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Click above to purchase "Jurassic Park: Collector's Edition
(Full Screen)" at amazon.com
Jurassic Park: Collector's Edition
(Dolby Digital, Full Screen)
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Universal
Running Time: 127 minutes
Starring: Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Joseph
Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L.
Jackson
Based on the novel by Michael Crichton
Adapted by Michael Crichton and David Koepp
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Retail Price: $26.99
Features: "The Making Of Jurassic Park" Docmumentary,
"Phil Tippet Animatics: Raptors In The Kitchen" Featurette,
Location Scouting Featurette, Preproduction Meetings, "Foley
Artisits" Featurette, Soryboard Gallery, Still Gallery,
Production Photos, Concept Art, Production Notes, Dinosaur
Encyclopedia, Theatrical Trailers DVD-ROM: Hotlink to the
set of Jurassic Park III, Complete Jurassic Park website
Specs: 1.33:1 Full Frame, 5.1 Dolby Digital English,
French 2.0 Surround English Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles,
Chapter Search (20 Chapters)
As far back as anyone can recall, many really popular
movies never went to the DVD format. Everyone annoyed the
hell out of each other, asking when certain movies were
going to be on DVD.
ID4, Star
Wars, Indiana Jones,
Men In
Black, etc. It all goes on. While most of these titles
have now graced the format, there was a time when a lot of
studios and filmmakers relented, including the most famous
and richest director ever, Steven Spielberg. He was a bit
wary about the DVD format, and wanted to wait to see where
DVD went with people. Now that it's become incredibly
mainstream, Spielberg has started to roll out some of his
biggest hits (and bombs). Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, 1941,
it goes on. Yet one of his biggest hits (and sequel) were
really anticipated, and yes, I am of course talking about
Jurassic Park and The Lost World.
It's been a long wait, and it seems like a movie like
"Jurassic Park" was made for DVD. The glory of anamorphic
widescreen, 5.1 audio, it all seemed it was too good to be
true once it was announced. It was the biggest hit of the
summer of 1993 (with a ton of hype behind it), and went on
to gross 365 million dollars domestically, easily making it
one of the top grossing movies of all time.
For those unfamiliar with the film, the plot, based on
the best selling book, is simple. Dinosaurs live once more
thanks to DNA and technology, and are going to be featured
in a theme park. A few test visitors go in to check it all
out to make sure it's okay after a little accident, but
things go terribly wrong, and instead of a little visit, it
becomes a death trap as the visitors must make it out alive.
"Jurassic Park" is a very good movie. It's pure popcorn
entertainment, and really delivers. The film is well written
with good development in the story and characters, and has
some really tense and now famous movie moments it only seems
Spielberg could stage and bring to life. The effects are
mindblowing, simply. It also does get you thinking a little
about cloning and such. This movie, since its release, has
become a fan favorite and will be a beloved
thriller/action-adventure for years to come.
Finally, after all this time, Jurassic Park has invaded
DVD. And how good is it? Let us see...
If you're a full frame "Jurassic Park" fan, this is the
way to go (and of course, an anamorphic widescreen version
is available). The results are stupendous on this transfer.
Yes, the film is seven years old and shows a little wear
complete with some blemishes, and there is some slight
artifacting, but other than that, the picture is fine.
Colors are well saturated and blacks are very deep. Overall,
a well suited picture for a very nice film. I also believe
there is more at the top and bottom of the image, but I
could be wrong.
5.1 Dolby Digital... it doesn't get any sweeter than
this. Sound has also been important for a film like Jurassic
Park, and you'll find no disappointments here whatsoever.
The T-Rex roaring and chasing our heroes, the whole water
shaking, the Raptors screeching and John Williams's
beautiful score are all brought to full life. It's loud,
booming and really well mixed. Dialogue is clear and easy to
understand, while all the channels and .1 LFE are used
wonderfully. Bass extension is excellent, and you really
feel like you're trapped in Jurassic Park. I'm glad I wasn't
disappointed here... and I really feel this is the best part
of the whole package. Well done, Universal. A French 2.0
Surround is included, and so are English and Spanish
subtitles. The subtitles are inputed creatively at where the
characters are posistioned and whatnot, and I found that it
could get annoying and distract from viewing.
Ah, supplements. Labeled a "Collector's Edition" by
Universal, you'll actually learn more of the creative
process through storyboards and a series of video extras.
While it's no Spielberg commentary, there are some well put
together extras for the film. However, it's nothing
revolutionary as one would hope for.
The Making Of Jurassic Park Documentary is one of
the highlights of the disc. While it's nothing new (I
remember it airing on NBC when they showed the film), it
lasts about an hour and offers some pretty good and in-depth
stuff on what it took to make the film. A very nice watch if
you have never seen it...
The Phil Tippet Animatics featurette is pretty
interesting, as it is a good comparison of early Dinosaur
tests using claymation, and it is interesting to see what
they first did and how it came out in the end. The
Location Scouting Featurette is short, and gives us a
look at some filming locations. The Foley Artists is
also a good watch, as we learn how sounds were created for
parts of the movie after it was filmed. I always loved the
Foley process, and these guys are really creative so again,
it's a good watch.
Though it's not a commentary, what I found the most
intriguing part of this disc was some Eary Pre-Production
Meetings as we watch Mr. Spielberg on some poor
videotape block scenes and his vision. Some of the staff and
crew members are there too, so be sure to watch this too. I
ended up loving it, and found it to be neat.
Some Storyboards and a Still Gallery are
included, and if you are into this kind of thing, I'm pretty
sure you'll like how scenes were planned out originally and
the stills from on location and whatnot. My gripe is though
that Universal assumes everyone can work a DVD player, and
didn't include instructions on turning back and forth
between screens. There's also a fantastic Dinosaur
Encyclopedia, which gives some great info and pictures
about Dinosaurs and the eras they lived in, so it's a good
brush up on their history and certain dinosaurs (and to help
the kiddies study in school!).
Rounding out the disc are some nice, very detailed and
well put together Production Notes, as well as
Cast and Crew Bios. There are also Three
Trailers. One is for Jurassic Park and appears a bit
grainy (and there were two trailers for Jurassic Park, and
the disc only has one. This is the semi-teaser), the other
for The Lost World which looks nice and the other a
horrible, incredibly stupid for the upcoming, Joe Johnston
directed Jurassic Park III. It appears to be video like, and
is good for a laugh.
Some DVD-ROM features have been included, such as
Weblinks, a Newsletter, website and a
few more goodies...
One last note, the Menus are exact opposites with
The
Lost World. While this has an footprint, the other film
has pavement pushed up and things are located on opposite
sides mostly. Just to let you know.
Finally, one of the most anticipated discs ever and one
of the most popular movies ever arrive. The picture and
sound are sure to please, while I felt the supplements could
have been a bit better and not as standard or at least add
something new to the mix, this is one hell of a good DVD. It
was worth the wait, so enjoy!
 (4/5, NOT included in
final score)
(4/5)
 (4.5/5)
 (3/5)
 (3.5/5, NOT an average)
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