Sat, 29 Oct 2011 4:30p.m.
Two important things happened this week.
- Battlefield 3 was released for PC/PS3/Xbox 360
- The Jurassic Park blu-ray trilogy was released.
While (1) is great, (2) is absolutely epic. Fans of Jurassic Park have been waiting for this release for ages. We waited so long for this film on blu-ray, we got Star Wars, The Lion King, and Aliens box-sets while we waited.
And while those sets were great (Aliens is my mind is the best, most comprehensive package we've ever seen) - realistically it was Jurassic Park we were all waiting for: Because Jurassic Park is one of the best movies of all time (fact).
In my mind, it's the best movie of all time, because I was at that perfect age in 1993 where the spectacle of the whole thing absolutely blew me away. And that will never leave me.
It's Spielberg doing what he does well: Directing an epic adventure movie: Weaving amazing set-pieces, kids, adults, creatures and magic together. No-one had seen anything like it. Not only this, but we got the acting powers of kiwi legend Sam Neil, who made Dr Alan Grant his own. And let's not forget Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern.
So far we've had a few editions of the DVD, including the "Adventure pack". While they included bits of documentary, they were fairly bog standard. Now finally we have a release that does this trilogy justice.
The special edition comes with a T-Rex sculpture as the creature crashes through the gates of Jurassic Park. This is entirely separate to the boxset, which is housed in a separate cardboard case. Found inside are three blu-ray discs and three data discs, with redemption codes so you can copy all the films onto devices like iPads and so on.
As for the blu-rays themselves, the picture is absolutely crisp and clear. I was worried this would date the dinosaurs even more, but to be honest they look as good as ever, and although the film was released almost two decades ago, they still look a shitload better than the dinosaurs on Terra Nova.
The sound mix is brilliant, and spread across the discs is a six-part documentary that covers the three films (about an hour in length total). While the extra content isn't excessive, it's nice to have it all in one place, and the behind-the-scenes stuff of Spielberg directing various scenes (including the very first scene in the film) is invaluable.
All the other things are there as you'd expect, including trailers and the makings-ofs we've already seen on the DVD. One other new bonus that's included is a making-of of the new game (which keeps being delayed). It's being made by a tiny studio (well, in relation to the big guys), and seeing them in action is quite charming.
Now of course we're all in this for the first film: Jurassic Park. Critically, The Lost World and Jurassic Park 3 are not even close to the first film. The Lost World at least has Crichton's book for reference material (although it wildly deviates toward the end), but relies too heavily on Goldblum (yes, sometimes even he can be too much).
By the time we get to Part 3, it can't even begin to saved by the return of Sam Neil, or the inclusion of Pterosaurs and Giganotosaurus . Still, us movie completionists have to have them all, right?
The point is, this set is worth it for the first film. The other two are just nice additions for a rainy day.