The Film Den: Jurassic Park, Part 1 (Video Review/Retrospective)

[@TheJboy88]

It's incredible how well this film has aged. I mean, the CGI looks just as good now as it did back then, and that was about twenty years ago!

[@kurvos]

Jay In fact, it looks better than most CGI does today, for crying out loud. XP All three movies have awesome CGI, honestly.

[@DrFeelGoodHelpDesk]

kurvos "All three movies have awesome CGI, honestly" - While I can agree on a couple of levels (those pertaining to the original and Lost World), Jurassic 3 just didn't follow on the same quality. While the technical side of things made tremendous leaps forward (giving the feel of real muscles under the skin and adding the feel of real weight to the characters) the rather cartoon like rendering on most shots in the film (including some pivotal scenes) was a massive step backwards. I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) that we can all look at Jurassic Park 3 and see that it came at the time when everything with CGI started to go slightly off track, where the drive for believability lost out to spectacle.

[@grugonk]

It really doesn't once your take off the nostalgia goggles. The practical effects still look amazing, but the CGI is looking really dated.

[@LaurianeG.]

I'm sorry, the CGi in the first movie, while top of the line for it's time, has not aged that well in term of textures, lighting and especially animation ^^" (As an animator myself, I can already see flaws in it) I think we managed to do better nowayday, even when comparing to the practical effects. Though I don't remember the two other films enough to have an opinion on them I don't say this to be a dick, just to be clear ^^"

[@MJballer97]

Jay old is gold !

[@Lotus-Son]

Dena, your videos are AWWEEESSOOOMMMMEEE!!!!! I don't wanna ever pressure you to keep content going, I hope this is remains a passion project for you. But you've been on KZbin for so long now and you still push out awesome content that is true to you. Keep on goin', Dena! You're EASILY one of my favorite channels ever on KZbin and your videos are one of my favorite things to watch ever (TV, shows, movies, KZbin content).

[@tscream80]

11:47 - Fun fact: Richard Kiley also provided narration for Jurassic Park: The Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood; you know, before they started turning it into a Jurassic World ride.

[@ryanedwards7487]

"They move in herds. They do move in herds." ...The entire movie is still as fantastic as it was 25 years ago, and there is so much about it that is memorable, but that moment where Dr. Grant sees a field full of dinosaurs, sauropods, and you see that glimmer of childlike innocence and glee on his face as his greatest dreams come true. That is and always will be one of my favorite moments in cinema I have ever seen. It's right up there with Robin Williams in "The Bird Cage" explaining so succinctly what love is on the bench, or with you see Brad Pitt's character in "Se7en" just collapse, feeling he's lost everything, and knowing John Doe has won. Or that moment when Optimus Prime died in the old Transformers movie....its just one of those things that you will always remember, and thank you so much for doing that so much justice Sam Neill.

[@SaintsGames92]

It cracks me up how many times Hammond says "Spared no expense" I've never realized it growing up watching it until now lol Awesome work you've done Dena, can't wait for part 2!

[@Skunktrain42]

Yeah, your problem with the book Jurassic Park is that Crichton always front-loaded his exposition. Generally, the first hundred pages or so tend to be pretty slow but once the shit hits the fan it never lets go.

[@Cyborcat]

Skunktrain That sounds about right from what I recall, along with what I've been told.

[@ShaDHP23]

Skunktrain sounds just like Parasite Eve. That book took forever to get to the scary shit, but once Eve took to the scene, I couldn't put the book down.

[@MarkKreutzerPrimary]

It's so cool to see Dena go fangirl over dinosaurs... Finally there is another of my kind... Movie buffs/ Dino buffs!

[@civilsky4261]

sam neill is also in another horror movie called event horizon, which i wholeheartedly recommend.

[@Cyborcat]

Civilian Sky True, I could have mentioned that one as well--I guess I immediately think of In The Mouth of Madness because it's technically the first movie I ever saw him in (tho he didn't really "stick" with me until Jurassic Park for some reason).

