a scene involving a dinosaur nest
Towering fences, standing 24 feet (7.3 m), were among the on-site construction work, representing the electrified perimeters of theT. rex enclosure during daytime scenes. Despite the simple design of the fencing, the project proved to be one of the most difficult for the production crew, as one of the filming sites was the remote Olokele Canyon. Lantieri said the crew "had to haul all of this steel up there, drill holes like you would for telephone poles, pour concrete, and then pull all of the cables, which were three-quarter-inch aluminum with steel in the middle."[140]
The longest stretch of fence measured over 200 feet (61 m), and more than 6 miles (9.7 km) of cable were used in total. Spielberg wanted to avoid sagging in the cables, so the crew hired workers from a local company that was experienced with power lines. Lantieri called the project "an enormous job—and for very little payoff. People will look at the movie and say, 'Oh, there's a fence,' never realizing what it took to get it there."[140] The canyon location was used for a scene in which Grant and the children, on their way to the visitor center, must climb over the fence to proceed.[141]
On September 11, 1992, the last scheduled day of the Kauaʻi shoot,Hurricane Iniki passed directly over the island. The cast and crew found out too late about the impending hurricane and took shelter at their hotel. Spielberg and a small crew ventured outside during the hurricane to capture brief footage, used in the film to depict the storm that hits Isla Nublar. A scene depicting aGallimimus herd was to be shot on Kauaʻi, but the island was ravaged by the hurricane.[121][142] The scene was instead filmed two weeks later atKualoa Ranch, located on the island ofOʻahu. With its high cliffs, the ranch was considered more attractive than the empty plain that was originally planned for the scene.[143] The hurricane also prevented an onscreen death for Ray Arnold, who was supposed to be chased down and killed by aVelociraptor; in the final film, he dies offscreen.[77][144] Despite the hurricane, the Hawaiian shoot came in essentially on budget and on schedule.[145]
By September 15, 1992, the cast and crew had moved to California, where the remainder of filming was scheduled to take place, primarily onsound stages.[145] The majority of stage shooting occurred at theUniversal Studios Lot in the Los Angeles area.[146] Among the first sets to be used there was an industrial-sized kitchen, which was built on Stage 24, for when the raptors stalk Lex and Tim.[108][147] The sequence was filmed over two weeks.[148] Because the kitchen was filled with reflective surfaces, Cundey had to carefully plan the illumination while also using black cloths to hide the light reflections.[149][150]
Filming moved to Stage 23 for scenes involving the maintenance shed interior, before moving toRed Rock Canyon, which stood in as Grant's paleontological dig site.[151][152] The filmmakers originally planned to shoot inMontana, where the scene is set, but this was scrapped to save time and money.Jack Horner, the film's paleontological advisor, was consulted to ensure an accurate representation of a dig site,[152] although some aspects of the dig were changed due toartistic license.[153] Other paleontologists have found the scene to be overly simplified and unrealistic.[154]
Filming continued to progress ahead of schedule,[155] with Spielberg crediting the project's extensive use of storyboards; every action sequence in the film had been storyboarded almost two years prior to the start of filming, and Spielberg tightly followed the storyboards when shooting the sequences.[72] Back at Universal, Stage 27 was decorated with real and synthetic jungle vegetation for various scenes.[156] The stage was used initially to depict Grant helping Tim out of a tour vehicle, after it has been shoved over a cliff by theT. rex and into a tree.[146] Upon retrieving Tim, the vehicle begins to drop through the tree foliage, forcing the humans to quickly descend before being crushed. This was one of the most challenging scenes to shoot and required the creation of a 50-foot (15 m) artificial tree, made of steel, with the vehicle dropped down the tree multiple times to acquire the needed footage. Spielberg wanted the tree to appear three times taller than it actually was, so three sides were each decorated to represent a different portion of the vehicle drop.[157] The same steel structure was then redressed to serve as a different tree, for a scene in which Grant and the children take refuge and encounter aBrachiosaurus.[108][158] Stage 28 was used for scenes taking place in the park's control room and laboratory.[159] Over the course of a day,[75] Wong shot his scene on the latter set,[160] which was decorated by laboratory technician Ron Rogge to look like an authenticmolecular biology laboratory.[153]
Universal lacked a stage large enough to accommodate theT. rex breakout set, which was instead filmed on Stage 16 atWarner Bros. Studios, located nearby.[101] Filming began there on October 27, 1992, with the stage decorated to match the Hawaii footage.[161] The sequence is set at night during a storm, and the stage included rain machines and mud, making the shoot wet and messy for the cast and crew.[162] Spielberg anticipated that the sequence could be the most difficult of the film, due to the rain machines and the logistics of using a life-sizedT. rexanimatronic.[163] Complications arose when theT. rex began to shake and quiver from extra weight, as the dinosaur's foam rubber skin had absorbed a significant amount of the rainwater. Crew members had to dry the model withshammies between takes.[149][164] The animatronic was so heavy that it was effectively impossible to move, so when theT. rex was supposed to move within the scene, the crew instead shifted the whole set around the animatronic to give the appearance that theT. rex was in a different place.[165]
During the scene where theT. rex attacks a tour vehicle, the animatronic hit the vehicle's plexiglass roof with more force than intended, and one of its teeth came out; it was so difficult to reinsert that Spielberg decided to continue shooting without it, resulting in theT. rex having a missing tooth in the final film.[121][166] The sequence in the novel had included theT. rex lifting a vehicle in its mouth and then throwing it, which was removed becauseTyrannosaurus rex was not large enough for such a thing to be possible. Instead, Spielberg had theT. rex headbutt the vehicle, which was inspired by the filmHatari!.[167] The behaviors of theT. rex were modeled on real predators in order to make it feel more lifelike. The way it rips through the back of a tour vehicle trying to get to Lex and Tim was patterned after a cat ripping into a mouse, and the scene was written to continue with the dinosaur trying to drag the car back to its lair, which was cut for being too creepy.[168][169] It was decided onset that theT. rex would eat Gennaro; the initial plan was to have him killed offscreen, but this was changed when the filmmakers realized that theT. rex did not eat anybody in the film.[168] Unlike in monster films such asGodzilla, where the camera tends to be higher to show off the monster, the sequence was shot entirely at ground level, as Spielberg wanted the audience to see theT. rex from the point of view of the characters.[170]
