Jurassic Park - The Ultimate Collection (Special Edition) (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	The Dinosaurs
Disadvantages:	disc 4 is a waste of space

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I apologise right now for the length of this review, but with 3 films all with their own extras and then with a fourth disc of features you cannot review this quickly. I will attempt to be brief but informative and not try to bore anyone.

Jurassic Park (Disc 1)
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The Storyline
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On a secluded island, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), a rich businessman, has created a dinosaur theme park with real dinosaurs. With the aid of scientists, they have used dinosaur DNA found in insects which have been encased in amber, to recreate the dinosaurs. But before he can go public, he must show the park to a select audience which includes a paleontologist, a paleobotanist, a mathematician/theorist, a lawyer and his two eager grandchildren. Things don't go to plan when Hammond's computer expert, shuts down the parks security system so that he can steal information for a rival company. With no security systems working to keep the dinosaurs in there cages, chaos prevails and the guests are left to fight for their lives.

Jurassic Park was released in 1993 and became one of its most successful films and also most talked about due to the use of CGI to realistically recreate dinosaurs on the screen. I remember sitting in a cinema and the whole audience gasped when you first saw the dinosaurs. Jurassic park is based on the novel by writer Michael Crichton who also went on to write the following 2 Jurassic park films.

The main characters in Jurassic Park have been very well cast. Firstly there is Richard Attenborough who plays the eccentric owner of the park who in his on way is very loveable as he doesn't seem to have a bad bone in his body. Next we have Dr. Alan Grant the paleontologist, played by Sam Neill who is very convincing as someone who does not like big business and would prefer to be digging up bones. Next is Dr Ian Malcolm the mathematician played by Jeff Goldblum, why you would need to demonstrate the park to a mathematician is beyond me, but he brings to the film a bit of quirkiness. All The supporting cast provide brilliant performance and are an integral part of keeping the story moving.

The film is directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg and has done an excellent job of creating one of the best monster films in the last 20 years. I believe the only other director who could have done as good a job is George Lucas. Spielberg has utilized all his resources to the max, getting good performances from the cast, capitalized on the beautiful scenery and used the CGI to maximum effect. In doing so he has made an excellent action adventure movie which even 10 years later could compete with many of the films which have come since. The sound track to the fill was created by John Williams, and is an integral part of the film as it helps to build up tension and drama through out the film.

The Cast
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Richard Attenborough .... John Hammond (Owner)
Sam Neill .... Dr. Alan Grant (Paleontologist)
Jeff Goldblum .... Dr. Ian Malcolm (Mathematician)
Laura Dern .... Dr. Ellie Sattler (Paleobotanist - prehistoric plants)
Martin Ferrero .... Donald Gennaro (lawyet)
Joseph Mazzello .... Tim Murphy (Grandson)
Ariana Richards .... Lex Murphy (Granddaughter)
Samuel L. Jackson .... Ray Arnold (Park Operator)
Wayne Knight .... Dennis Nedry (Computer Expert)
Bob Peck .... Robert Muldoon (Park Warden)

Technical Details
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Certificate: PG
Length: 127 mins
Widescreen

Bonus Material
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The first feature is the Making of Jurassic Park, narrated by James Earl Jones. This is an absolutely fascinating insight to how they managed to realistically recreate dinosaurs along with how the whole film was created from pre-production, production and post production.

Next is a feature called "Early production meetings", which is basically video of some of the meetings they had to discuss how they wanted the dinosaurs would move and how they wanted certain scenes to work.

Next we have the actual story boards to 5 scenes which include the original ending and an unused scene. What I didn't realise is the amount of detail that the story boards go into.

Next is a feature on finding the right location for the film, although quite short is still very interesting.

Next feature is an Animatic version of one of the scenes (clay models), this was used so that when the film was shot, the actors would not where they should be moving in relation to the dinosaur.

There is a feature on Foley artists, sound effects, I never new how much effort went into this side of the movie.

Then you get a whole range of production photos.

Next is a dinosaur encyclopaedia which makes for an educational feature.

Then you get the Production Notes which gives another insight into the film.

Then there are the theatrical trailers for all 3 films.

Next there are talent profiles for the leading cast and director.

There is also some features which can be accessed from a computer.

The Message & Christian View Point
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Do we have the right to use Genes to recreate life? Although, I am sure that bringing to life a dinosaur is impossible, the film does demonstrate the consequences of genetic engineering. It seems to me that were not ready for the consequences that genetic engineering can bring, don't let nature be replaced by science.

Conclusion & Rating
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This was a ground breaking movie back in 1993 and it has lost none of its charm today. With such credentials such as Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton it would be very hard to wrong. With its mixture of action, adventure and subtle humour there is something for everyone in this film, children and adults alike.