[@jswatch9270]

@@Cyborcat I guess spared no expense happened to be one of his famous lines

[@jswatch9270]

@@Cyborcat Jurassic park is my favorite dinosaur movie of all time

[@jswatch9270]

@@Cyborcat lex is smiling at both

[@jswatch9270]

@@Cyborcat the yellow and green cars are the Ford explorers

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

I love your shirt Dena! Honestly, I was never a big fan of Jurassic Park, but my mother loves the original trilogy, so I was exposed to it growing up. I think the first time I saw it, was when my parents rented it on VHS from Blockbuster. The two moments that absolutely terrified me as a child were the partially eaten goat falling on the windshield of the jeep, and Wayne Knight being killed by that dinosaur that spits acid. In fact, that part scared me so much as a kid, that we had one of those collectable cups with that dinosaur on it, and I hated even being near it because the picture they used was of the moment right before the dinosaur spat acid. In fact, it's thanks to this movie that I can't even go near the dinosaur attraction at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It started around the time when the first movie came out, they had these true to size dinosaur animatronics that they'd place around the sectioned of area of the park. I still remember being a kid, and breaking down in hysterics because I had just seen Jurassic Park, and was paranoid about being eaten. It didn't help that I've had Automatonophobia since I was three, and was already worried the animatronics would come to life anyway. Can't wait for Part 2!

[@ChrisManley1994]

“Not only is it a child but it’s a fanboy run Dr Grant!” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ssjgarfield]

I was around 9 or 10 when this movie came out and as a dinosaur fan, it's my most favourite movie of all time. My favourite dinosaur of all time is Parasaurolophus so I was most pleased to see that they were in the movie. Can't wait to see part 2 of your review

[@Cyborcat]

ssjgarfield Parasaurolophus FTW! ^.^

[@UstraMage]

I saw this movie when it first came out in theaters, it was one of my favorite for YEARS!

[@Cyborcat]

UstraMage "It was my favorite when I was a kid, and how I see that it's the most beautiful thing I ever saw! ^.^"

[@UstraMage]

This was the first CGI movie I ever saw, and the first CGI movie in general I think. It totally blew me away!

[@Hewylewis]

I think Malcolm was trying to buy Grant more time, as he shouts "Get the kids, get the kids!" when the T-Rex chases him.

[@RPG_Angie]

I said it before and I'll say it again: I love that you're doing these in-depth reviews! I do prefer it when you focus on films that haven't been reviewed to death yet (especially horrors), but I understand that as a dinosaur geek, you felt compelled to do Jurassic Park. I'm surprised that you didn't discuss how accurately the dinosaurs were portrayed (e.g. brachiosaurus with a vertical neck, the super-enhanced raptors, the hunter vs. scavenger debate concerning T-Rex...) - as a non-dinosaur geek, I can confirm that it'd be interesting to listen to. The sequels even address some of these issues, so you could show the footage while discussing it.

[@Cyborcat]

AnkokuEvangeline This is only Part 1 of 3 =P

[@RPG_Angie]

Cyborcat Oh, I see ^_~

[@SunBunz]

The scene with the kids being attacked by the T-REX traumatized me. lol I was only 7, I also saw this when it first came out. I was crying so hard, because I truly felt like I was there, & I didn't want to die. xD BEST. THEATER EXPERIENCE. I EVER. HAD. I think that's how I became a fan of horror, and being scared. Such a rush.

[@VoodooGremlin]

I'm not sure if this will be in part two but there's a neat bit of foreshadowing in the helicopter scene where Dr. Grant solves the seat belt problem by tying two buckles together. Doing something that worked, but also not what the manufacturer would've intended. Much like when the all female dinosaurs start breeding, against what their manufacturers had in mind.

[@pj_critic]

The part with the seatbelt wasn't just about Dr Grant and technology, it was forshadowing. He has two slots, commonly called the "female end," two female parts can't fit together but he finds a way just like the all female dinosaur population of the island find a way to breed later in the movie. x

[@themetalhead667]

Notice how the ledge the T-Rex pushed car over is the exact same place he broke thefence and walked out of. Does that mean that the T-Rex can fly?

[@lotus-prince]

themetalhead667 Dinosaurs are even more like birds than we thought!

[@Cyborcat]

Lotus Prince Well, T. Rex did have feathers =P

[@lotus-prince]

Cyborcat Yeah, that is such a weird image. :-D

[@dennett316]

themetalhead667 It's not the same place. The car is flipped on it's roof and flipped around a few times. There's an image online that shows how it's supposed to work... img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130219053746/jurassicpark/images/a/ae/Tumblr_m8tqn6T4FK1rsiohpo1_1280.jpg When the T-Rex broke through the fence, you see it shear all the cables to the fence.

[@jovo3dsmax]

Very good review. Thank you for that.

[@Dangeresque300]

One big thing I never realized about this movie until a year or so ago: WHERE DID THAT CLIFF COME FROM? Seriously, we saw the T-Rex walk out of there, and it was level with the ground. Then, after a few minutes, suddenly there's a fifty-foot drop-off into the forest. What the hell? How did no one on the production team catch that?