An early shot in the sequence focuses on the dashboard of one of the vehicles, with ripples forming in a glass of water, caused by the footsteps of the approachingT. rex. This was inspired by Spielberg listening toEarth, Wind & Fire in his car, and the vibrations the bass rhythm caused. Lantieri was unsure how to create the shot until the night before filming when he put a glass of water on his guitar, which achieved the concentric circles in the water that Spielberg wanted. The next morning, guitar strings were run through the car, and a man on the floor plucked them to achieve the effect.[20][171] Like Gennaro, Malcolm was originally scripted to flee in fear from theT. rex. This was changed with an on-set suggestion by Goldblum, who felt that heroic action was better. Instead, the scene features Malcolm using a flare to distract the dinosaur, allowing Grant to retrieve the children from the wrecked tour vehicle.[149]
The Warner Bros. set included the cliff that theT. rex shoves the vehicle over.[172] Koepp questioned the set design,[173] which created an apparentplot hole,[174] as the cliff would appear seemingly where the dinosaur had broken out: "I asked Steven, 'Don't you think people are going to notice that suddenly there's this cliff?' And he looked at me like I was from another planet and pointed at the great big robot of theT. rex and said, 'There's aT. rex! They're not gonna notice anything else but that!' And he was right." Also filmed at Warner Bros. was theT. rex's pursuit of a Jeep.[173] Returning to Universal, the filmmakers shot scenes involving the deaths of Nedry and Muldoon, both on Stage 27;[108][175] this location and Stage 16 were the only sound stages used for exterior scenes.[101]
The film was initially written to end with Grant using a crane to maneuver one raptor into the jaws of a fossil tyrannosaur and Hammond shooting the other one with arocket launcher, while theT. rex was set to be killed off earlier in the film.[33][176][177] However, theT. rex sequence at Warner Bros., shot weeks before the end of filming, made Spielberg realize the dinosaur was the main star ofJurassic Park. He felt that audiences would be disappointed if theT. rex did not make a final appearance, and had the ending changed so the dinosaur faces off against multiple raptors in the visitor center, inadvertently saving the humans.[20][178] Afterward, theT. rex makes what Spielberg described as a "King Kong-esque roar" while a banner reading "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" falls.[149] Because theT. rex animatronic was enormously heavy, and the visitor center set had not been built to accommodate it, theT. rex in the ending sequence had to be digitally rendered.[33] In the film, a pair of dinosaur skeletons hang from the ceiling, and break apart when aVelociraptor crashes into them. Molds for the bones were provided by Research Casting International, a company that provided molds for museum displays, and the skeletons were constructed by Lantieri's team. They had to determine how theVelociraptor would crash into the display, and how each part of the skeleton collapsing would impact the other parts. The bones were prescored in order to create weak points so that the skeleton would break into predictable sections. The display was held together by cables and pneumatic rams, which could be released sequentially in order to make specific parts of the skeletons collapse in order. Everything was very carefully timed in order to ensure that the collapse would go exactly as planned. Lantieri described it as being "very much like dance choreography" and said that it was extremely challenging, partially because the disassembling had to be achieved in one take.[179] The visitor center interior was constructed on Stage 12 at Universal. Cundey shot the finale with wide lenses to show off as much of the set as possible, but this also made the placing of on-set lights a "painstaking" process.[180] According to assistant directorJohn T. Kretchmer, the final scene to be filmed was a retake of a shot in the scene where Hammond meets Grant and Sattler. Spielberg, who rarely used more than seven takes, retook that shot about sixteen times, explaining to Kretchmer that he loved filming the movie and did not want to stop.[181]Jurassic Park wrapped under budget and 12 days ahead of schedule on November 30, 1992.[28][182]
ForJurassic Park, Spielberg sought to go beyond a simple monster movie,[7] with Carter stating that they "tried to find the animal in the dinosaur as opposed to the monster in the dinosaur. The idea was not to make them any less threatening, but rather to keep them from doing as much 'monster schtick.'"[64] Underscoring this point, Spielberg banned the words "monster" and "creature" on set, forcing the crew to refer to the dinosaurs as "animals" instead.[33][53] Spielberg hired paleontologistJack Horner to ensure that the dinosaurs would be designed and portrayed accurately, based on then-current knowledge of the animals.[183] Certain concepts about dinosaurs were followed, like the theory that theyevolved into birds and were not related to reptiles; Horner was a strong advocate for the theory, which was notwidely accepted at the time.[184] This prompted the removal of the raptors' flicking tongues in earlyanimatics,[20] as Horner complained it was implausible;[185] his suggestion for a replacement shot, the kitchen door window fogging up as a raptor breathes on it, emphasized that the raptors were warm-blooded like birds but unlike reptiles.[186]
Despite the film title's referencing theJurassic period,Brachiosaurus andDilophosaurus are the only dinosaurs featured that lived during that time; the other species in the film did not exist until theCretaceous.[187] The latter period is mentioned early in the film when Grant describes the ferocity ofVelociraptor to a young boy, saying: "Try to imagine yourself in the Cretaceous period".[188]
The dinosaurs were created through various methods, includinganimatronics andcomputer-generated imagery (CGI).[178][189] Spielberg sought to use full-scale dinosaurs on-set as much as possible, rather than relying onstop motion, apost-production method commonly used in dinosaur films up to that point.[21] He knew, early on, that stop motion would still be needed forwide shots of the dinosaurs.[190] To help create the dinosaurs, Spielberg consulted and worked closely withDennis Muren, an effects supervisor atIndustrial Light & Magic (ILM), which had already provided effects for several of his films.[72][191] Spielberg hiredPhil Tippett, who had previously created stop-motion dinosaur effects for the short filmPrehistoric Beast and the documentary filmDinosaur!, to create the dinosaur wide shots usinggo motion, a variation of stop motion, with ILM set to refine his work throughcompositing and addingmotion blur.[192][193][194] Tippett was hired very early in production, prior to the publication of Crichton's novel, and gave input to Spielberg and Koepp during the development of the script, providing them with guidance on dinosaur accuracy as well as what was possible to film based upon his effects experience and knowledge of dinosaurs.[195] Also hired early in production was special effects supervisorMichael Lantieri, who was heavily involved with determining how to create full-sized dinosaurs.[196]
Early on, Spielberg thought of hiring ride designerBob Gurr to create the full-scale dinosaurs,[61] having been impressed by his work on a giant mechanicalKing Kong, made for theKing Kong Encounter atUniversal Studios Hollywood.[197][198] Upon reflection, Spielberg felt that Gurr's life-sized robots would be too expensive and unconvincing.[20][198] The crew also consideredDinamation, as well asJim Henson's Creature Shop, for the creation of full-size dinosaurs.[199] Spielberg then contacted effects artistStan Winston,[200] having seen his work on theAlien Queen in the 1986 filmAliens. Winston said the Queen was easy compared to a dinosaur animatronic, because it was lightweight and did not have to look like a real animal.[201] A decade earlier, Winston had declined to work on Spielberg'sE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was a decision he regretted. As a result, despite not having any idea if it was possible for his team to build animatronic dinosaurs, Winston agreed to work on the film. This was not an official contract, however, as Universal had not yet greenlitJurassic Park.[202]
Mark "Crash" McCreery, one of Winston's artists, created numerous dinosaur sketches over the course of about a year, focusing particularly on scientific accuracy.[203][202] These impressed Universal, which eventually hired Winston's team to make the film's on-set dinosaurs.[204] Winston and ILM also worked together on the 1991 filmTerminator 2: Judgment Day.[205] As with previous films, Winston's workers consisted of two groups: the art department, responsible in this case for the dinosaurs' outer appearance; and the mechanical department, which would handle the technical inner workings.[206] The design for the appearance of the dinosaurs was most strongly influenced by the artwork of paleoartistJohn Gurche.[207] Every dinosaur in the film was designed by Winston's crew, including the ones that were not filmed with animatronics. Animatronics were created of theBrachiosaurus,Dilophosaurus,Triceratops,T. rex, andVelociraptor, as well as theVelociraptor hatchling.[208] Winston's crew created fully detailed fifth-scale models of the dinosaurs and cut them into cross-sections, then expanded each cross-section to full size versions made of plywood, fiberglass, Roma clay, and hardware cloth, which were then assembled onto a robotic frame.[209] The animatronics then underwent final sculpting, andlatex skin was fitted on.[20][207] Sound stages were considered the most ideal filming environment for the animatronics, allowing sets to be built on elevated platforms with the mechanics of the dinosaurs concealed underneath.[210] Those mechanics, described as "dinosaur interfaces," were built by Lantieri's team to allow for the creatures to have a broad range of movement, with rigs that would accommodate Winston's puppeteers, pneumatics, and underground cranes and dollies.[211] Lantieri's team quickly discovered that jungle sets were comparatively easy to hide interfaces in, as foliage was able to conceal equipment, while indoor sets had fewer hiding spots. The most difficult set to incorporate dinosaur interfaces into was the kitchen set, as so much of the set was visible in the shots; the problem was eventually solved by hiding rods in the floor and countertops, as well as building a harness system for theVelociraptors and adolly system underneath the floor.[167] As Winston's crew had to be on set during filming in order to operate the animatronics, they were classified as actors and joined theScreen Actors Guild.[212]
In addition to wide shots, Tippett was tasked with creating go-motionanimatics early on to help develop two major sequences: one depicting theT. rex breakout, and the other involving the raptors in the kitchen. His team built the dinosaur puppets out offoam rubber and based their design on maquettes made by Winston.[20][213][214] Despite go motion's attempts atmotion blurs, Spielberg found the end results unsatisfactory for a live-action feature film.[20] He wanted to include a stampede of dinosaur herds, but was unsure how to achieve this. After breaking new ground with the CGI effects inTerminator 2, Muren thought ILM could handle the stampede rather than Tippett: "Creating herds of animals with puppets would be very difficult, so I thought maybe that was something we might be able to do with computer graphics."[72][205]
ILM animatorSteve Williams believed that more could be done with CGI than just the stampede: "All of us wanted a crack at theT-rex, but we thought we could never get it because Stan was already in there, and so was Phil. But the attraction was strong, so I secretly started building someT-rex bones in the computer." Williams scanned the schematics of aT. rex skeleton at theRoyal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology to create his virtual skeleton and then animated awalk cycle for it. Fellow animatorMark Dippé also believed that CGI could be used for the film on a large scale, pushing Muren for months to consider the possibility. Muren was hesitant to commit to creating additional CGI dinosaurs because he was concerned about ILM's ability to produce the unprecedented effects within the film's production timeline, and because the production had already committed to the use of animatronics and stop motion. Muren, Kennedy and Molen were impressed when Williams unveiled his skeleton animation, and Muren was given approval to explore the use of CGI for the herd shots.[215][216]
TheT. rex animation was examined further. Winston's fifth-scale prototype of the dinosaur was scanned byCyberware, and the data was refined with various computer programs to fit over the skeleton, creating a digitalT. rex. The model was lit byStefen Fangmeier and animated by Williams using programs such as Sock, with the finished result impressing Spielberg so much that he scrapped the go-motion method, instead tasking ILM with creating digital dinosaurs for full-body shots.[7][217][218] Upon seeing theT. rex animation, Tippett had declared, "I think I'm extinct." Spielberg had this incorporated into the script: Grant, impressed by Jurassic Park's living dinosaurs, says to Sattler, "We're out of a job," to which Malcolm replies, "Don't you mean extinct?"[20][61]
The "Dinosaur Input Device" raptor used for the film
Tippett had assembled a 30-person crew to prepare for the go-motion segments; Spielberg did not wish to lose his expertise, and Muren sought to keep him involved with the project as an advisor to ILM's animators. Muren later noted that "this is the first generation of computer animators, and they are struggling with hardware and software limitations that make the process excruciatingly painful and slow." Although Tippett disliked computers, Muren eventually convinced him to remain involved onJurassic Park. Tippett and the ILM team spent approximately a month learning each other's respective fields.[217]
Tippett, who was also an amateur paleontologist, acted as a consultant for dinosaur anatomy and movement,[20][192] and his animatics were used, along with storyboards, as a reference for what would be shot during the action sequences, as a guide for the movements of Winston's animatronics, and to help the actors visualize the dinosaurs that would be in the sequence.[149][214][219] ILM's artists were sent on private tours to zoos, marine exhibits, and a local animal park, so they could study large animals – rhinos, elephants, alligators, and giraffes – up close. They also took classes in mime, dance, movement, and stop-motion to aid in understanding movements.[220][221] The design team also watched previous films that featured dinosaurs, includingKing Kong,Fantasia, and the work ofRay Harryhausen in order to see how dinosaurs had been portrayed in the past and determine what they wanted to improve upon.[222] A "movementbible" was developed, which contained information about the dinosaurs' movements and character traits.[223]
