15 years ago tonight

[blando3]

In Jurassic Park, they didn't overdo it. They only did what they could do well, and they mixed models with CGI and the results were great. These days, anything and everything is done with CGI - model makers are out of work - and everything has a phony, non-tangible feel. King Kong was AWFUL. That whole scene where they get chased down the canyon was one the stupidest scenes of any movie and some of the CGI shots were laughable.

Jurassic Park still stands up today as one the better examples of CGI along with T2.

 

[Kirk Gillock]

Thanks for the reminder. Watching it right now. Great movie!!!

 

[Grug]

Jurassic Park still stands up today as one the better examples of CGI along with T2.

The CGI in Terminator 2 still amazes me every time I see it - it's so much more seamless than the majority of stuff we see nowadays. Edward Furlong's hair is really the only thing that dates that movie.

 

[Sad Max]

For my money, this is still one of the all-time brilliant single shots in any action-movie sequence (or maybe *any* kind of movie sequence...)

 

[Batutta]

I've always believed this is one of those few "perfect films". It doesn't miss a single beat, moment, emotion, anything. I could not imagine ANYTHING in that film done differently. Perfectly written, shot, cast, etc.,

I wouldn't say it's a perfect film. That ice cream eating scene between Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough is horrendous. The dialogue is bad, the acting is bad, and the whole idea of the scene is wrong. The film doesn't really have a third act, it just kind of stops, and there is some choppy editing here and there. And I always found the whole "Dr. Grant learning to be a father" theme kind of insubstantial for such a thrilling concept. I'm not suggesting the film is bad at all, I just never thought it was one of Spielberg's absolute top shelf efforts. For me, the perfect five are JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, RAIDERS, E.T. and SCHINDLER'S LIST.

 

[Greggl]

From a tech standpoint, what was done with CGI in Jurassic, SHOULD have been done 10 years earlier.

Disney dropped the ball after Tron and killed the CGI momentum by a decade.

 

[Sad Max]

Well, they're re-doing Tron now, to make up for it.

 

[Barry_Green]

I wouldn't say it's a perfect film.

Jurassic Park is fun and brilliant, yes, but it is indeed far from perfect. The ending is a total Deus Ex Machina, just like the original Raiders. Spielberg changed the ending on both films from their scripts, removing the hero's actions and instead letting them be saved by events out of their control.

Even so, J.P. is one of my top 3 Spielberg pictures (along with Jaws and E.T.).

 

[J.R. Hudson]

I wouldn't say it's a perfect film. That ice cream eating scene between Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough is horrendous. The dialogue is bad, the acting is bad, and the whole idea of the scene is wrong. The film doesn't really have a third act, it just kind of stops, and there is some choppy editing here and there. And I always found the whole "Dr. Grant learning to be a father" theme kind of insubstantial for such a thrilling concept. I'm not suggesting the film is bad at all, I just never thought it was one of Spielberg's absolute top shelf efforts. For me, the perfect five are JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, RAIDERS, E.T. and SCHINDLER'S LIST.

Agreed

I have never found this to be in any of my BEST EVER list's. Then again, my Jurrasic probably would not have been PG-13.

The kids are too much for me in this film.

Give me an adult, action adventure dinosaur film anyday. But, the Dino's alone are worth the ride.

 

[Mark Harris]

Agreed

I have never found this to be in any of my BEST EVER list's. Then again, my Jurrasic probably would not have been PG-13.

The kids are too much for me in this film.

Give me an adult, action adventure dinosaur film anyday. But, the Dino's alone are worth the ride.

Yeah agreed. The writing was one of my disapointments with the film. Compared to say, JAWS, that was about the same film but with really, really great writing and much better characters.

 

[J.R. Hudson]

Another note Batutta

I think you hit it on the head. Spielberg's greatest films (debatable, but generally agreeable) are the ones that do not cater to the popcorn and children

Jaws
Raider's
Close Encounters
E.T.

Enjoyed by children but I don't believe they were aimed at children from the onset.

I get flak for loving War of the Worlds so much, but it reminds me of old Steve a bit in not catering to children. There is nothing cute about the the children in the film (The girl and son) as they come across as real people with real problems.

The son and father relationship is very strained. From the BOSTON / YANKEES throwing the baseball scene, to the kid wanting to bail in the middle of the **** hitting the fan. Cruise's character being a sort of single, slobby, blue collar dude and the wife having left him to marry another man

And what about the TIM ROBBINS CRUISE scene when Cruise has to take him out ? We all have agreed the ending with the son returning was bullshit and the film could have been near perfect in killing him off (too me) ..

-

Even E.T., which has become a classic for children, at the end of the day isn't some absurd kiddie popcorn film. It's just played out as plausible within the world they've created.

Jurrassic, from the get go, was designed with children in mind.

-

Is the term Deus Ex Machina being used in the proper context ?

Raiders nor Jurrassic used a Deus Ex Machina that I can see.

According to WIKI

"... a sudden and unexpected resolution to a seemingly intractable problem in a plotline."

or

1 : a god introduced by means of a crane in ancient Greek and Roman drama to decide the final outcome

2 : a person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty

I see where one would try and say the RAIDERS ending was a Deus Ex Machina, but from the very get go on the storyline, we were all warned of opening the Ark. Nothing was convenient or sudden about the ending result.

In Jurrasic ? Where was the Deus Ex Machina ?

" They get to the main lobby, but are surrounded by the two raptors. As the raptors are about to attack, the T. rex crashes in and kills them. The humans escape and are rescued by Hammond and Ian, who arrive in a jeep. They drive to the helicopter landing where a rescue chopper is waiting.."

