Another weekend, another movie night. Tonight's pairings are brought together by a character, if you will. That character is the extinct dinosaur. Both pieces we have for our viewing pleasure are fun and adventurous romps into the adventure/science fiction genre. However, the lightheartedness does dissipate with Jurassic Park. Let us explore both pieces.
Gertie the Dinosaur was released over one hundred years ago in 1914. It was animated by the great American animator Winsor McCay. This was a momentous milestone, and an animated benchmark for future animators including Walt Disney himself. It was also included in the US film registry for preservation. Buster Keaton was inspired by this film, as well as countless other animators and film makers. To me, this film is more of an exercise in the capabilities in animation, than a tremendous work of art. It is not without its merits, though. McCay works with humor with every frame. He apparently brought the exoskeletal imagery to mainstream America; that is to say, he allowed America to see what a dinosaur might look like with its flesh. The animation is rudimentary, save for the last scene where the narrator gets on the back of Gertie and rides her away. It is the best sequence of the movie, and is astonishingly great animation. The five minute plus running time is a tease, but the entire film is, essentially, a teaser to what great animation would become. I fancied this little short, and as we will see, makes an cheeky appearance in our full length feature presentation.
** (two stars strictly because of its pioneering position within animation)
Jurassic Park, upon its release in 1993, was a highlight of 90's cinema. It stands as a right sentinel to the left sentinel of Schindler's List in the pathway of Spielberg's oeuvre. The urban myth was that Crichton, the author of the same titled book this film is based on, was touring a film studio with Spielberg, when he talked about his possible screenplay of a man cloning a dinosaur, at which point Spielberg optioned the rights to the literature to make it into a film. In reality, Spielberg and Crichton were already working together on developing what would later become "E.R." when Crichton told Spielberg about his dinostory*. The events about the studio tour may very well have happened, but the author and director already had an existing working relationship. Needless to say, Crichton turned it into a book which was published in 1990, and Spielberg was able to acquired the rights to the material. The plot simply is this: a group of scientists including: paleontologists, paleobotonists, chaoticians, lawyers, and children get invited to an island off the coast of Costa Rica with hazy explanations as to their respective invitations. It is soon revealed that the owner of the island, eccentric billionaire Richard Hammond, had developed the technology to clone various species of dinosaurs and was going to use them as the piece de resistance for a dinosaur theme park. When, a deus ex machina causes entire species of all female dinosaurs to breed, all hell breaks loose and the amusement park of all amusement parks comes crumbling down. After many near misses, and scrapes with Cretaceous critters, as well as many deaths, and corporate espionage, the survivors flee the island thankful for their lives and with grander respect to the creatures that they have loved, respected, and studied all their lives.
Jurassic Park is one of those films that was fanciful, remarkable, gut-wrenching, and adventurous that caused moviegoers to go back again and again. It was a favorite movie of my childhood, and I adored it. It went on to becoming the highest grossing film of that year, and, ultimately, became the highest grossing film of all-time (excluding inflation) beating out Spielberg's own E.T., but was overcome by James Cameron's Titanic four and a half years later. The film is one, in which, I notice more things and come to better realizations and conclusions. Leaving aside the excised portions of the novel that would have made great scenes in the film, Jurassic Park is still an amazing film. This film, coupled with Schindler's List, are the final chapter in Spielberg's great film making days. He has since gone on to make some duds and few films that shimmer and glint like his great films Schindler's List, E.T., and Jaws. Spielberg, himself, agrees that his two best films are Schindler's List and E.T. Although, I admit, the book is better than the film, but not by much. Upon thumbing through the book, I was transported back to 1999 when I read this book for the first time. Sitting in my bathroom turning page after page, devouring the novel as a raptor would a character in the book. This is why I love this movie, and why my eyes are so bad now.
This film stands as an amazing early rendering of the capabilities of CGI. What Spielberg was soon to remark to his animatronicist while watching a scene of CGI dinosaurs running, was that with the advancements in technology that would allow this look, he was out of a job. He spoke too soon. What relying solely on the merits of CGI would do, would cause a legion of action/adventure/fantasy fans to turn their noses on CGI scenes found in late 90's and early 00's films like Star Wars and the Matrix trilogies. Spielberg was smart enough to properly meld animatronics (autoerotica) with CGI animation. Even traditional animation and a nod to Gertie the Dinosaur makes its way into the milieu of the film. With state of the art CGI and state of the art animatronics, the audience completely believes it. For example, the breathing triceratops is so detailed and life-like, it's amazing to think it was done in 1993. Even spoiled audiences of today regard this film as ahead of its time, and still really good CGI. The live action and CGI blends so well together, and we are able to relax and enjoy the ride. We are able to take in the story and actually feel shocked and even scared.
I love the subtle metaphoric image near the beginning of the film that most moviegoers miss: Dr. Grant, unable to find the male part of his seat belt in the helicopter, makes due with two female ends. This metaphor serves as a theme of the entire film, "life finds a way". Sure, we all laugh at the Nedry squeal at the Costa Rican restaurant with Dodson, or the coy sound effects such as the banana peel slip and fall sfx sprinkled throughout the film. We love Dr. Grant's reluctance with children, and his change throughout the events of the film. We become endeared to annoying characters, and we laugh when Samuel L. Jackson says "hold on to your butts." Fun drinking game: take a shot when Jackson says that line, when someone is killed, when Jurassic or park are used, and when Hammond says "spared no expense" This is a fun movie. It's quotable. It's well shot. Spielberg knows where to put the camera, even if child actresses don't know where to put the flashlight. There's humor sprinkled throughout, and good plot development. What I learned this viewing is how we don't have to wait to get an answer. Almost every time a question is raised we are immediately shown the answer in the next shot or in the next scene. The director wants us to enjoy the film so he doesn't let the questions pile up with no release. He gives us the answers, uncluttered, and unadorned, so that we can get back to watching the events unfold. There's some hacky acting in the film, and sometimes the dialogue leaves something to be desired, but it's totally made up with a cohesive whole. It's a solid movie. The quintessential popcorn flick, and prime example of a summer blockbuster. This film has taken on a life of its own. Spielberg knew this was going to be a big hit, and he capitalized on the merchandising of this film and the subsequent re-release of the film for new audiences to grow to love this film. It has spawned a swarm of inside jokes for me and my friends. And I can't even give a hundreth part of the realizations or the jokes on the details that I have noticed over the years. The scope and the the detail and the logistics that went behind just about every shot of this film is overwhelming for me to even begin to comprehend. I just--I love this movie. Spielberg has stated that he was "just trying to make Jaws on land." I think he definitely made a cup full of water on the dashboard of a modified '93 Explorer splash.
****
*word play fail
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