[@Lightice1]

7:40 - It's not actually possible to restore dinosaurs from fossilised DNA, since no matter what you do the molecules degrade over time and the amino acids from several million years ago are just plain gone. You could maybe possibly restore some prehistoric mammals with this method, but dinosaurs are out of the question. Now a working real-life method would be not to restore dinosaurs, but remake them by extrapolating from the DNA of the modern birds. They wouldn't be identical with their prehistoric counterparts, but they'd certainly look impressive.

[@Razhakful]

Lightice1 Yeah. Some company is actually trying to bring mammoths back and i remember certain science magazine having article that stated that Saber Cats are possible to bring back too.

[@thatmaninblack]

Cool review. Please don't forget the rest of the Hellraiser movies neither. ;)

[@Cyborcat]

thatmaninblack LOL. I won't--I just wanted to focus on a couple of movies that were timely for a change (this and Poltergeist, since they each had a new one coming out).

[@takkycat]

This is the type of book I might recommend the audiobook over the print. If technobabble is not something that comes easily to you (I'm that way too) then the audiobook really helps! I find it also helps with long, rambly books, like some of Steven King's stuff.

[@TeraunceFoaloke]

under 301 club. Also quite glad I found your youtube channel.

[@Cyborcat]

Teraunce Foaloke Oops, I guess I shouldn't have added the tags--this was unlisted and supposed to be just for Patrons until Friday, but I guess people can find it through searches when the tags are added, which makes sense. Live and learn--tags have been deleted for now. Glad you like my videos, at any rate XD

[@TeraunceFoaloke]

Cyborcat Dena I found it because I'm one of your Patron's . sorry to scare you. feel free to add the tags back, as unlisted videos won't appear in searches. I just clicked on the "Watch on KZbin" link in the player you had on the Patreon post.

[@Cyborcat]

Teraunce Foaloke Oops, sorry, I didn't recognize the name, and I though your post was implying that you found my channel through this video XD No worries.

[@TeraunceFoaloke]

oh no I found your channel through the video, because I didn't know you had a youtube channel until I watched the video. But I've watched you and Lee for a while, at least since the "Still Gaming With Dena" episodes.

[@Cyborcat]

Teraunce Foaloke Makes sense ^.^

[@RThyrring]

A thing I remember about the T-Rex eating the lawyer, as a kid I was pretty traumatized by seeing a human being being eaten by a dinosaur, so my mom had to tell me, at the actor was okay and probably eating lunch himself by now (I was about 6 or 7 when I watched it the first time)

[@tscream80]

@14:33 - Metricanthosaurus wasn't in Jurassic World the film, but will be in the game Jurassic World Evolution. No word on if it's going to be in Fallen Kingdom. @17:06 - They've actually done studies on T. rex vision; it's actually *much* better than the movie claims. Think an animal that could not only see Grant and Lex clearly, but in 3D and with literal eagle vision, if not better.

[@natalie8212]

Have you ever seen a movie called Baby? ( Im 99% sure that's the name). It's about some scientists who find a baby brontosaurus in the forest or something. It's been a while since I've seen it. They used an animatronic ( not auto erotica) dinosaur and I was floored as a kid thinking maybe this could actually happen lol. I think it came out in 88 or 89. Also, sorry to flood you with comments, I just found your channel, I love it, and you saved my night!

[@Cyborcat]

Yep, I loved that movie when I was a kid.

[@BooksInTheVoid]

Dena, I just got the novel today to read for my comparison with the films lol.

[@nextgenwarrior]

No comment on how the rex can apparently hover? It knocks the jeep off into the enclosure in the same spot that it broke through the fence at, and yet that's a sheer drop. It was standing on thin air.

[@redrumettevroc1581]

doesn't Wayne Knight shirt at the beginning of the movie look like chunk's shirt in The Goonies ?

[@aaron75fy]

I wonder if these films were made as a sort of warning at the possible consequences to attempting dna reconstruction?

[@joshuahartman3132]

I believe that was the intention of the original book. Actually that's a common theme in Crichton's work- showing potential applications of new science while also warning of possible consequences. It's visible in Jurassic Park and the Lost World as well as one of Chrichton's first books, The Andromeda Strain, and other books like Terminal Man (not to be confused with the Tom Hanks movie) and even Sphere, to a certain extent.

[@RThyrring]

Again, nice review. And you made me realize all those tiny details I didn't pick up on. Also, I might add, even though the lawyer running away when the T-Rex is about to attack, yeah okay, that is a natural reaction (sort of like 'fight or flight mode'). But him just leaving the kids behind while making his escape, that's kind of a dick move...