In an effects test, theT. rex model displayed an issue with unusually jerky movement, which ILM's animators were unable to fix. To solve this,Tippett Studio and ILM created Dinosaur Input Devices, which werearmatures with motion encoders that fed information into computers, allowing Tippett Studio artistsRandal M. Dutra and Tom St. Amand to animatewire-frame models of the dinosaurs like stop-motion puppets. St. Amand and Bart Trickel built twoVelociraptor armatures and twoT. rex armatures, each about 3 feet (0.91 m) long and made of aircraft aluminum in order to be as light as possible. All of the encoders, which were placed at the joints of the armatures, transmitted data through wires to a controller box, which converted the sensor signals into computer input. This logged the movement askey frames throughPixar'sRenderMan software, which ILM animators then smoothed and refined to make the movement more realistic. The movement was then applied to a full digital dinosaur model, which was created bylaser scanning Winston's fifth-scale models. The creation of the devices was supervised by Thomas A. Williams, as Tippett Studio artistCraig Hayes designed the armatures, Pixar's Rick Sayre built the controller box, and Brian Knep designed the computer software. The software was made to be very easy to use, as most Tippett Studio artists had very limited computer experience. The development of the devices took about four months, of which two months were spent prototyping and a further 6–8 weeks was spent building the final armatures. Rough replicas of the sets were created in both the computer and physically, in miniature, in order to simulate the interaction of the dinosaurs with their environment. The stop-motion animators planned the movement of the dinosaurs by manually posing every few frames and allowing the computer to link the frames together. However, for the final shots, every frame was hand-animated, as the computer-generated motion between key frames looked unnaturally smooth. A total of 15 CGI shots, including eight of the eleven CGI shots in theT. rex escape sequence and a further seven shots in the kitchen sequence, made use of the devices, while the film's other 37 CGI shots had the motion animated directly on the dinosaur models usingSoftimage 3D. The artists then used a newly developed program called Viewpaint to painttexture maps onto the models, providing color and texture to the dinosaurs. Enveloping, a program ILM built for the purpose of enhancing the dinosaur animation, allowed the animators to realistically simulate the movement of skin over the underlying bones and muscles. The dinosaurs were incorporated into the live-action footage using multiple tools, including placing green tennis balls and glow sticks as reference points formatch moving through SoftImage to allow free camera movement, digitalrotoscoping usingMatador, and compositing, which included inserting digitalblur,film grain, camera movement, camera bounce, and various environmental effects, all in order to create the impression that the dinosaurs were recorded in-camera and were not digital effects. Finally, imperfections and filming tools such as cables and winches were painted out using Matador andPhotoshop.[7][224][225][226][227] Rather than using quick shots of dinosaurs, which were customary for effects shots of the time, Muren and Tippett used longer shots to mimic the style of anature documentary.[228] Determining which dinosaur shots would be rendered through Winston's animatronics and which would be rendered through CGI depended upon multiple factors, including how much movement the dinosaur would perform within the shot, as walking shots required CGI, as well as the extent to which the dinosaur would interact with the environment, because physical interaction was easier with animatronics.[229]
Because the film was on the forefront of photorealistic CGI development, numerous challenges arose for the cast and crew as they filmed while attempting to account for dinosaurs that had not yet been rendered. The production staff employed a variety of tools in order to establish line-of-sight references for the actors, including holding up boards in locations where a dinosaur would later be composited on, which would be marked with the letter "X",[7] or have dinosaur heads sketched on them.[128] During theGallimimus sequence, the ILM animators simply inserted a dinosaur wherever the actors happened to look.[77] The huge amount ofrender time required for theT. rex escape sequence was a concern, so Spielberg made the decision to have the sequence shot at night, in the rain, with only one light source, which meant that large parts of the dinosaur were hidden in shadow and thus did not have to be rendered.[230] In order to provide audio cues and help the actors emote, Spielberg roared into a megaphone, attempting to mimic dinosaur vocalizations.[231] Cundey had difficulty in constructing shots with computer-generated dinosaurs, including framing the camera for creatures that had not yet been composited in, as well as creating the optimal lighting for CGI realism. He credited his prior experience working onWho Framed Roger Rabbit for helping him solve these problems.[35]
The CGI dinosaurs by ILM, based on Winston's designs,[72] took nearly a year to complete.[232] Compositing the animals onto the live action scenes took around an hour. Rendering the dinosaurs often took two to four hours per frame, while theT. rex in the rain required six hours per frame.[233]Jurassic Park has 52 CGI shots, with the end fight between theT. rex and raptors using all-CGI dinosaurs,[20][72] something that made Spielberg nervous until he saw the finished result.[234] The 127-minute film has 15 minutes of total screen time for the dinosaurs, including nine minutes of animatronics and six minutes of CGI.[235][236]
The life-sized animatronicTyrannosaurus rex on the set. It is the largest sculpture ever made by Stan Winston Studio.[237]
Various dinosaurs are featured throughout the film:
Alamosaurus appears as a skeleton in the Jurassic Park visitor center.[238]
Brachiosaurus is the first dinosaur the park's visitors see. It is inaccurately depicted as chewing its food and standing up on its hind legs to browse among the high tree branches.[239] According to artist Andy Schoneberg, the chewing was done to make the animal seem docile, resembling a cow chewing its cud. The dinosaur's head and upper neck was the largest puppet without hydraulics built for the film.[240] The animal's large size led Winston's team to create a 1/19th-scale model as reference as opposed to the 1/5th-scale sculptures of the other dinosaurs.[211] While filming the scene in which the park visitors express shock when seeing theBrachiosaurus for the first time, a large X on a piece of paper was placed where the head of theBrachiosaurus would have been, as a line-of-sight reference and for the actors to react to.[7] Despite scientific evidence ofBrachiosaurus having limited vocal capabilities, sound designerGary Rydstrom decided to represent them withwhale songs,cow noises, anddonkey calls to give them a melodic sense of wonder.Penguins were also recorded to be used in the noises of the dinosaurs.[239] A combination of afire hydrant and theblowhole of awhale were used to create the sound of theBrachiosaurus sneezing.[241]
