Yes, I am late in reviewing this film, but no, I am not late in reviewing this film.
Oh, wait; I wrote that regarding Django Unchained which was released in India three months after it premiered in the United States. I suppose that it still applies to Jurassic Park which came out twenty years ago but, of course, I am reviewing the 3-D version, which was released just a short while ago.
The 3-D effects were negligible, except that they made Dennis Nedry--played by Wayne Knight--look fat, ha ha. Oh, wait; I wrote something like that in my Film Review of ABCD: Any Body Can Dance.
A few days before the premiere, I read a review of Jurassic Park. The photographs in it gave me the impression that the 3-D was breath-taking and was on a par with Life of Pi and the short 3-D film that we saw at NTR Gardens in Hyderabad. I do not think that Jurassic Park 3-D lived up to this expectation, but both Caroline and I did reach out to try to grab the amber that contained the mosquito (a scene early in the film); it appeared to be actually coming toward us. I also appreciated that the characters who were closer to the camera appeared closer to the camera. I read another review in which the author complained that some portions of the film appeared out of focus. This may be true, but I think that it was more important to get the feeling of depth. In the film, even the place-names and the credits were in 3-D.
Even better than the 3-D effects were the sound effects. I had read that, in addition to being shown in 3-D, the original film was tweaked so that the sound was better. In 1993, Jurassic Park went on to win 3 Oscars, two of which were for Sound. I suppose that it does not qualify for next year's Oscars, but it would be nice if it did, and if it won again. The sound effects are even more impressive in the 3-D version than in the original.
Caroline is a bigger fan of some films and actors than I am, although her enthusiasm often rubs off onto me. One such film, of course, is Jurassic Park. I do not think that I appreciated the tension in the film 20 years ago as much as I did in my recent viewing. I especially liked the scenes showing Dr. Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill), Lex Murphy (Ariana Richards) and Tim Murphy (Joseph Mazzello) as they were climbing up and down the electrified fence, at the same time that John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) were trying to reboot the Park's system and get back the electrical power.
The tension mixed with humour seems to be a recurring theme of the movie. In this regard, I enjoyed the scene of the T. Rex chasing the jeep containing Jeff Goldblum and others, and being viewed in the mirror with the words "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear".
Of course, the actors and the acting are the same as they were 20 years ago, and it is difficult to add anything that has not already been said.
I do want to note, though, that it has been twenty years since the film first came out, and I wondered how the actors have aged. I thought that Jeff Goldblum might be a male version of Bernadette Peters (in that he would look the same as he did thirty years ago). I do not know if that is true, but I think that he has aged better than has Sam Neill. (I apologize. I do know how to write, but I am ignorant of some aspects of putting what I want to communicate into a blogging format. I wanted to provide the actual photos, but Blogger does not seem to allow me to put them side-by-side. If and when I learn if and how to do this, then I may re-edit this post to show the photos.)
Jurassic Park 4 is scheduled to be released on 13 June 2014 and that Richard Attenborough has been contacted about reprising his role. However, I have read at least two newspaper articles that state that he is very ill now so, unless his scenes have already been shot, it is unlikely that he will be in it.
In doing research for this review, I learned that Joseph Mazzello (who plays Tim Murphy) is also in G.I. Joe: Retaliation which is in theatres now. While at the multiplex for Jurassic Park, I saw a poster for the former film, which said, "See it before the world does". I inferred that it was being released in India a few weeks/months before it would in the United States, much like Battleship was. Although I did not like that film, I was intrigued about watching and reviewing G.I. Joe. However, through Imdb, I see that it is released in the U.S. now, so there is probably no compelling reason for me to watch this film.
In my Film Review of Django Unchained, I stated that it is usually Caroline who provides details about the (Hindi) movies that we watch. In that film review, I expressed satisfaction about providing details about a song that we were listening to. In watching Jurassic Park 3-D, I was again happy; this time in telling her that the actor (Samuel L. Jackson) who played Stephen in Django Unchained was the same actor who was playing Ray Arnold in the current film.
I was happy to see the geneticist because he was left-handed! Upon doing research for this review, I learned that he was played by B.D. Wong, who was born in San Francisco at about the same time that I was! If I had been raised in San Francisco (not merely born there) then I might have gone to the same schools that he had attended!
Before the video in Jurassic Park is played (which discusses DNA, not blood, as in the Hemo film--see below), John Hammond says that it is narrated by Richard Kiley (which is true) and says "We've spared no expense!" (and which was repeated two, three or perhaps more times throughout the film). This allusion to Richard Kiley intrigued me, and I found out that he was an actor who apparently had a good voice.
