Jurassic Park to be re-released!

[AnneFan]

That's the whole reason why I want to see it in IMAX. Larger than life screen and deafeningly loud sound plus 3D should be a fresh way to watch it. But the main selling point for me is that this will be my first time seeing it in a theater.

Exactly my thinking, too. I feel I won't have seen this re-release properly if I attend a regular sized screen.

 

[mclay18]

According to this NOLA article, over 700+ people worked on the 3D conversion -- which took 9 months to complete. So no one should be complaining about it being rushed.

But then it mentions that some subtle things were changed for the film. Enhanced scales on the dinosaurs, and a few others.

 

[Gabe99]

Los Angeles Times:
'Jurassic Park' paleontologist offers advice on ways of dinosaurs
Jack Horner has been an advisor on Steven Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park' series and 'Terra Nova,' and his latest research project is being funded by George Lucas.

The blockbuster Steven Spielberg movie "Jurassic Park," being re-released in 3-D on April 5, wouldn't be the same place without paleontologist Jack Horner. In addition to advising the production on scientific matters, Horner provided inspiration for the character of Dr. Alan Grant in the original 1993 movie. Universal Pictures is preparing to shoot a fourth installment in the "Jurassic Park" series and will once again tap Horner to serve as an advisor.

"It's fun to see a lot of the stuff that I do in there," said Horner, curator of the Museum of the Rockies and professor at the University of Montana. "At the beginning, when Alan Grant looks out and says, 'They do move in herds,' that's what I would have said. They almost duplicated our camp. And in fact, if you look at 'Jurassic Park III,' the truck that he gets out of even says 'Museum of the Rockies Paleontology Department' on it. I'm just glad my character hasn't gotten eaten yet."

Like Grant, Horner hails from Montana. The son of a geologist who owned a gravel pit, Horner, now 66, found his first dinosaur bone at age 8 and his first dinosaur skeleton while in high school. Shy and dyslexic, he attended the University of Montana for seven years without obtaining a degree (although he did take time off from school to serve in Vietnam as a Marine).

After realizing that the gravel business wasn't for him, Horner began writing letters to museums inquiring about jobs. In 1975, he accepted a position as a junior technician at Princeton University's Museum of Natural History and received a promotion to research scientist after unearthing dinosaur eggs and embryos. In 1982, he returned to Montana to serve as the curator of the Museum of the Rockies, and four years later, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Montana as well as a MacArthur Fellowship.

With funding from George Lucas, his latest research project could easily inspire a new installment of "Jurassic Park." Horner is creating a "chickenosaurus" by genetically modifying a bird to express ancestral traits such as hands and a tail.

"I want a real one," he said. "Birds are dinosaurs, so really, all you have to do is fix them. It's our first attempt to back up a little, back into evolution."

Full spectrum: Movie dinosaurs aren't nearly as glamorous as real ones, which were brightly colored. "Steven has made the point several times to me that colorful dinosaurs are not very scary," Horner said. "Gray and brown and black are more scary. I worked on [the television series] 'Terra Nova' with Steven as well, and he did get some color into some of those. So I think by ['Jurassic Park] IV,' we'll have a little more colorful animals."

"Jurassic Park" will probably become a softer if not gentler place in the fourth movie. "In 'Jurassic Park III,' the raptors started sprouting feathery-looking things out of the top of their heads, but people were still of the opinion that most of the feathered dinosaurs were really little. But now we know that probably almost all dinosaurs had quite a bit of feathery stuff on them — even T. rex."

Like the birds sing: T. rex may have been a king of the jungle, but that doesn't mean he roared like one. And duck-billed dinosaurs are thought to have honked. "Making sounds for dinosaurs, I make them for my dinosaur hall," Horner said, referring to his museum. "And basically, all I do is I take bird sounds and just slow them way down to make them a little deeper, because we know birds are dinosaurs. I'm sure they were making sounds a long time ago, because most of these dinosaurs have pretty elaborate nasal passages. But to make them sound like a lion or a tiger, that's really weird. That's a mammal thing, I think."

Scrap everything: Horner views T. rex as a scavenger that would occasionally take down an old or sick animal. "That was another one of those conversations [with Steven] that didn't last very long," he said. "But let me tell you: An 8,000-pound scavenger like a hyena would be the scariest thing on Earth. To be a scavenger, you have to be able to scare other animals away. You have to be smelly and scary and nasty. You don't want to fight them for anything to eat." Horner doesn't believe that the real T. rex was a fast runner, either, but points out that "a slow T. rex isn't going to be a very good star in a movie."

Poison tales: In the original "Jurassic Park," Dilophosaurus spits blinding, paralyzing poison at its prey. "That's fictional," said Horner. "Dilophosaurus is a good one to make a fictional character out of, because I think two specimens are known, and both of them are really crappy. They're not preserved very well."