Dilophosaurus is also very different from its real-life counterpart, made significantly smaller to ensure audiences did not confuse it with the raptors.[242] Itsneck frill and its ability to spit venom are fictitious. Its vocal sounds were initially made of pleasantswan vocalizations as well as sounds of adog and a babyostrich, with sounds of ahawk, ahowler monkey, anegret, and arattlesnake incorporated once theDilophosaurus reveals its neck frill.[20][241][243][244] The animatronic model, nicknamed "Spitter" by Winston's team, was animated by the puppeteers sitting on a trench in the set floor, using apaintball mechanism to spit the mixture ofmethyl cellulose andK-Y Jelly that served as venom.[245]
Gallimimus are featured in a stampede scene in which theTyrannosaurus eats one of them. TheGallimimus was the first dinosaur to be digitized, featured in two ILM tests, initially as a herd of skeletons and then fully skinned while pursued by theT. rex.[20] Its design was based onostriches, and to emphasize the birdlike qualities, the animation focused mostly on the herd rather than individual animals.[246] As reference for the dinosaurs' run, the animators were filmed running at the ILM parking lot, with plastic pipes standing in as a fallen tree that theGallimimus jump over. One of the animators fell over while attempting the jump, which inspired the decision to have one of theGallimimus fall as well.[220] Horse squeals became theGallimimus's sounds.[241]
Parasaurolophus appear in the background during the first encounter with theBrachiosaurus.[247]
Triceratops has an extended cameo, depicted as sick from eating a toxic plant. Spielberg had initially intended to shoot scenes involving theTriceratops, as well as the other animatronics, in Los Angeles towards the end of the shooting schedule, but unexpectedly changed his mind, causing a logistical nightmare for Winston, who suddenly had only four months to build the animatronic.[248][249] The model, operated by eight puppeteers on Kauaʻi, was the first dinosaur model filmed during production,[7] and was the only one brought to Hawaii for filming.[36] Winston also created a babyTriceratops for Richards to ride, a scene cut from the script due to pacing and tonal issues.[250][251] TheTriceratops vocals were primarily constructed from the sound of the cows nearSkywalker Ranch, and Rydstrom recorded himself breathing into a cardboard tube to create the sound of the sick dinosaur's breathing.[241]
TheTyrannosaurus (an individual sometimes referred to as "Rexy") was partly represented by a life-sized animatronic, which stood 20 feet (6.1 m), weighed 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg), and was 40 feet (12 m) long.[178][252] It was the largest creature made by Winston's studio up to that point.[253] Horner called it "the closest I've ever been to a live dinosaur".[252] While the consulting paleontologists did not agree on the dinosaur's movement, particularly its running capabilities, animatorSteve Williams decided to "throw physics out the window and create aT. rex that moved at sixty miles per hour even though its hollow bones would have busted if it ran that fast".[254] The major reason was theT. rex chasing a Jeep, a scene that took two months to finish.[239] The dinosaur is depicted with a vision system based on movement, though later studies indicate theT. rex hadbinocular vision comparable to abird of prey.[255] In the film, its roar was created by combining a lion's roar, a tiger's snarl, a baby elephant's scream and the noises of alligators and crocodiles.[a] Its grunts are those of a malekoala,[259] and its breath was created using the sound of whale's blowhole.[239] A dog attacking a rope toy was used for the sounds of theT. rex tearing aGallimimus apart,[20] whileredwood trees crashing to the ground became the sound of its footsteps.[149]
Velociraptor plays a major role in the film.The creature's depiction is not based on the actual dinosaur genus, which was significantly smaller. Crichton instead based his version onDeinonychus, which his research had indicated to be aVelociraptor relative.[260] He kept theVelociraptor name as he thought it sounded more dramatic.[261] Shortly beforeJurassic Park's release,[262] the similarUtahraptor was discovered, although it proved even bigger than the film's raptors. This prompted Winston to joke, "After we created it, they discovered it".[252] For the attack on Muldoon and parts of the kitchen sequence, the raptors wereplayed by men in suits.[263] Other methods would also be used to portray the dinosaurs, including on-set puppets.[264] During a take on the kitchen set, one of the raptors slammed into Mazzello, who sustained a minor head injury from its hand claw.[128]Dolphin screams,walruses bellowing,[20]geese hissing,an African crane'smating call,tortoises mating, and a human rasp were mixed to formulate various raptor sounds.[241][259][239] The human rasp used for theVelociraptor is the only human voice that was used to make dinosaur vocalizations. The sound of the baby dinosaur was created by recording various baby animals, in order to make the dinosaur sound cute; after it is revealed that the dinosaur is aVelociraptor, raspy sounds of a baby owl are incorporated, in order to make the babyVelociraptor sound unsettling.[241] Following discoveries made after the film's release, most paleontologists theorize thatdromaeosaurs likeVelociraptor andDeinonychus werecovered with feathers like modern birds. This feature is included inJurassic Park III for the male raptors, which have a row of small quills on their heads.[265]
Editing had already started during filming, and within days of wrapping, Kahn had arough cut ready, allowing Spielberg to start filmingSchindler's List.[266] During this time, Spielberg left Kennedy in charge of the day-to-daypost-production responsibilities onJurassic Park.[267] He was sent effects shots throughsatellite and encryptedfiber-optic cable, through which he monitored the progress while filming in Poland.[268] Four times a week, he and Kahn, who was also in Poland forSchindler's List, had teleconferences with Kennedy and ILM's crew.[269][270] Spielberg estimated that 40 percent of the post-production process was done through this long-distance arrangement.[72] He said working simultaneously on two vastly different productions was "a bipolar experience", where he used "every ounce of intuition onSchindler's List and every ounce of craft onJurassic Park".[269]
Along with the digital effects, Spielberg wanted the film to be the first with digital sound. He funded the creation ofDTS (Digital Theater Systems) to allow audiences to "really hear the movie the way it was intended to be heard".[269] Rather than the audio track being directly contained on the35mm film, the film's audio was played onto aCD-ROM disc, with a backup analog soundtrack in case of problems.[271] The sound effects crew was supervised by Spielberg's friend and ILM founderGeorge Lucas.[272] Spielberg flew on weekends from Poland to Paris, where he met with sound designerGary Rydstrom for updates.[269] Rydstrom initially asked scientists what dinosaurs had sounded like, but paleontologists had not yet determined the answer to his question, so he began from scratch. He chose to use only organic sounds for dinosaur vocalizations, and built a library of animal sounds to draw from, all of which were recorded for the film, with nostock sound effects.[20][243] Rydstrom considered the sound process fun, given the film had all kinds of noise—animal sounds, rain, gunshots, car crashes—and at times no music.[241][269][273] The process was finished by the end of April 1993.[239]
