4 reasons to re-watch Jurassic Park

We don’t know many people who haven’t already watched Jurassic Park, and most have seen it several times. This, of course, is understandable as it’s one of the greatest movies of all time.

That said, you’re here because you’re still interested in the film, but perhaps not enough to want to watch it again. We hope we can tip you over the edge. Below are several reasons why you should re-watch Jurassic Park:

John Hammond – the book Vs the movie

You’re used to the optimistic and idealistic version of Hammond, but did you know in the book he’s a far darker Character? His kindness is replaced by a colder, more aggressive man whose hell bent on earning mega money regardless of the human cost. This is a stark contrast to our movie Hammond, who says “Everyone in the world has the right to enjoy these animals”.

It’s enjoyable watching the movie imagining John as this cold and calculated billionaire, or perhaps as an even more maniacally evil super villain.

Roar-igin stories

The dinosaurs sound terrific. I sure don’t know what a dinosaur would have really sounded like, but the sounds portrayed by JP are forever seered into my mind as gospel. They are appropriately scary when needed and majestic when required. But do you know how they made these sounds? Below are some sounds used at various stages for various Dinosaurs:

Gallimimuses:

• Female horse mating calls 

Velociraptors:

• Horses breathing 
• Angry Geese
• Tortoise’s having sex

Tyrannosaurus rex

• Slowed down baby elephant call

Dilophosaurus

• Swan noises
• Rattlesnake sounds

Armed with these facts, we challenge you to identify these sounds in the movie!

High tech – low tech

All technology comes and goes, but Jurassic Park famously spared no expense, from the high tech computers capable of running the whole park with minimal staffing for up to 3 days, to the self driving cars. But looking back on it some of the technology is laughably bad (looking at you – Lex hacking scene) and it’s enjoyable to see that and just how far we’ve come, and considering what would be done differently with today’s, or tomorrow’s, technology.

Different Director, Different Direction?

The book was released in 1990 and was a hit practically before it hit the shelves with different studios bidding for it, including: 

• Warner Brothers with Tim Burton directing (Beetlejuice,  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
• Columbia with Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon, The Goonies)
• 20th Century Fox with Joe Dante (The Gremlins, Twilight Zone: The Movie)
• James Cameron (Avatar, Terminator, Titanic)

Interestingly, Cameron later said his version would have been like Aliens , but with Dinosaurs and starring Charlton Heston as John Hammond, Bill Paxton as Malcolm  and none other than Arnie Schwarzenegger as Alan Grant!!

Ultimately, Universal with Spielberg won , and whilst this gave us the legendary film as we know it, it’s fun to muse as to how it could have turned out with these other combinations of Director vision.

With these facts, musings and discussion points in hand, we hope you can sit back and enjoy this film again in a new light!