Getting warmer: Horner considers dinosaurs warm-blooded. "Before the raptors enter the kitchen, what they do is they look through the window, and one of them snorts, and it fogs up the window," he said. "Only a warm-blooded animal can do that. Before that scene, they were thinking that the animals would come in and wave their forked tongues around like snakes do. We had to take that out, because dinosaurs didn't have forked tongues. So it was just little things that took the reptilian feel away from them and gave them more of a bird feel."

 

[ShadowBoxer]

I got into a early preview screening last Saturday morning in Imax 3D. It was a packed house and GOD the experience was nothing but a nostalgic blast! The 3D is extremely well done and it feels like the dinosuars are right there in your face. The scene where we first see the Dinosaurs for the first time is even more awe inspiring in IMAX 3D. And the Dino poop is chuckle worthy in 3D ha ha. But yea the 3D is awesome, it feels like the T Rex is gonna come up and eat YOU lol. Go see this when it comes out this weekend! Can't wait for next summer with Jurassic Park 4!

 

[jmc]

I have watch the movie so many times over the years on VHS, DVD, TV, that its impact was completely lost on me. Until tonight. Jurassic Park was made for the theatres. The tension, the excitement, the scale, everything about this movie can only be done justice in the way it was meant to be presented, on a massive screen with the sound blaring in your ears. I saw this film 20 years ago as a kid, but tonight was like watching it for the first time, I knew what was coming, and yet I was on the edge of my seat the entire time watching it with remarkably fresh eyes.

I appreciate this movie so much more than I use to, the underlying story of science playing god may not be the full focus of the movie, but it's that added dimension that sets Jurassic Park apart from most blockbuster movies in its wake. While most blockbusters these days are happy to just show you pretty things Jurassic Park actually makes you think about the consequences of science going to far. There are dinosaurs, but unlike today where films would more than likely let the dinosaurs do all the talking and not give a damn about why they're here JP questions their very existence.

It was an absolute delight to watch this film again in the way it was meant to be seen. I implore anyone who may own it on DVD or BluRay and thinking about skipping the theatre release to rethink that position, the best TV and surround system cannot do this film justice, this film was meant to be seen in theatres.

9/10

 

[jacobed]

My biggest complaint about the movie especially seeing it on the big screen again is that you can tell when the dinosaur is an animatronic. Its effin amazing what they were able to with animatronics but you can tell every time its on screen. The animatronics actually take me out of the movie more than the cg does. The cg especially on the T Rex and the Raptors is mind blowing

 

[chaseter]

What!? The animatronic head on the Rex was amazing. When she looks down into the window of the jeep and Lex shines the light on the eye. The animatronics on the raptors were also amazing.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

 

[jmc]

I think the issue is more to do with the fact that we're so over-CGIed these days that we're not use to practical puppetry.

 

[jacobed]

They are amazing but you can spot them a while away. It's my biggest complaint but its still a minor issue in a rather perfect movie. Just something I noticed while watching it. Everytime you knew it was a robot. I'm still stunned at how real the cg is for the Rex and raptors. Brachiosaurus and Gallimus not too much.

 

[jmc]

Well I noticed it to but it didn't take me out of the film anymore than a CGI character. When I'm watching Avengers I know Hulk is fake.

 

[DACrowe]

I saw this last night and it was a nostalgic blast. We had procrastinated because I'd seen it 30 times, but it was well worth another visit.

I will not say that it was wholly fresh for me, but as I was too young to see in theaters I learned a greater appreciation for all the artistry and craft that I took for granted as a kid (on VHS, no less) that was at play. And the T-Rex scene, as well as when the raptors get Muldoon and come after Ellie, is still super-tense.

I also wanted to add to the CGI vs. animatronic debate.

The CGI has aged very well. As late as five years ago it still looked better than what was in King Kong or the first Transformers. But it has started to show its age.

However, other than the still-awesome Triceratops, all the animatronics are amazing. They look like real creatures, especially the cleverly framed uses of the T-Rex. And that is why it really ages so well. Not everything is CGI and the work Winston and company did feels real and terrifying.

The CGI ages, it always will. But Jurassic Park will look way better than Avengers does in another 20 years. The reason? So much of it is done practically that it grounds the CGI. That will make it continue to last longer.

 

[jacobed]

I thought only the T rex and Raptor cg looked great I suppose because they do have the animatronics there as well. The Gallimuius, and the brachisaurus looked very dated especially the green screen work when you first see the brachisaurus. You can tell very easily that they're not there with it but all that is only natural since our eyes have been trained over the past 15-20 years to see cg and better green screen.

 

[Kane52630]

http://kane52630.tumblr.com/post/93713462559/30-day-movie-challenge-day-3-your-favorite

 

[A Necessary Evil]

Damnit, Kane. Your gifs D: