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The Rewatchables ·

Jurassic Park

year 1993decade 90sdirector Steven Spielberggenre Science fiction
host Sean Fennesseyhost David Shoemakerhost Bryan Curtis
All 14 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 6:08

The T. rex attack

Sean Fennessey: The water glass and T. rex reveal are nominated as an iconic, still-effective sequence.

Effects limitations are compared with Jaws as constraints that encouraged inventive staging.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 54:31

The God/man/dinosaur exchange

Sean Fennessey: The exchange about God creating dinosaurs and woman inheriting the earth is nominated.

The film

Jurassic Park (1993)

Directed by Steven Spielberg · Science fiction

127 minutes

IMDb Letterboxd JustWatch Find on Rotten Tomatoes
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Sam Neill Alan Grant
Laura Dern Ellie Sattler
Jeff Goldblum Ian Malcolm
Richard Attenborough John Hammond
Bob Peck Robert Muldoon
Martin Ferrero Donald Gennaro
B.D. Wong Henry Wu
Samuel L. Jackson Ray Arnold
Wayne Knight Dennis Nedry
Joseph Mazzello Tim Murphy

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

6:08

Most Rewatchable Scene

The T. rex attack

The T. rex attack

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:08Read transcript
  • The water glass and T. rex reveal are nominated as an iconic, still-effective sequence. — Sean Fennessey
  • Effects limitations are compared with Jaws as constraints that encouraged inventive staging.
  • Storyboards and a combination of tangible animatronics with CGI support the sequence’s convincing construction.
  • Only fifty-five CGI shots are reported, contrasted with the much larger later blockbuster totals.
  • The attack builds through linked moments rather than one burst of action.
  • Low viewpoints make the dinosaur scary by keeping humans small, unlike the big-monster-versus-big-monster scale criticized in Pacific Rim.
  • The kitchen raptors create Hitchcock-like suspense through sound, convincing effects and an apparent Shining visual echo. — Sean Fennessey
  • The fence sequence creates suspense around a child’s familiar fear of electrocution. — Sean Fennessey
  • Clear intercutting makes the fence sequence easy to follow.
  • The first dinosaur reveal still inspires awe through its staging, reactions and welcome line.
  • The T. rex attack is unanimously selected. — Sean Fennessey
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15:37

Casting What-Ifs

Harrison Ford and William Hurt were possibilities for Alan Grant, while Jim Carrey reportedly auditioned for Ian Malc...

Harrison Ford and William Hurt were possibilities for Alan Grant, while Jim Carrey reportedly auditioned for Ian Malcolm.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:37Read transcript
  • Ford reportedly declined Grant and later felt he had made the right choice. — Sean Fennessey
  • Hurt was also reportedly offered Grant; an initial response says either actor could have worked without much change.
  • Carrey reportedly auditioned for Malcolm, which would make a different movie.
  • A later objection finds Hurt too internal and intellectual for Grant’s evolving caretaker and action role. — Sean Fennessey
  • A separate objection says Ford’s stardom would distract from the dinosaurs, while Neill can recede and gradually become a leading man.
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20:01

What’s Aged the Best?

The effects, dinosaur design, blend of practical and digital work, and the film as a whole

The effects, dinosaur design, blend of practical and digital work, and the film as a whole

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:01Read transcript
  • Parallel practical-animation and CGI efforts reportedly led to a successful marriage of techniques.
  • Lucas reportedly cried at the footage, and Tippett’s remark about being extinct was used in the movie.
  • Stop-motion animators were reportedly retrained for digital work, preserving a connection between techniques.
  • The basic early walk-cycle demonstration is admired for inspiring confidence in what the finished film could achieve.
  • Hammond is compared with Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as a dreamer seeing only the upside; Walt Disney is another comparison. — Sean Fennessey
  • The dangerous theme park also recalls Crichton’s earlier western-themed story, recast with dinosaurs.
  • The richest and most powerful people becoming twenty-eight-year-olds was not anticipated by the older Hammond character. — Sean Fennessey
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24:51

What’s Aged the Worst?

The resurrection science and Wayne Knight’s comic Dennis Nedry (neither breaks the movie)

The resurrection science and Wayne Knight’s comic Dennis Nedry (neither breaks the movie)

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:51Read transcript
  • The dinosaur-revival science once seemed plausible to young viewers, but is now questioned as a literal possibility.
  • Crichton reportedly visited a scientist studying preserved insects and adapted that research into the novel, acknowledging him.
  • Nedry’s slapstick behavior feels goofy, though his appearance helped establish a recognizable hacker stereotype.
  • The lawyer is defended as legitimately concerned with safety, making his profession an easy and somewhat unfair punchline.
  • Nedry’s vague rival-company scheme is accepted as a necessary plot trigger because the movie moves so effectively. — Sean Fennessey
  • The shaving-cream can is admired as a cleverly designed physical object despite the implausible larger scheme. — Sean Fennessey
  • Roger Ebert is recalled as criticizing Nedry when the movie came out; no numerical rating is supplied. — Sean Fennessey
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30:32

Half-Assed Internet Research

The rights auction, production history, scientific details, sound and practical effects, finances, cultural influence...

The rights auction, production history, scientific details, sound and practical effects, finances, cultural influence, and unused material

In the discussion (17)
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:32Read transcript
  • Studios reportedly pursued the property with Burton, Donner and Dante attached; Verhoeven is also recalled as a possibility. — Sean Fennessey
  • One response does not want the Burton version; another is particularly interested in seeing it.
  • Making this film first was reportedly a condition for greenlighting Schindler’s List. — Sean Fennessey
  • Spielberg’s simultaneous work and two landmark releases are proposed as perhaps the greatest single filmmaker year. — Sean Fennessey
  • The success reportedly increased interest in studying paleontology, followed by the profitable ER collaboration.
  • The reported Jurassic examples are transcribed as brociosaurus, dilaphasaurus, Matriacanathosaurus and Stegosaurus, with spelling uncertainty retained. — Sean Fennessey
  • The rights payment is clarified as one-and-a-half million plus half a million for the first script, followed by a rewrite.
  • The T. rex roar reportedly layers dog, penguin, tiger, alligator and elephant sounds.
  • A Psycho story about selecting a stabbed melon sound illustrates meticulous effects work, with the story’s literal truth explicitly uncertain.
  • A guitar string under the dashboard reportedly created the glass-of-water ripple. — Sean Fennessey
  • Chip Kidd’s skeleton cover is credited and praised; a childhood memory recalls carrying an advance-release pamphlet because the design was arresting.
  • An abandoned idea had the children riding a Tyrannosaur; the speakers are unsure whether the prop was built and say the attempt did not look credible.
  • Grant is reportedly modeled on technical adviser Horner; a stated two-hundred-fifty-million-dollar Spielberg payment is judged deserved. — Sean Fennessey
  • The Lost World receives both harsh disappointment and a qualified defense as a fine, watchable film despite uneven performances.
  • Dante is imagined making a cheaper, fast, fun version and Donner a lower-rent Spielberg-like version. — Sean Fennessey
  • A Donner version jokingly gives the too-old-for-this line to Danny Glover as Arnold, or even to the dinosaur.
  • The replacement screenwriter is discussed as a recurring Spielberg collaborator with a varied career.
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43:23

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Bob Peck as Muldoon

Bob Peck as Muldoon

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:23Read transcript
  • Knight is the initial nomination for memorable, exaggerated computer taunts despite reservations about the character. — Sean Fennessey
  • Peck is nominated for wholehearted commitment to the pulp adventurer archetype.
  • The imagined jungle-security expertise is questioned but enjoyed as an old adventure-story convention.
  • Crichton reportedly described his career as rewriting Conan Doyle.
  • Jackson is praised for doing much with a restrained seated performance, cigarette and calm delivery.
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46:31

Apex Mountain

T. rex: yes

T. rex: yes

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:31Read transcript
  • Goldblum is nominated for bringing a modern, humorous sensibility into the pulp adventure.
  • The novel’s exposition-heavy chaos theorist becomes a comic audience surrogate in the film.
  • Malcolm’s clothes, glasses and open-shirt pose help define a nerd-hunk persona. — Sean Fennessey
  • A personal memory recalls logging onto Prodigy to learn where to buy Malcolm’s glasses. — Sean Fennessey
  • Spielberg is judged below earlier peaks, while the T. rex receives an explicit peak claim and agreement. — Sean Fennessey
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50:34

Unintentional Comedy Award

Lex recognizing Unix; the severed-arm reveal

Lex recognizing Unix; the severed-arm reveal

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:34Read transcript
  • The old computer system and the child’s hacking confidence are amusing even though the technology remains enjoyable.
  • The discovered arm swinging with the door feels campy, with agreement that it fits this category.
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52:08

Picking Nits

Quiet punchlines and simplified science (both defended); late neon colors

Quiet punchlines and simplified science (both defended); late neon colors

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:08Read transcript
  • Under-the-breath punchlines can be so quiet that viewers miss them.
  • The animated DNA explanation is praised as effective exposition despite the questionable science.
  • The scientist heroes are defended for inspiring curiosity and interest in paleontology. — Sean Fennessey
  • The late neon-color observation is explicitly recalled as a missed nitpick, covering the vehicles and logos.
  • The merchandise display is defended despite a remembered controversy over its commercialism.
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54:31

