Jurassic Park (1993)
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A group of experts and visitors must survive a prehistoric nightmare when a high-tech dinosaur theme park's security systems fail.
The story
Industrialist John Hammond has created Jurassic Park, an animal theme park featuring de-extinct dinosaurs, on the tropical island Isla Nublar. When a security breach occurs, the park's investors demand expert verification of the island's safety. A team consisting of a paleontologist, a paleobotanist, and a chaotician are brought in to assess the site. Upon arrival, the group is stunned by the sight of living prehistoric creatures. However, a disgruntled employee's actions lead to a catastrophic failure of the park's power and security systems, forcing the visitors to navigate a landscape where prehistoric predators are no longer contained.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Industrialist John Hammond creates a park on Isla Nublar featuring cloned dinosaurs. To ensure safety for investors, experts Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm are brought in. The group learns that dinosaurs were revived using DNA from prehistoric mosquitoes. During a tour, a tropical storm approaches, and the group is left in vehicles while staff retreat. Simultaneously, a disgruntled employee, Dennis Nedry, steals dinosaur embryos by disabling the park's security. This causes the power to fail and the electric fences to drop, allowing a Tyrannosaurus rex to escape and attack the group. Nedry is killed by a Dilophosaurus. The survivors are split up; Grant, Lex, and Tim hide from the T-rex, while Sattler and a game warden are hunted by Velociraptors. After a series of tense encounters with the raptors and the T-rex, the group reunites at the visitor center. Lex restores the power, and the group is eventually rescued by helicopter, while Hammond and Grant agree not to endorse the park.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 127
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Steven Spielberg
- Writers
- Michael Crichton · writer; David Koepp · writer
- Cast and characters
- Sam Neill · Alan Grant; Laura Dern · Ellie Sattler; Jeff Goldblum · Ian Malcolm; Richard Attenborough · John Hammond; Samuel L. Jackson · Ray Arnold; Wayne Knight · Dennis Nedry; Ariana Richards · Lex Murphy; Joseph Mazzello · Tim
- Genres
- science fiction
- Themes
- ethics of cloning
- Tone and mood
- action; suspense
- Setting
- The tropical island of Isla Nublar off the coast of Costa Rica.
- Premise and plot tags
- de-extinction; genetic engineering
- Source material / true-story basis
- Michael Crichton's 1990 novel
- Franchise connections
- Jurassic Park
- Reception
- The film was a blockbuster hit that received critical acclaim for its special effects, sound design, action sequences, score, and direction. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made and a turning point for visual effects in cinema.
- Awards and nominations
- Oscar · Best Sound Effects Editing · Win; Oscar · Best Sound · Win; Oscar · Best Visual Effects · Win
- Production trivia
- The film's groundbreaking use of CGI is seen as a turning point for modern cinema.; The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.; It was the first film to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales after its 2013 re-release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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