Search - Jurassic Park [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 1993 DVD Release: 10/10/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 7 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 28 Genres: Science Fiction, Sci-Fi Action, Prehistoric Fantasy See Also: Jurassic Park [DTS], Jurassic Park [Fullscreen], Jurassic Park [Widescreen] [Collector's Edition] [Holiday Packaging]

Steven Spielberg's phenomenally successful sci-fi adventure thriller is graced by state-of-the-art special effects from the team of Stan Winston, Phil Tippett and Michael Lantieri from George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic. The film follows two dinosaur experts -- Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler Laura Dern) -- as they are invited by eccentric millionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to preview his new amusement park on an island off Costa Rica. By cloning DNA harvested from pre-historic insects, Hammond has been able to create living dinosaurs for his new Jurassic Park, an immense animal preserve housing real brachiosaurs, dilophosaurs, triceratops, velociraptors, and a Tyrannosaur Rex. Accompanied by cynical scientist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who is obsessed with chaos theory, and Hammond's two grandchildren (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello), they are sent on a tour through Hammond's new resort in computer controlled touring cars. But as a tropical storm hits the island, knocking out the power supply, and an unscrupulous employee (Wayne Knight) sabotages the system so that he can smuggle dinosaur embryos out of the park, the dinosaurs start to rage out of control. Grant then has to bring Hammond's grandchildren back to safety as the group is pursued by the gigantic man-eating beasts. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Sam Neill - Alan Grant
Laura Dern - Dr. Ellie Sattler
Jeff Goldblum - Ian Malcolm
Richard Attenborough - John Hammond
Bob Peck - Robert Muldoon

One would expect Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg's phenomenally successful dinosaur adventure, to be an almost flawless DVD, and this Universal edition is generally very satisfying. The picture quality is certainly outstanding, bringing out Spielberg's use of color and detail perfectly, while the widescreen format ensures that the dinosaurs are no less terrifying at home than in the cinema. The Dolby 5.1 sound (a DTS edition is also available) is better still, with every roar and rumble bellowing out in crystal clarity. This DVD has clearly been designed with love and attention; even the menu screen is an amazing work of CGI art. Amongst the huge range of features are standard fare such as production notes, biographies, and trailers for Jurassic Park: The Lost World and Jurassic Park III (the latter is totally unrevealing). Footage of early pre-production meetings illustrate Spielberg's desire to make the dinosaurs as frightening as possible, while "Raptors In the Kitchen" shows how Phil Tippett's animatics technique helped to shape the look of the film before CGI was introduced into the equation. A messy but interesting storyboards section includes an omitted scene and the original ending for the film, and the "Foley Artists" feature provides fascinating insight into how the film got some of its Oscar-winning sound. Obviously this DVD will be popular with kids, and it is at kids that the fun and quite thorough "Dinosaur Encyclopaedia" is aimed. The location scouting footage, DVD-ROM features, and production photographs are all moderately interesting, but the best of the extra features is probably "The Making of Jurassic Park." Fifty minutes long and narrated by James Earl Jones, this is a detailed and authoritative documentary, although it does concentrate almost solely on the special effects side of the film, even incorporating footage of the original puppet dinosaurs before Spielberg opted for full-blown CGI creations. The glaring absence from this disc is a commentary by Spielberg himself, which would surely have been revealing, and would have made it an exceptional rather than very good DVD. Nevertheless, Jurassic Park fans will probably be delighted to have this edition in their home libraries. ~ Patrick Lee, All Movie Guide