Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur thriller grossed a record $350 million at the box office, demonstrating once again the director’s uncanny insight into what the public – especially the young – will flock to.
The tale of an entrepreneur who develops genetically produced dinosaurs to place in the world’s most fantastic amusement park lends itself to animatronic and special effects wizardry.
The excitement builds when the Tyrannosaurus Rex and other prehistoric monsters run amok, terrorising some visiting scientists and two little kids.
The extraordinarily lifelike dinosaurs were created by the Matsushita workshops.
Rather less lifelike are the human cast, including Sam Neill (both William Hurt and Tim Robbins turned down the part) and Laura Dern.
The pair are palaeontologists who head for an obscure Central American island where tycoon Richard Attenborough, and Jeff Goldblum as his gene-splicing genius, have recreated the Age of Giants.
There is a perception that all of the dinosaurs in the film are computer-generated, when, in reality, probably two-thirds of the work was puppetry.
Doctor Alan Grant
Sam Neill
Doctor Ellie Sattler
Laura Dern
Doctor Ian Malcolm
Jeff Goldblum
John Hammond
Richard Attenborough
Robert Muldoon
Bob Peck
Donald Gennaro
Martin Ferrero
Doctor Wu
B.D. Wong
Tim Murphy
Joseph Mazzello
Lex Murphy
Ariana Richards
Ray Arnold
Samuel L. Jackson
Dennis Nedry
Wayne Knight
Gerry Harding
Gerald R. Molen
Juanito Rostagno
Miguel Sandoval
Lewis Dodgson
Cameron Thor
Director
Steven Spielberg