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

The God/man/dinosaur exchange

The God/man/dinosaur exchange

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:31Read transcript
  • The exchange about God creating dinosaurs and woman inheriting the earth is nominated. — Sean Fennessey
  • The theme-park pirates comparison is praised as funny and credible dialogue.
  • The final withdrawal of the park endorsement is criticized as unnecessary, with Hammond’s survival questioned.
  • The creation exchange is preferred; spare-no-expense, clever-girl and future-ex-wife lines are additional memorable choices.
  • Keeping Hammond alive is speculatively linked with Spielberg’s affection for Attenborough and the earlier Gandhi Oscar result.
  • Malcolm’s lechery is funny, though the speakers doubt many actors could get away with it in 2018. — Sean Fennessey
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58:08

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Whether dinosaur cloning is plausible, whether another director could improve the film, and whether its CGI breakthro...

Whether dinosaur cloning is plausible, whether another director could improve the film, and whether its CGI breakthrough ultimately diminished Spielberg’s distinctiveness

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:08Read transcript
  • A claimed later DNA discovery is introduced as possibly apocryphal, leading to a question about any plausible dinosaur revival. — Sean Fennessey
  • A hypothetical lab creates dinosaurs and kills them at one day old repeatedly until the process works.
  • Different directors and deliberately varied genres might make interesting alternatives, even if a particular version might be worse.
  • Making the CGI toolkit widely available is proposed as weakening Spielberg’s distinctive spectacle and encouraging similar-looking blockbusters.
  • Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can are defended as later rewatchable counterexamples, qualifying the claim that this was the last such Spielberg film.
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1:03:50

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:50Read transcript
  • Knight and Jackson are considered before Attenborough is firmly chosen for his exuberant, scenery-chewing performance.
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1:04:42

Is This Movie Better With…?

Danny Trejo inspires a hypothetical Machete-versus-dinosaurs version rather than a serious claim that this movie impr...

Danny Trejo inspires a hypothetical Machete-versus-dinosaurs version rather than a serious claim that this movie improves.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:42Read transcript
  • Trejo facing dinosaurs is enthusiastically imagined as a different movie worth making. — Sean Fennessey
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1:04:59

Who Won the Movie?

Split: Jeff Goldblum / Ian Malcolm; velociraptors; the T. rex

Split: Jeff Goldblum / Ian Malcolm; velociraptors; the T. rex

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:59Read transcript
  • Goldblum is the first choice because the part makes him fun and puts him in a position to win; a dinosaur is a close alternative.
  • The next response admires the T. rex’s heroic ending but chooses the raptors for their leap into popular consciousness.
  • An intended Spielberg choice is withdrawn after considering his later legacy, ending with a T. rex choice. — Sean Fennessey
  • DreamWorks is described as a complicated later failure, contributing to the withdrawal of the planned Spielberg vote. — Sean Fennessey
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Jeff Goldblum / Ian Malcolm
David Shoemaker
Velociraptors
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More from the conversation

Spielberg’s retrospective description of directing with a child’s mindset frames a movie that respects both adult scientific curiosity and childhood wonder.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:26Read transcript
Effects are admired for openly provoking awe while remaining convincing decades later, with Star Wars and Terminator 2 as comparisons.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:54Read transcript
The novel reportedly began from the children’s perspective and was rewritten after friends disliked that draft; an earlier premise involved a boy creating a pterodactyl.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:51Read transcript
The book’s early option and success are discussed as a turning point in Crichton’s adaptation career, followed by projects such as Congo and Sphere.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:27Read transcript
The Grant role resembles the Indiana Jones adventure archetype more clearly to adult viewers than it did in childhood.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:22Read transcript
The relatively unfamiliar ensemble is praised as careful role casting rather than star assembly, with the supporting actors helping create a formative viewing experience.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:16Read transcript
The film’s box-office impact is linked to more aggressive opening-weekend scrutiny and a franchise that grew beyond an apparently self-contained original story.
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:15Read transcript
A reported documentary remark interprets the character’s constant cigarette as a sign he would not survive; the discussion treats this as a joke about movie conventions.
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:31Read transcript
A feminist interpretation links the female dinosaurs and the improvised seatbelt connection, but the reading is explicitly described as deep and not fully trustworthy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:58Read transcript
The hypothetical dinosaur laboratory recalls a period when cloning and DNA repeatedly appeared in magazine coverage, later shifting toward crime-related cultural uses.
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:10Read transcript