Jurassic Park: The Lost World (Disc 2)
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The Storyline
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4 years after the disasters of Jurassic Park, a second island where they bred the dinosaurs is stumbled upon, and the dinosaurs are still alive and flourishing. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) asks Ian Malcolm (Jeff GoldBlum) to head up a team of experts to go and observe the dinosaurs, and discover how they managed to survive. Unfortunately, Hammond's nephew has taken over the owning company, and has plans to capture the dinosaurs and ship them back to San Diego, America to a new dinosaur park.

Out of the 3 films, this is my least favourite, purely because the plot seems a bit weak, capture dinosaur, take it to America, all hell breaks out. It may also be because that the original film was so breath taking that you expected more from the second film but all they did was match the first. But don't get me wrong, it is still a very good film.

The main character in this film is Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who returns as the same character from the original film and does a great job of demonstrating the fears and knowledge from the original. Cast alongside him is Julianne Moore, who plays Dr. Sarah Harding, an entomologist studying the dinosaurs, the character is a bit unbelievable as she does not have any fear of the creatures, surely you would be scared. Next is Vince Vaughan, who plays Nick Van Owen a photographer and animal Conservationist. As with the original, all the supporting cast do a good job of making this film watch able.

The film reunites Spielberg and Crichton and to be honest I'm glad it did. I don't believe another writer or director could have made this film as good as it is, and in doing so I believe this film would have been a huge failure under anyone else's guidance. As with the original, Spielberg had used all the resources to the max, such as the special effects, locations, the score by the wonderful John Williams and of course the excellent CGI.

The Cast
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Jeff Goldblum .... Dr. Ian Malcolm
Julianne Moore .... Dr. Sarah Harding (Entomologist)
Vince Vaughn .... Nick Van Owen (Animal Conservationist)
Pete Postlethwaite .... Roland Tembo (Hunter)
Richard Attenborough .... John Hammond
Arliss Howard .... Peter Ludlow
Vanessa Lee Chester .... Kelly Curtis Malcolm

Technical Details
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Certificate: PG
Length: 129 mins
Widescreen

Bonus Material
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The first feature is the Making of The Lost World. This is an insight into how the film was made and why.

Next is a set of deleted scenes which help expand the story, such as how the nephew got the control of the company.

Then there is a feature which shows some of the conceptual drawings from the film.

Next is a whole selection of story boards for the film.

Then there are photos of the models used to create the sets.

Following feature is "The World of Jurassic Park", which are basically pictures of dinosaurs.

Then there are photos of the company Industrial Light and Magic

Then you get a whole range of production photos, posters and toys.

Next is a dinosaur encyclopaedia which makes for an educational feature.

Then you get the Production Notes which gives another insight into the film.

Then there are the theatrical trailers for all 3 films.

Next there are talent profiles for the leading cast and director.

There are also some features which can be accessed from a computer

Too be honest the features are repeated from the first film, and the only ones of interest were the Making of a Lost World and the deleted scenes.

The Message & Christian View Point
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This film, as with the first, demonstrates the risks of genetic engineering.

Conclusion & Rating
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The film was released in 1997 and although a little disappointing that it didn't break any new ground, it is still a very good film. Like the first, it is a mixture of action, adventure and suspense which is suitable for all ages, although young children may find some of the scenes too scary.

Jurassic Park: III (Disc 3)
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The Storyline
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Dr. Alan Grant is doing what he does best, studying fossils. When a wealthy business man offers him serious money to be a tour guide on a flight over the dinosaur islands, he cannot resist as he needs the money for research. When the plane lands he is furious, and even more so when he realises that the whole point of the trip is to rescue the business man's young son who went missing while paragliding near the island. He has no choice but to help and on the way discovers more about the dinosaurs that have haunted his dreams for the past 8 years.

This film, although does not break any new territory, is very good as the plot is all about a rescue attempt, but along the way you discover how the dinosaurs have evolved. Plus you get to see areas of the Jurassic Park that never featured in the previous 2 films. Although the film is based on a Michael Crichton book, it is directed by Joe Johnston (Jumanji) who brings a new freshness to the film which I believe would have lacked under the direction of Spielberg.

The film sees the return of Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant which not only provides continuity between the 3 films, but allows us to enjoy another brilliant performance. Other than a small cameo by Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler, all the characters are new. William H. Macy plays Paul Kirby, the wealthy business man along with his wife played by the beautiful Tea Leoni. As with the previous films, the supporting cast are all well acted are an integral part of keeping the story moving.