[@CrustyMuffinsify]

I saw this when I was very young and the part where they almost get eaten by a raptor while crawling through the ventilation scared me so much that my dad told me i actually lifted both legs thinking i would get bitten 😂

[@monopside]

whats the show you keep pulling clips from the one with the funny black vampire

[@Cyborcat]

monopside LOL. It's a British Sci-Fi comedy called Red Dwarf. That character is actually an evolved cat.

[@dennett316]

Cyborcat Although, Danny John-Jules did actually play a vampire in Blade 2. It's really kind of weird seeing him look like Cat, but not actually be as dumb as he is.

[@Cyborcat]

Paul Dennett Good point. I haven't actually seen that yet, but I want to.

[@freewilliam93]

hope you do the other hellraiser movies next. my favorites after 2 are 5 and 6.

[@RandomAmerican3000]

This movie did two things that I thought were an improvement over the novel. One was that the characters were actually in awe of the dinosaurs. The book counterparts acted as if it was all just a scientific oddity. The second was making Hammond a nice guy. Would have been a much darker movie if they kept him the kind of character who only invited his grandchildren to the island to show the backers it was safe. I did find it unfortunate that they really didn't show how Lex was good with computers. Something that the book could better explain what all she was doing to figure things out.

[@bennettfender1546]

Random American don't forget how the characters actually have arcs unlike in the novel.

[@Diamondelle84]

10:45 Shut up Meg! lol

[@andrewdilbeck9842]

Love this movie.

[@reloadpsi]

I can totally understand why Crichton's writing style wasn't for you. I've enjoyed the few books of his I've read but I was able to get behind the more technical rambling somewhat - for the most part, he shows his research well, depiction of a Costa Rican military notwithstanding of course :P

[@Moonbeam143]

The thing about the T-Rex not seeing things that don't move has been debunked. I would give the link to the video talking about that, but I forget which video it was.

[@Cyborcat]

Moonbeam I know, I think the Wikipedia article mentions it too. I just decided to stay within the context of the movie when commenting on it.

[@EarthboundX]

Planet of Dinosaurs is fun, I've only seen it because of Rifftrax. Great Riff. I'm sure The Dom will get to this in his book to movie adaptation series at some point. Never read the book, always been curious abut it.

[@Axetwin]

EarthboundX The Dom already covered Jurassic Park.

[@EarthboundX]

He did? Hmm, guess I forgot.

[@TheSilverVixen]

I do have to say as far as the book goes, when they were picking actors to play in the movie, Jeff Goldblum was pretty perfect casting for Ian Malcolm. xD

[@artner0112]

Dena, you should put a link to your patreon page in the description . Might make it easier to support you.

[@Cyborcat]

***** It's already in that little "i" in the upper right of the screen, plus I link to it after the list of patrons at the end of the video ... but it probably couldn't hurt to put it in the description as well, so I'll do that ^.^

[@Beastkingzetta]

0:27 WATCH IT IN "IMAX" ITS WORTH IT TRUST ME ON IT

[@RedFoxReviewer]

What happened to your Jurassic World review?

[@Cyborcat]

Apparently blocked. Sure would be nice if KZbin would tell me these things.

[@Cyborcat]

Thanks for bringing it to my attention--working on appealing it.

[@theanimeman476]

you really need to try reading the book again, it's really good.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

Actually, the Rex not being able to see you was based on a theory proposed by . . . I don't specifically remember who now. Anyway, he theorized that based on the brain cavity and the eye sockets, the Rex would have vision like an amphibian, which only sees notices things that move. The funny thing is, this theory was debunked less than year after the film was made because advances in technology allowed us to get a much more accurate scan of the brain cavity.

[@swordhunter12]

Bit disappointed there was no mention of the opening scene since that gave the audience a taste of what they were in for and haunted the nightmares of many a child but otherwise good review so far.

[@DasKame]

I am waiting for a Review of "in the Mouth of Madness " ^^

[@midnightfox653]

The book tried really hard to convince you that it was realistic. And I was just like: please just get to the story.

[@RawbeardX]

ALAN!

[@dfanA113]

I love this movie, but even I have to ask: Why are only two people running security for a park housing dinosaurs

[@johnnyd3158]

Probably there were meant to be more security personnels on hand when the park officially opened to the public.

