Jurassic Park (1993)

19 years ago a film came out that would change cinema in many ways. Not only did the film exhibit extraordinary family-friendly narratives and showcase some of the finest Hollywood's actors of the time but it pushed the boundaries of CGI and taught film-makers that computer graphics could be integrated into a film without hindering the storytelling but rather enhancing it. During the film Jeff Goldblum's character exclaims, " You did it. You crazy son of a bitch, you actually did it", which I think can also appropriated to Jurassic Parks incredible director; Steven Spielberg.

Obsessed with dinosaurs since childhood, Spielberg had been nursing Jurassic Park for some time. However, in 1992, Spielberg had been intending to make Schindler's List his next project but having convinced to big studio executives to gamble on a three hour, black and white holocaust movie, Spielberg was happy to abide by the one condition made by the studio: he must make Jurassic Park first. No wonder people call 1993 Spielberg's miracle year.

To bring you back up to date on the story, the film follows the investigation of the zoological Jurassic Park and just how safe a South Pacific island that has free-roaming prehistoric dinosaurs (brought back to life through the magic of DNA retrieval and mind-boggling science). In for the ride are prehistoric world experts Alan Grant (Sam Neil), the role could've gone to Harrison Ford, but he turned down the opportunity to play Dr Alan Grant. Ellie Setter, who is played by Laura Dern is also accompanied by mathematician, Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), and park owner, John Hammond's grandchildren Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joesph Mazello). Of course, Jurassic Park, being a hypothetical theme park, things go wrong and before long the characters go from awry situations to ones of life and death.

Coming off the back of Hook's troubled shoot - Jurassic Park managed to come in on budget and ahead of schedule. Some of of the human performances seem hurried, but Spielberg's definitely didn't rush the making of the dinosaurs and inspired a technical achievement on a scale that represented an entire visual revolution. In their early script meetings author Crichton was anxious to know how Spielberg was planning to tackle the technical challenge of the dinosaurs. Spielberg however, wanted to talk about dinosaur character. Spielberg took on board advice from some specialists but brought in lessons learned from his previous creature feature: E.T.. Eventually all this came together on the big-screen: The T-Rex eyes blinking in the flashlight, the velociraptor breath snorting against the kitchen door. These little details are what make the dinosaurs believable.

The film is remarkable in its ability to consistently juggle the many different themes and character paths without ever appearing clunky or tiring. From start to finish, Spielberg supplies us with varied sequences of horror, family, comedy, action and adventure. Jurassic Park reeks of Spielberg's incredulous charm and awe that makes you want to watch the film again and again.

Jurassic Park feels like a film that gets better with age, never feeling out-dated but just getting better and better with every nostalgic moment. Jurassic Park is one of the biggest and best summer blockbusters ever made, and a giant leap for cinematic effects.