With Joe Johnston taking over the directional helm, he has brought fresh ideas to what could have been a very tired sequel. He still uses the dinosaurs to maximum effect, but focuses more on the action and adventure within the story. The action scenes in this one are actually better than those in the Lost World, so there is some improvement. Again, the location and set design plays a huge part in the film, and is still as breath taking as when you saw it for the first time in the original. The sound track for this film uses the original pieces by John Williams but uses new pieces by Don Davis who worked on the Matrix films. The sound track is so powerful that with out this film would not nearly be as enjoyable.

The Cast
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Sam Neill .... Dr. Alan Grant
William H. Macy .... Paul Kirby
Téa Leoni .... Amanda Kirby
Alessandro Nivola .... Billy Brennan
Trevor Morgan .... Erik Kirby
Michael Jeter .... Mr. Udesky
Laura Dern .... Dr. Ellie Sattler

Technical Details
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Certificate: PG
Length: 92 mins
Widescreen

Bonus Material
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Phew, there are some new features on here so please read on.

Firstly as you would expect is the making of Jurassic Park III and the reason why they made it and the reason why it had a new director. This is very very good.

Next is a feature on some of the new dinosaurs that appear in this movie.

Next is a tour of the Stan Winston studios where they created some of the life size dinosaurs used in parts of the model, the amount of detail that goes into them is extraordinary.

Then there is a visit to ILM which shows how all the computer graphics work

Next is the trailers for the 3 films but also are trailers for ET and Back to the future - a little bit of 80s heaven.

Finally there is a feature on discovering new dinosaur fossils in Montana, very informative and intresting.

The Message & Christian View Point
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This film, as with the first, demonstrates the risks of genetic engineering.

Conclusion & Rating
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Usually a series of films will go hit, miss, hit and this is the case with this being the third Jurassic Park film. With the emphasis now on the story and the adventure, the film is very watch able and being only 92 minutes long, is exactly the right length before boredom would have crept in. Unlike the Lost World you feel that you are discovering new things about the dinosaurs and the island. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who got disillusioned with the Lost World.

Jurassic Park: Beyond Jurassic Park (Disc 4)
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This split into 3 sections each of which is about each film

The first section deals with the first film. You get a making of featurette which is much shorter than the one on the original disc and is more of just a taster about how the film was made. Next is a behind the scenes focussing on how Steven Spielberg directed the film. Then you get a feature which details the first T-rex attack with story board and animatrics. Then you get details on how a hurricane disrupted the making of the film and actually shows some footage of the hurricane hitting the island. Then there is a feature demonstrating how much work ILM did on the film and how it all gets put together.

The second section deals with the Lost World. Like before you get the original making of the film which again works as a taster to how much work went into it. Then you get an interview with Michael Crichton over the book he wrote and his contribution to the film. Then like before you get to see ILM's contribution to the film. Next you get quite a funny featurette of dancing dinosaurs created by ILM, this is very short but shows how advanced computer graphics have become.

The third section deals with the third film. The first feature deals with all the special effects work used in the movie. Next is the ILM press release which is basically shows the detail of their work. Then there is a feature on the sound effects which are a huge part of the film and this goes some way to explaining them. Then there is a feature called the Art of Jurassic Park, which is about all the artwork used on the story boards. Then you get a feature called Jurassic Park the Ride which takes you through an actual ride at a theme park.

Too be brutally honest, this fourth disc is a waste of space as the individual films have much better features. In my opinion this has been added only to entice those who have got the films separately to buy this whole package.

Finally the overall opinion
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I apologise if this review has gone on and on, I have tried to be brief and informative. The Jurassic Park films are some of the most enjoyable films I have watched as they are mixture of action, adventure, story and amazing special effects. Just hearing the theme music tells you that you are about to see something on a grand scale. After more than the decade, the original Jurassic Park is still as magical as the first time I watched it in the cinema and I don't think it will ever loose that magic. I am sure it is going to entertain generations for years to come. With the addition of the Lost World and part III, the series has not lost anything but has grown into one of the worlds biggest franchises.

As a DVD package, this set of films is extremely good, with over 5 hours of film plus about 2 hours of special features, it is extremely good value and gives a wonderful insight into how and why these films were made. The only negative on the package is the fourth disc which seems a waste of space and a ploy to get people to buy a collection which they may already have on separate discs. I would recommend this film to absolutely everyone, as like Harry Potter it is a very magical adventure. It is currently available at £15.97 on Amazon.

Footnote
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A fourth instalment of the film is currently in pre-production but there is no confirmed information on whether it will definitely go ahead. The only thing we knows is that it currently has a title of Jurassic Park: The Extinction.