In addition to the CGI dinosaurs, ILM also created elements such as water splashing, digital humans, cars, and, for the first time ever in a film,digital face replacement.[20][168][176] In total, a small team of six animators and 40 artists in the computer graphics department at ILM worked on the film.[274] The technology for the effects dramatically improved through the course of production, as shots that ILM initially believed to be impossible became achievable by the end of production.[269] This particularly impacted the climax, which was the last CGI sequence to be planned out because of Spielberg's last-minute decision to change it. Tippett played a major role in arranging the choreography of the fight, including camera angles and the dinosaur behavior. ILM used harder, more complex shots in the finale than anywhere else in the film, including tight close-ups on the CGIT. rex, which required more detailedtexture maps than all the other shots in the film. Muren pushed to shoot the climax as though it was a real animal fight, with awide-angle lens and slightly delayed camera movements to emphasize the dinosaurs' spontaneity.[275]Jurassic Park was completed on May 28, 1993, after ILM concluded its CGI work.[276]
John Williams, a frequent composer of Spielberg's films,[36] began scoringJurassic Park at the end of February 1993.Alexander Courage and John Neufeld provided the score'sorchestrations.[239] Williams wrote themes designed to evoke a sense of wonder, attempting to imbue audiences with the feeling of "admiration and respect" that small children have when viewing dinosaur exhibits at a natural history museum.[277] Three central themes were written, each with multiple variations. The first, associated with the herbivorous dinosaurs, was described by Williams as having "almost a religious aspect". The second, a more adventurous theme, is more unpredictable and adaptable, reflecting the park's capacity for wonder and terror. The third theme is built around a four-note motif, and is associated with theVelociraptors and theT. rex. However, two major sequences involving theT. rex do not use this theme. One is the escape sequence, which uses no music at all to increase tension, and the other is theT. rex's entrance in the climax, which was originally supposed to use the theme before Spielberg decided to use the adventure theme to reflect theT. rex being a heroic figure in the climax rather than a source of terror.[11] Williams's recording session was on March 30, 1993, well into post-production, which meant that Spielberg was unable to sit in on the recording for the first time in all of their collaborations, as he was occupied filmingSchindler's List in Poland. Instead, Williams previewed his scores on a piano for Spielberg to listen to before he left, and Spielberg was sent the full music inaudio cassette form as it was finished.[269][11] Thefirst soundtrack album was released on May 25, 1993.[278] For the 20th anniversary of the film's release, a new soundtrack was issued fordigital download on April 9, 2013, including four bonus tracks selected by Williams.[279]
1917 skeletal diagram ofTyrannosaurus published byHenry Fairfield Osborn, which was the basis of the novel's cover, and subsequently the logo of the films.[280]
Universal took the lengthy pre-production period to carefully plan theJurassic Park marketing campaign.[113] It cost $65 million and included deals with 100 companies to market 1,000 products.[281][282] These includedseveralJurassic Park video games,[283] a toy line byKenner distributed byHasbro,[284]McDonald's "Dino-Sized meals",[113] and anovelization for young children.[285] Universal spent about $20 million on television advertising, while an estimated $65 million was spent on television advertising forJurassic Park tie-in products.[286]
Much care was put into creating a logo that would serve to equally represent the fictional park and promote the movie and its tie-in products. Universal creative director Tom Martin teamed up with the design firm of Mike Salisbury, and out of 100 designs came one created bySandy Collora, one of Winston's employees. The design took theT. rex skeleton drawn byChip Kidd for the book's cover, put it into a circle, and added a rectangle with the title to create a badge-like structure. A jungle silhouette was added underneath for scale, and aNeuland typeface was used on the title.[287][288]John Alvin was hired to design the film's poster; he went through many revisions,[289] with the final design simply using the film'sT. rex logo.[280]
Neill recalled that the film was essentially marketed by Universal with the idea that the studio "could make huge blockbusters without 'movie stars", stating, "This was true enough, but I think it slightly irked us, the actors, to be reminded from time to time we were not real 'stars.'"[290] Universal would instead tease the film's dinosaurs as the primary attraction.[291] Ateaser trailer was released in December 1992, in which a mine worker discovers a piece of amber that would be used by the theme park. A full trailer debuted shortly thereafter, providing only a fleeting glimpse of the dinosaurs,[292][293] a tactic described by journalist Josh Horowitz, in 2007, as "that old Spielberg axiom of never revealing too much".[294] Due to a ruling by theBritish Board of Film Classification, the film's marketing in the United Kingdom was required to include a warning about disturbing content. This was only the second film to have such a content warning, after Spielberg'sJaws.[295] The film was marketed with thetagline "An Adventure 65 Million Years in the Making". This was a joke Spielberg made on set about the genuine, thousands of years old mosquito in amber used for Hammond's walking stick.[296]Jurassic Park was heavily marketed against its primary competitor,Last Action Hero, which ultimately struggled at the box office and with critics.[291]
Jurassic Parkpremiered at theUptown Theater inWashington, D.C. on June 9, 1993,[297][298] in support of two children's charities.[299] The film had previews on 1,412 screens starting at 9:30 pmEDT on Thursday, June 10, and officially opened on Friday in 2,404 theater locations and an estimated 3,400 screens.[300][301][302] Following the film's release, a traveling exhibition called "The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park" began, showcasing dinosaur skeletons and film props.[303] The film began its international release on June 25, in Brazil before further openings in South America and then rolling out around most of the rest of the world from July 16 until October.[304] The United Kingdom premiere helped save the Lyric Theatre inCarmarthen,Wales from closure, an event chronicled in the 2022 filmSave the Cinema.[305]
In anticipation of the film'sBlu-ray release,Jurassic Park had adigital print released in UK cinemas on September 23, 2011.[306]
Poster for the 2013 3D re-release
Two years later, for the 20th anniversary ofJurassic Park, a3D version of the film was released in cinemas.[307] Spielberg declared that he had produced the film with a sort of "subconscious 3D", as scenes feature animals walking toward the cameras and some effects of foreground and background overlay.[308] In 2011, he stated thatJurassic Park was the only one of his works he had considered for a conversion.[309] Once he saw the 3D version of the 1997 filmTitanic in 2012, he liked the new look of the film so much that he hired the same retrofitting company, Stereo D.[308] Stereo D executive Aaron Parry said the conversion was an evolution of what the company had done withTitanic, "being able to capitalize on everything we learned withJim [James Cameron] onTitanic and take it into a different genre and movie, and one with so many technical achievements". The studio had the help of ILM, which contributed some elements and updated effects shots for a better visual enhancement.[310] It opened in the United States and seven other territories on April 5, 2013,[311] with other countries receiving the re-release over the following six months.[312] In 2018, the film was re-released in select theaters to celebrate its 25th anniversary.[313] On August 25, 2023, the 3D version of the film was re-released in theaters to celebrate its 30th anniversary.[314]
