Jurassic Park

A fantastic blend of adventure, excellent popcorn action, and likeable main characters. Spielberg knows how to entertain people and he proves it to the dot here. The commercial success is completely understandable and it must be emphasized that it is well-deserved, too. Jurassic Park is most likely the best adventure film of all time and even for the umpteenth time, you cannot take your eyes off it. Just the scene of arrival on the island is breathtaking, even without the presence of a single dinosaur. It’s impossible to say with certainty whether Janusz Kaminski would have filmed it better, but the camera work is phenomenal here, as are the visual effects, everything is underscored by the unique John Williams, who deservedly won two Oscars that year. (06/15/2006)

After nearly a quarter of a century since I last saw Jurassic Park on video, I am all the more amazed at how terribly well the film works even when nostalgia is taken out of the equation, especially on the big screen with 250 other people enthusiastically reacting to it. Spielberg crafted a sophisticated yet minimally ostentatious meta-film by approaching the narrative about an amusement park as the blockbuster movie equivalent of an amusement park – from the initial promise and fascination through disappointment and cringe to the genuine wonder and physically intense roller coaster. He takes us not only to the marked visitor paths and souvenir shop, but also to the technical facilities and inside the enclosures, where a pure yet dangerous adventure awaits. He takes a similarly self-reflective approach to special effects and the revolution then underway during the production of this film, when computer-generated images were displacing animatronic puppets and optical trickery (but without the necessity of throwing his ingenuity in people’s faces as something that they should notice and appreciate). Because of that, the first Jurassic Park also has a perfect dramaturgical structure that carefully shapes viewers’ expectations and lays the groundwork for individual money shots, whose brilliance consists primarily in their framing by means of the surrounding shots, thanks to which (not only in comparison with today’s usage) the film manages to get by with a surprisingly modest number of computer-generated/enhanced shots. (04/14/2023)

Jurassic Park - two hours of SOMETHING that probably changed my life. A perfect film in every respect. No matter what anyone says, the special effects are still unrivalled today. I don't know how it's possible, but when I look at a giant Brachiosaurus, I feel like it's alive. The T-Rex or the raptors in the kitchen are equally creepy. Jurassic Park got me into movies - I've loved the silver screen ever since. It also taught me to appreciate film music and gave me a reason to adore John Williams. That Spielberg's direction is unparalleled probably does not need to be mentioned, as well as the performances of all the actors. Basically, this is a movie miracle. You know it by heart, but you always like to watch it again.___P.S. Crichton's book is better, but in this case I don't think the book-adaptation comparison is appropriate. It should be perceived as Crichton and Spielberg looking at the same thing, but through their own eyes. (09/19/2007)

This is one of the movie milestones of my childhood. This gave me the initial impulse (as a kid) to start looking at movies in greater detail. Spielberg’s adaptation of Crichton’s novel “Jurassic Park" appeared from out of the blue at a time when dinosaurs were my whole life. Back then this was in short "mind-blending" for me ;) . First the digital effects and second the excellent directing and great acting performances make Jurassic Park a breathtaking watch, even thirteen years later. Mainly Sam Neill put on a perfect performance. Then of course the Tyrannosaurus and not to forget Sam Jackson and his “Mr Arnold". And there’s one more name to mention. John Williams. (07/16/2006)

I will never forget the roughly 300 m long queue (no exaggeration) for tickets in České Budějovice that stretched from the cinema along the main avenue. Nor will I forget the pictures of dinosaurs from the bulletin specially printed for the viewers of Spielberg's juggernaut, which further piqued curiosity and increased the desire to see this "technical marvel". In a way, it was a social event and everyone wanted to be there. There’s certainly one thing that cannot be denied about Jurassic Park, about which the legendary puppet animatronics director Stan Winston affectionately said that it "put him out of a job", and an unmissable entry into the history of cinema. It wasn’t the first film to feature a CGI character (the primacy is held by the animated window mosaic of the knight from Levinson's Young Sherlock Holmes), but it was the first to dare to depict the movements of a living being in a completely realistic way, and it succeeded beyond measure. But when you scrape away the skin of groundbreaking visual effects and the initial amazement, what remains in my eyes is a completely mediocre adventure story that, unlike other Spielberg cachet like E.T. or Indiana Jones, which never get old, doesn't entertain with such ease. I felt disappointment even at the time of the premiere, compounded by high expectations and a terribly muddled dubbing. Unfortunately, Jurassic Park didn't become my favourite and that hasn't changed even with repeated viewings after many years. (10/23/2007)