I see where one may attempt to imply the term, but have to say that Dino's were running all over the Island at this point. A sudden event, but not god-like or implausible.

 

[Mark Harris]

I see where one may attempt to imply the term, but have to say that Dino's were running all over the Island at this point. A sudden event, but not god-like or implausible.

Well doesn't the t-rex suddenly eat the Raptor that is about to kill them? Catching it in MID-AIR? At the very last second? A little far fetched and DEFINITELY fits the definition.

 

[David Jimerson]

Yes. The T. Rex is the deus. It was an unexpected ending which solved the problem FOR the heroes.

Still, this is one of my top 5 films. Not just for Spielberg, but for any. Perfect? No. I could point to many little errors and inconsistencies, but the whole is DEFINITELY greater than the sum of its parts.

 

[Mark Harris]

Raiders is literatlly a Deus Ex Machina, but I don't feel like it really is because everyone tells them throughout the film: "Don't open it." "Not meant for men to see" and the like. Marcus, Sala. So it feels integral and more like irony to me that they chased this thing all over and it was a worthless pursuit, underlined by the last scene.

 

[David Jimerson]

Well, both of them are deus ex. But for both, the ending is still satisfying, which I guess counts for more than slavish adherence to the rules.

(Not so much for Indy 4, though.)

Anyway, this (JP) is the last Spielberg film to completely blow me away.

 

[Barry_Green]

Point being, the resolution of the conflict in both films comes about through no action on the part of the hero. In Raiders, Indy is literally tied to a pole and can do nothing about events as they unfold (except to tell Marion "don't look.") In J.P., they're dead and they only get saved by the miraculously-timed intervention of a T.Rex.

Spielberg changed both from the original scripts, which both had the heroes taking active action to defeat the final enemy. In both cases Spielberg changed it so that some force outside of their control defeats the enemies.

 

[J.R. Hudson]

I get it; still trying to find a definite ruling on the term. Seems to be stretching a bit.

Jurrasic really ranks up there despite the bullshit meter DAVE. Again, the dinos alone are just a treat; which is why I'm a sucker for the whole franchise. The TREX scene is truly mesmerizing.

-

I can lean on Jurassic having a Deux ending despite knowing that the REX was out and about and roaming free; very convenient escape for our people.

but not with RAIDERS ...

To much foreshadow and warning for me to be surprised the Ark was full of danger if opened and for those that look upon the Ark.

=

War of the Worlds has a classic Deux ending with the death of the Aliens.

Return of the Jedi ? - Suddenly, evil and dark VADER has a change of heart. Feels sorta Deux.

=

Dave ?

The last Spielberg film to blow you away ?

Saving Private Ryan ? (The D-Day sequence?!)

 

[Batutta]

Return of the Jedi ? - Suddenly, evil and dark VADER has a change of heart. Feels sorta Deux.

No, they foreshadow this, and it's an individual character's decision, not an unseen force changing the course of events. In Raiders, the fact that Indy does know enough to close his eyes at least gives a reason for his survival other than pure chance, which is what happens in JP. War of the Worlds is also a Deux, but that whole film is about people reacting to events WAY beyond their control.

 

[David Jimerson]

I get it; still trying to find a definite ruling on the term. Seems to be stretching a bit.

Jurrasic really ranks up there despite the bullshi* meter DAVE. Again, the dinos alone are just a treat; which is why I'm a sucker for the whole franchise. The TREX scene is truly mesmerizing.

-

I can lean on Jurassic having a Deux ending despite knowing that the REX was out and about and roaming free; very convenient escape for our people.

What's more, there was no real way for the T. Rex to get into the visitor's center (no Dino-doors), and certainly not without being noticed until it catches a raptor.

But still -- love the film.

but not with RAIDERS ...

To much foreshadow and warning for me to be surprised the Ark was full of danger if opened and for those that look upon the Ark.

That's fine, but the point is, Indy did nothing to bring about the resolution. In fact, Indy was beaten, thoroughly. He lost. God saved him.

War of the Worlds has a classic Deux ending with the death of the Aliens.

Everyone knew how that was going to end. The stupid part about the end of that movie was that the son, after the big dramatic self-sacrifice scene, showed up without a scratch well ahead of Cruise, and the grandparents' neighborhood and house were perfect, and they were all dressed/groomed like it just another Sunday afternoon.

Return of the Jedi ? - Suddenly, evil and dark VADER has a change of heart. Feels sorta Deux.

Don't know about that -- Luke had been working on him for a while, and he showed signs of softening prior to that end scene.

(Besides, in a larger sense, the whole series, 1-6, is actually Vader's story, right? So it's actually Vader who's sort of the hero.)

Dave ?

The last Spielberg film to blow you away ?

Saving Private Ryan ? (The D-Day sequence?!)

That was "cool" -- quite gripping and visceral -- but D-Day had been done much better in other films, and it was at the beginning of the film. The REST of SPR wasn't superb. So no, SPR didn't blow me away.

 

[Batutta]

That was "cool" -- quite gripping and visceral -- but D-Day had been done much better in other films, and it was at the beginning of the film. The REST of SPR wasn't superb. So no, SPR didn't blow me away.

Really? D-day had been done better???...I think the problem with Saving Private Ryan's script rests largely with the second Act. There isn't enough escalation of conflict. They basically come up against an obstacle, fight, a few people die, and they keep moving. That happens about five or six times until they find Ryan, where the story gets more interesting again. William Goldman said if he had done Ryan, he would've had the troops find him earlier and made the story about getting him out alive, which I think would have worked better.