One thing that I perhaps overlooked twenty years ago was the Hemo the Magnificent-like video that John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) showed to his guests at the entrance to his Park. Michael Crichton (the author of the book) was probably too old to be shown that film during his grade-school days, but Steven Spielberg is a few years younger and may have been inspired by it (although this is just conjecture).
One thing that I did not overlook twenty years ago (because it had not yet occurred) was the obsolescence of the technology. They may have been futuristic in their day, but the monitors, the desktops and even the software are all so antiquated by today's standards. When they were trying to locate the island, they were showing a software that was a far cry from Google Maps or Google Earth. I suppose, though, that the tablets and smart-phones of today will be similarly passé twenty years from now.
At the same time, the film-making was perhaps ahead of its time. Nineteen years ago (Caroline says that the film was released in 1994 in India--Imdb does not verify that, but I shall take her word for that; I do know that when I first visited India, there was a lot of Jurassic Park merchandise), the audience clapped and cheered at the hatching of the dinosaur from the egg. Even using today's technology, I do not think that this scene could have been made better.
I did watch The Lost World: Jurassic Park but did not watch Jurassic Park III which did poorly (in relation to the first two films) at the box office. I do not know what was the problem, but I believe that it may have been an inability to balance the science and adventure elements effectively. Jurassic Park 4 will apparently rectify this ("It's a tough compromise to reach, as too much science will make the movie too talky, but too much adventure will make it seem hollow"--Wikipedia), and this balance perhaps reached its apex in the original film.
As I alluded to above, the action/tension was riveting and this was balanced by equally good dialogues which were of two types:
1) the science. I especially liked the conversation between John Hammond and Dr. Ian Malcolm in which the latter says, "[B]ut your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should".
2) the humour a) John Hammond: "[O]ur attractions will drive kids out of their minds!" Dr. Alan Grant: "And what are those?" Dr. Ellie Sattler: "Small versions of adults, honey". b) John Hammond: "I don't believe it! You're meant to come down here and defend me against these characters, and the only one I've got on my side is the blood-sucking lawyer!" c) Tim Murphy: Q: "What do you call a blind dinosaur?" A: "A do-you-think-he-saur-us" Q: "What do you call a blind dinosaur's dog?" A: "A do-you-think-he-saur-us Rex".
If I was to make a recommendation then I would say that you ought to watch it now; do not wait another twenty years.
The 3-D effects were negligible, except that they made Dennis Nedry--played by Wayne Knight--look fat, ha ha. Oh, wait; I wrote something like that in my Film Review of ABCD: Any Body Can Dance.
A few days before the premiere, I read a review of Jurassic Park. The photographs in it gave me the impression that the 3-D was breath-taking and was on a par with Life of Pi and the short 3-D film that we saw at NTR Gardens in Hyderabad. I do not think that Jurassic Park 3-D lived up to this expectation, but both Caroline and I did reach out to try to grab the amber that contained the mosquito (a scene early in the film); it appeared to be actually coming toward us. I also appreciated that the characters who were closer to the camera appeared closer to the camera. I read another review in which the author complained that some portions of the film appeared out of focus. This may be true, but I think that it was more important to get the feeling of depth. In the film, even the place-names and the credits were in 3-D.
Even better than the 3-D effects were the sound effects. I had read that, in addition to being shown in 3-D, the original film was tweaked so that the sound was better. In 1993, Jurassic Park went on to win 3 Oscars, two of which were for Sound. I suppose that it does not qualify for next year's Oscars, but it would be nice if it did, and if it won again. The sound effects are even more impressive in the 3-D version than in the original.
Caroline is a bigger fan of some films and actors than I am, although her enthusiasm often rubs off onto me. One such film, of course, is Jurassic Park. I do not think that I appreciated the tension in the film 20 years ago as much as I did in my recent viewing. I especially liked the scenes showing Dr. Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill), Lex Murphy (Ariana Richards) and Tim Murphy (Joseph Mazzello) as they were climbing up and down the electrified fence, at the same time that John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) were trying to reboot the Park's system and get back the electrical power.
The tension mixed with humour seems to be a recurring theme of the movie. In this regard, I enjoyed the scene of the T. Rex chasing the jeep containing Jeff Goldblum and others, and being viewed in the mirror with the words "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear".
Of course, the actors and the acting are the same as they were 20 years ago, and it is difficult to add anything that has not already been said.