Jurassic Park was first officially released onVHS byCIC Video on October 3, 1994, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it had an exclusive seven-week rental window before going on sale on November 21.[315] In the rest of the world, it was officially released on VHS andLaserDisc on October 4, 1994 (byMCA/Universal Home Video in the United States).[316] Despite the official release date, most US retailers decided not to wait that long and were selling it by 1 October.[317] The film's home video release was accompanied by a $65 million advertising campaign.[318] With 24 million units sold,Jurassic Park is the fourth-best-selling VHS tape ever.[319] ATHX certifiedWidescreen VHS was released on September 9, 1997.[320]
The film was also first released as a Collector's EditionDVD and VHS on October 10, 2000, in both Widescreen (1.85:1) andFull Screen (1.33:1) versions, and as part of a box set with the sequelThe Lost World: Jurassic Park and both movies' soundtrack albums.[321][322] It was the 13th-best-selling DVD of 2000 counting both versions, finishing the year with 910,000 units sold.[323] Following the release ofJurassic Park III, a new box set with all the films calledJurassic Park Trilogy was released on December 11, 2001.[324] It was repackaged asJurassic Park Adventure Pack on November 29, 2005.[325]
The trilogy was released onBlu-ray on October 25, 2011,[326] debuting at number five on the Blu-ray charts,[327] and was nominated as the best release of the year by both the Las Vegas Film Critics Society and theSaturn Awards.[328][329] In 2012,Jurassic Park was among twenty-five films chosen by Universal for a box set celebrating the studio's 100th anniversary,[330] while also receiving a standalone 100th anniversary Blu-ray featuring anaugmented reality cover.[331] The following year, the 20th anniversary 3D conversion was issued on Blu-ray 3D.[332]
The film, alongsideThe Lost World,Jurassic Park III andJurassic World, was released as part of a4K Ultra HD Blu-ray box set on May 22, 2018, in honor of the original film's 25th anniversary.[333]
Jurassic Park was broadcast on television for the first time onNBC on May 7, 1995, following the April 26 airing ofThe Making of Jurassic Park.[334] Some 68.12 million people tuned in, garnering NBC a 36 percent share of all available viewers that night.Jurassic Park was thehighest-rated theatrical film broadcast on television by any network compared to theatrical film ratings since April 1987.[335] In June–July 1995, the film aired a number of times on theTurner Network Television (TNT) network.[335]
Jurassic Park became thehighest-grossing film released worldwide up to that time, surpassing Spielberg's own 1982 filmE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[336] It grossed $3.1 million from Thursday night screenings in the United States and Canada on June 10, and $50.1 million in its first weekend from 2,404 theaters, breaking the opening weekend record set byBatman Returns the year before.[301][291]Jurassic Park held that record until 1995 whenBatman Forever took it.[337] It grossed a record $81.7 million by the end of its first week,[338] and reached $100 million in a record nine days,[339] and remained at number one for three weeks. It eventually grossed $357 million in the US and Canada, rankingsecond of all-time behindE.T.[340][341]Box Office Mojo estimates the film sold over 86.2 million tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run.[27]
Jurassic Park also did very well in international markets and was the first film to gross $500 million overseas, surpassing the record $280 million overseas gross ofE.T.[342][343] In Brazil, it also set an opening weekend record with a gross of $1,738,198 from 141 screens.[339] It went on to break further opening records around the world including in the United Kingdom, Japan, India, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, Australia, Taiwan, Italy, Denmark, South Africa and France.[344][345][346][347] In Japan, the film grossed $8.4 million from 237 screens in two days (including previews).[344]
In the United Kingdom,Jurassic Park also beat the opening weekend record set byBatman Returns with a gross of £4.875 million ($7.4 million) from 434 screens, including a record £443,000 from Thursday night previews, and also beatTerminator 2: Judgment Day's opening week record, with £9.2 million.[344][348][349][350] The film held the UK record until it was beaten byIndependence Day in 1996.[351] After 12 days of grossing over £1 million a day,Jurassic Park was the eighthhighest-grossing film of all time in the UK.[352] After just three weeks, it became the highest-grossing, surpassingGhost and eventually doubling the record with a gross of £47.9 million.[353][354] It spent a record eight consecutive weekends at thetop of the UK box office.[355]Jurassic Park would remain as Europe's box office leader before being surpassed byAladdin.[356]
In Australia, the film had the widest release ever and was the first to open with a one-day gross of more thanA$1 million, grossing A$5,447,000 (US$3.6 million) in its first four days from 192 screens, beating the opening record ofTerminator 2 and the weekly record set byThe Bodyguard with a gross of A$6.8 million.[357][358][345] In the same weekend, it also set an opening record in Germany with a gross ofDM 16.8 million ($10.5 million) from 644 screens.[345][357] In Italy, it had the widest release ever in 344 theaters and grossed a recordLire 9.5 billion ($6.1 million).[346] After 115 days of release, it surpassedE.T. as the highest-grossing film worldwide of all time.[359] It eventually opened in France on October 20, 1993, and grossed a record 75 million F ($13 million) in its opening week from over 515 screens.[360][347] Its first week admissions in France of almost 2.3 million surpassed the previous record set byRambo: First Blood Part II in 1985.[361]
The film set all-time records in, among others, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan (in US Dollars), Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand and the United Kingdom.[304][362][363][343][364][365] Ultimately the film grossed $914 million worldwide in its initial release,[366] with Spielberg reportedly earning over $250 million, the most a director or actor had earned from one film at the time.[367][304] Its record gross was surpassed in 1998 byTitanic, the first film to gross over $1billion.[368]
The 2011 UK release grossed £245,422 ($786,021) from 276 theaters, finishing at eleventh on the weekend box office list.[369] The 3D re-release in 2013 opened at fourth place in the US, with $18.6 million from 2,771 locations.IMAX showings accounted for over $6 million, with the 32 percent being the highest IMAX share ever for a nationwide release.[370] The reissue grossed $45.4 million in the United States and Canada. The international release had its most successful weekend in late August, when it managed to climb to the top of the box office with a $28.8 million debut in China.[371] This helped to bring the film's lifetime gross to $1.03 billion.[372]Jurassic Park was the 17th, and oldest, film to surpass the $1billion mark,[373] and the only film by Universal to achieve this until 2015, when the studio releasedFurious 7,Minions, and the fourthJurassic Park installmentJurassic World.[374]