[@joshuahartman3132]

You stopped just where the book was about to really get good! Chrichton is infamous for including a lot of technobabble, but with JP and Lost World (which is WORLDS better than the movie adaptation, if you'll pardon the pun) he got most of the technobabble out in the first bits- the bits the movie skipped, for better or worse. Alot of plot holes in the movie were rectified in the book- for example the absence of support personel- not only were there several characters more in the book (and more deaths by dinos) but there were also unnamed characters who were waiters or maintenance men who were in the background of many scenes. Also, while I agree that Spielberg heavily contributed to the likeability of the characters (Hammond is completely different in the book- to the point that Crichton killed him off at the end- by having him trip and fall after blaming everyone else- kids included- for the disaster. He calls out for help but nobody hears him...and he gets eaten by Compy's only a few feet from the lodge. Also alot of details that went nowhere in the movie, like the sick Triceratops, had a point in the book. If you ever get the chance I highly recomend giving it another shot. Also, I found it interesting that Dr. Grant's attitude towards children is exactly the opposite in the book, and that Tim and Lex's ages were reversed.

[@joshuahartman3132]

Sorry accidentaly clicked the comment button before I finished my point- that while Spielberg is good at characters, so is Crichton- he assembles a large cast but makes each character distinctive and interesting.

[@bennettfender1546]

Joshua Hartman I disagree I prefer the Lost World movie to the book which takes way too long to get going plus the villains are idiots I realize movie Sarah can be stupid but the books villains are just strait up braindead seriously no one though to bring a gun in case the noise box failed? Then there's Levine who is just pretentious. Now I do like the book however the movie is just so much better the villains are more interesting, the action is amazing, the effects are even better than than first best in the series in my option, and that's not even getting into the awesome T.rex damage in San Diego at the end.

[@nicholaspokorny5058]

I'm assuming by now you've seen Jurassic World. Thoughts?

[@Cyborcat]

I liked it a lot. It was totally dumb, but I enjoyed it.

[@daveKoRnfan]

they should have had David Attenborough as the narrator it would have been a good if not so subtle in joke

[@Burori1]

As someone, who listened to the audio book, I've gotta say. Movie >>>>>>> Book.

[@KeroKaminaX]

after watchign The Dom's "Lost in Adaptation" of this movie i kinda feel bad for the lawyer

[@Cyborcat]

***** Yah, I watched that too--interesting how much they changed the characters around. Tho I kind of feel sorry for him in this movie--he's a greedy asshole, but he's kind of miserable and pathetic in a way.

[@bennettfender1546]

Cyborcat doesn't even have Regis more sympathetic qualities where he regrets running away like he did doesn't save him from death unfortunately for him.

[@JeremyMccullar]

they should have brought them back

[@Beastkingzetta]

0:20 To be fair JURASSIC PARK 3 could have bin replace with "WORLD" & be find..

[@Godzillakingofkaiju1]

Okay, Ellie is not Grant's girlfriend. She's his colleague.

[@Cyborcat]

They are colleagues who are also dating--the two concepts don't have to be mutually exclusive.

[@PocokPresents]

Oh, please... new movie dont suck!

[@karlkarlos3545]

Pocok I'm so sick of sequels in general, I couldn't care less.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

I have mixed feelings about the book and movie. Both have things I like, and both have things I don't. The book's characters (aside from Lex) are more complex and nuanced - even Nedry, who in the book had been lied to about several elements of the park's needs, blamed for mistakes he made based on those lies, underpaid, slandered, and nearly had his company destroyed by John Hammond, and had basically gone to Dr. Dodgeson because he was trying to save his company and not have to lay off employees that he actually cared about (and also he wanted to make a tidy profit, he was still greedy, but there was a lot he put with before finally going to Dodgeson). Malcom's arguments against the park were much more complicated and were more based around how the park had been badly designed - trying to have a high level of control but designing the park on a nature preserve model that, by its very nature, did not allow that kind of control. Also the book has a scene where Muldoon gets super drunk and runs around blowing up raptors with a rocket launcher. On the other hand, the movie gets the sense of grandness and wonder of Jurassic Park's idea much better than the book does and has a much tighter plot with less flab around the edges. Honestly, my ideal version of this story would be somewhere between the two. But I'll take both versions that already exist.

[@macfly6237]

The second best dinosaur franchise has to be the land before time

[@thewillsterpro3051]

I love Michael Crichton books but I haven’t read Jurassic Park but yeah your techno babble sounds like most books by him

[@shmee123ful]

Am I the only one who hear dougs "I'm a mouther F***ing T-rex when ever we see this movie and the T-rex walks through the gate

[@nolanhewitt2563]

Yes...you are...

[@ElderGodBrandon]

noticed you skipped the opening with the hunter guy and the lawyer explaining why they need grant and the others

[@Cyborcat]

+ElderGodBrandon Well, I can't keep everything =P

[@ElderGodBrandon]

and love your shirt and ear rings

[@Cyborcat]

+ElderGodBrandon Thankies.