I do want to note, though, that it has been twenty years since the film first came out, and I wondered how the actors have aged. I thought that Jeff Goldblum might be a male version of Bernadette Peters (in that he would look the same as he did thirty years ago). I do not know if that is true, but I think that he has aged better than has Sam Neill. (I apologize. I do know how to write, but I am ignorant of some aspects of putting what I want to communicate into a blogging format. I wanted to provide the actual photos, but Blogger does not seem to allow me to put them side-by-side. If and when I learn if and how to do this, then I may re-edit this post to show the photos.)
Jurassic Park 4 is scheduled to be released on 13 June 2014 and that Richard Attenborough has been contacted about reprising his role. However, I have read at least two newspaper articles that state that he is very ill now so, unless his scenes have already been shot, it is unlikely that he will be in it.
In doing research for this review, I learned that Joseph Mazzello (who plays Tim Murphy) is also in G.I. Joe: Retaliation which is in theatres now. While at the multiplex for Jurassic Park, I saw a poster for the former film, which said, "See it before the world does". I inferred that it was being released in India a few weeks/months before it would in the United States, much like Battleship was. Although I did not like that film, I was intrigued about watching and reviewing G.I. Joe. However, through Imdb, I see that it is released in the U.S. now, so there is probably no compelling reason for me to watch this film.
In my Film Review of Django Unchained, I stated that it is usually Caroline who provides details about the (Hindi) movies that we watch. In that film review, I expressed satisfaction about providing details about a song that we were listening to. In watching Jurassic Park 3-D, I was again happy; this time in telling her that the actor (Samuel L. Jackson) who played Stephen in Django Unchained was the same actor who was playing Ray Arnold in the current film.
I was happy to see the geneticist because he was left-handed! Upon doing research for this review, I learned that he was played by B.D. Wong, who was born in San Francisco at about the same time that I was! If I had been raised in San Francisco (not merely born there) then I might have gone to the same schools that he had attended!
Before the video in Jurassic Park is played (which discusses DNA, not blood, as in the Hemo film--see below), John Hammond says that it is narrated by Richard Kiley (which is true) and says "We've spared no expense!" (and which was repeated two, three or perhaps more times throughout the film). This allusion to Richard Kiley intrigued me, and I found out that he was an actor who apparently had a good voice.
One thing that I perhaps overlooked twenty years ago was the Hemo the Magnificent-like video that John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) showed to his guests at the entrance to his Park. Michael Crichton (the author of the book) was probably too old to be shown that film during his grade-school days, but Steven Spielberg is a few years younger and may have been inspired by it (although this is just conjecture).
One thing that I did not overlook twenty years ago (because it had not yet occurred) was the obsolescence of the technology. They may have been futuristic in their day, but the monitors, the desktops and even the software are all so antiquated by today's standards. When they were trying to locate the island, they were showing a software that was a far cry from Google Maps or Google Earth. I suppose, though, that the tablets and smart-phones of today will be similarly passé twenty years from now.
At the same time, the film-making was perhaps ahead of its time. Nineteen years ago (Caroline says that the film was released in 1994 in India--Imdb does not verify that, but I shall take her word for that; I do know that when I first visited India, there was a lot of Jurassic Park merchandise), the audience clapped and cheered at the hatching of the dinosaur from the egg. Even using today's technology, I do not think that this scene could have been made better.
I did watch The Lost World: Jurassic Park but did not watch Jurassic Park III which did poorly (in relation to the first two films) at the box office. I do not know what was the problem, but I believe that it may have been an inability to balance the science and adventure elements effectively. Jurassic Park 4 will apparently rectify this ("It's a tough compromise to reach, as too much science will make the movie too talky, but too much adventure will make it seem hollow"--Wikipedia), and this balance perhaps reached its apex in the original film.
As I alluded to above, the action/tension was riveting and this was balanced by equally good dialogues which were of two types:
1) the science. I especially liked the conversation between John Hammond and Dr. Ian Malcolm in which the latter says, "[B]ut your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should".
2) the humour a) John Hammond: "[O]ur attractions will drive kids out of their minds!" Dr. Alan Grant: "And what are those?" Dr. Ellie Sattler: "Small versions of adults, honey". b) John Hammond: "I don't believe it! You're meant to come down here and defend me against these characters, and the only one I've got on my side is the blood-sucking lawyer!" c) Tim Murphy: Q: "What do you call a blind dinosaur?" A: "A do-you-think-he-saur-us" Q: "What do you call a blind dinosaur's dog?" A: "A do-you-think-he-saur-us Rex".
If I was to make a recommendation then I would say that you ought to watch it now; do not wait another twenty years.