Jurassic Park grossed an additional $374,238 in 2018 for its 25th anniversary re-release.[375] In June 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic closing most theaters worldwide and limiting what films played,Jurassic Park returned to 230 theaters (mostly drive-ins). It grossed $517,600, finishing in first for the fourth time in its history.[376] Following subsequent re-releases, the film has grossed over $1.058 billion worldwide.[377] As of 2025,Jurassic Park remains among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, both in the US and Canada (not adjusted for inflation) and worldwide.[378][379] It also remains the highest-grossing film directed by Spielberg.[380]
Review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes retrospectively reported an approval rating of 91% based on 204 reviews, with an average rating of 8.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Jurassic Park is a spectacle of special effects and lifelike animatronics, with some of Spielberg's best sequences of sustained awe and sheer terror sinceJaws".[381]Metacritic gave the film aweighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[382] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[383]
Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times called it "a true movie milestone, presenting awe- and fear-inspiring sights never before seen on the screen [...] On paper, this story is tailor-made for Mr. Spielberg's talents [but] [i]t becomes less crisp on screen than it was on the page, with much of the enjoyable jargon either mumbled confusingly or otherwise thrown away".[384] InRolling Stone,Peter Travers called the film "colossal entertainment—the eye-popping, mind-bending, kick-out-the-jams thrill ride of summer and probably the year [...] Compared with the dinos, the characters are dry bones, indeed. Crichton and co-screenwriter David Koepp have flattened them into nonentities on the trip from page to screen".[385]Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four: "The movie delivers all too well on its promise to show us dinosaurs. We see them early and often, and they are indeed a triumph of special effects artistry, but the movie is lacking other qualities that it needs even more, such as a sense of awe and wonderment, and strong human story values".[386] Henry Sheehan ofSight & Sound argued: "The complaints overJurassic Park's lack of story and character sound a little off the point", noting the story arc of Grant learning to protect Hammond's grandchildren despite his initial dislike of them.[70] Caroline Westbrook ofEmpire gave the film five stars, calling it "quite simply one of the greatest blockbusters of all time".[387]
Over the years, film critics and industry professionals have often citedJurassic Park as one of the greatest and most influential movies in history. In 2001, theAmerican Film Institute namedJurassic Park the 35th-most thrilling film of all time.[406] Two years later,Empire called the first encounter with aBrachiosaurus the 28th-most magical moment in cinema.[407] In 2004,Empire judgedJurassic Park to be the sixth-most influential film in the magazine's 15-year lifetime.[408]Film Review, in 2005, declared the film to be one of the five most important in the magazine's 55-year history.[409]
Jurassic Park is included in the book1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,[410] and in a 2007 list byThe Guardian of "1000 films to see before you die".[411] In 2008, anEmpire poll of readers, filmmakers, and critics also rated it one of the 500 greatest films of all time.[412] In a 2010 poll, the readers ofEntertainment Weekly rated it the greatest summer movie of the previous 20 years.[413] In 2014, it was ranked as one of the 50 greatest films of all time in an extensive poll undertaken byThe Hollywood Reporter, which balloted every studio, agency, publicity firm and production house in theHollywood region.[414] In 2018,Jurassic Park was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress, which deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[415]
In 2019,Mattel produced a line of new toys, including figures based on the film's characters.[416] The film's 30th anniversary was marked with the release of various merchandise,[417] including new toys from Mattel andLego,[418][419] as well as an event atSan Diego Comic-Con.[420]
Jurassic Park was praised for its modern portrayal of dinosaurs.[433] Many of the findings of thedinosaur renaissance, such as dinosaurs being warm-blooded, active, intelligent, andgenetically related to birds, were reflected in the film, which updated the general public's previous perception of dinosaurs as being sluggish, stupid, and entirely extinct.[434][435][436] However, the public has also absorbed scientific inaccuracies in the film, such as the size ofVelociraptor, and the general view of dinosaurs has stuck with the way that they were portrayed inJurassic Park ever since the film's release, without being updated to reflect decades of additional discoveries that have occurred since 1993.[435] The film has been said to have given rise to aJurassic Park generation: young people who were inspired to become paleontologists.[437] Among the general public, the film also created an interest in dinosaurs, leading to increased funding for paleontology. This, combined with the rising number of paleontologists, resulted in a surge of dinosaur discoveries.[433] Following the success of the film, Universal and Amblin started the Jurassic Foundation, anonprofit organization that funds paleontological research.[438][439] Horner, as part of his compensation for serving as the film's paleontological advisor, received significant research grants from Spielberg and Universal.[440] The film also popularized the concept ofde-extinction among the public.[441] As of 2025,Colossal Biosciences is attempting to use fragmented DNA to bring back extinct species such as thewoolly mammoth,Tasmanian tiger, anddodo, prompting comparisons to the film.[442][443] Film directorGareth Edwards visited its laboratories before the release ofJurassic World Rebirth and said, "This is the real Jurassic Park, isn't it?"[444]
Jurassic Park's impact extended internationally. It started a trend of dubbing US films intoHindi for theIndian market and was the highest-grossing US film in India at the time with a gross of $3 million.[445] In Canada, theToronto Raptors, aNational Basketball Association team founded in 1995, was named so as a result of the film's popularity.[446] In addition, fans watch the team's playoff games on a large television atMaple Leaf Square, nicknamed Jurassic Park.[447]
Jurassic Park was the beginning of a multimedia franchise. Following the film's success, Crichton wrote a sequel to his novel, titledThe Lost World and released in 1995. Spielberg and Koepp returned respectively as director and writer for the 1997 film adaptation,The Lost World: Jurassic Park.[448] Crichton did not write any further novels in the series, although additional films would be made, featuring previously unused elements from the two books. Spielberg has served as executive producer for subsequent films,[449] which includeJurassic Park III (2001),Jurassic World (2015),Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018),Jurassic World Dominion (2022), andJurassic World Rebirth (2025). The original film remains the highest rated among critics.[450][451]
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