JURASSIC'S MARK

Howdy! I'm Tim Sheridan - you can catch me tonight on 'Cinemania' discussing one of my favorite movies 'Jurassic Park' (along with legendary cinematographer DEAN CUNDEY and SFX guru SHANE MAHAN!!)
I'm so happy the good folks at AMC asked me if I would like to blog about the movie and what I think qualifies it as a classic because I think 'JP' is notoriously underrated in that department. I think there's a little prejudice out there against a 15-year-old film being considered a "classic." Bah! Bah, I say!
Here are some of the reasons, in no particular order, why I think this film fits the bill (note the new terms I'm attempting to coin):

SPECIAL-EFFECTSITY

No denying it. 'JP' raised the special effects bar - and not just with the new digital innovation. Even the practical special effects are of a caliber never before seen in cinema (just watch the T-Rex/SUV scene and I dare you to disagree.) But let's not be quick to dismiss the invention of the Photorealistic CGI Creature. Without the Velociraptor, Gallimimus, and Brachiosaurus of SO long ago, would we have ever met their descendants Gollum, Dobby, Davy Jones, Peter Jackson's King Kong or the new-and-improved lightsaber-wielding badass Yoda? Let alone the new fashion of total-CGI films like 'The Polar Express' and 'Beowulf' (incidentally - is it not poetry that the evolutionary ladder of photorealistic CGI began with the CGI dinosaurs and has progressed through all manner of CGI creatures toward, finally, CGI man?)

CASTINESS

Two things. First, this is a first-rate cast delivering first-rate performances. Great. Done. But what makes them special? In 1993, these actors, regardless of their past work, were to a great extent unknown to the general movie-going populace. Jeff Goldblum was arguably the most recognizable face in the pack, but with credits like 'The Fly' and 'The Tall Guy', he was still in the 'cult favorite' category. Dickie Attenborough, perhaps the most famous cast member, was known to American audiences as a director, if at all. My point is that a less-than-recognizable cast lent to the believability of this fantastical story. Imagine Harrison Ford as Dr. Grant or Robin Williams as Ian Malcolm and you'll be imagining Harrison Ford and Robin Williams, not Dr. Grant and Ian Malcolm. If the dinosaurs are the real stars of 'JP', then this cast is the real heart and soul.

THEMERY

I won't spend a lot of time here, because (unless I've been edited down, which I most certainly was) I go into thematic stuff in detail on the show tonight. 'Jurassic Park', opposite I think of Spielberg's Jaws, is a tale of Man vs. Nature, a la 'Frankenstein', 'Moby Dick', 'The Odyssey' or 'The Tempest' (all of which in 'JP' are paid homage in one way or another.) This is a classic theme in some of humanity's greatest literature throughout time and rarely has it been so successfully broadcast to the masses of people who've probably never read 'Frankenstein', 'Moby Dick', 'The Odyssey' or 'The Tempest'.

BLOCKBUSTERISM

Easy one. #1 box office for a good four years ('Titanic' unseated it I think.) Fifteen years later, it's still the #10 box office of all time (and adjusted for inflation, it's still #2 since its release!). And look at the stuff that beat it: 'Titanic', two of the 'Lord of the Rings' films, two 'Harry Potter' films, two 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films, 'Shrek 2' (really?) and 'Star Wars: Episode I'. Each and every one of these movies owes a HUGE debt to 'JP' for doing nothing short of inventing the kind of cinematic effects that made each of them possible! If greatness comes by standing on the shoulders of giants, then, arguably for these great films, 'Jurassic Park' is simply a giant.

STEVEN-SPIELBERGITUDE

And here we are at the catchall. Even if 'JP' had not made enormous achievements in all the previous stuff I mentioned, then it would STILL be considered a classic only because of this man, one of the greatest storytellers in all of cinema and, perhaps, all of literature. 'JP' was released in the same year as his most important opus, 'Schindler's List', to which it provides a perfect and poignant counterpoint in illustration of his great versatility and popularity. He is, himself, the new definition of classic; it follows that time will turn the sort of critical eye on his works as has been turned on his predecessors in classic cinema, which, as heir to classic literature, puts him on par with the greatest storytellers. 1993 showed the world why it needs Spielberg in the same way it needs Shakespeare.

So maybe it's just me, but when you add up the special-effectsity, castiness, themery, blockbusterism and steven-spielbergitude, you are left with only one sum: CLASSIC!
=)
I welcome your comments.
-Tim Sheridan
(Watch 'Jurassic Park' tonight on AMC!!!!!)