Jurassic Park 3D (Blu-ray) (1993)

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General		Extras
Category	Adventure	Featurette-Making Of-Return to Jurassic Park Featurette-Archival Featurettes x 4 Featurette-Behind The Scenes-x 6 Storyboards-x 5 Gallery-Production Archives x 3 Theatrical Trailer-5 sequences Featurette-Jurassic Park: Making the Game More…-My Scenes Biographies-Cast & Crew DVD-ROM Extras
Rating
Year Of Production	1993
Running Time	127:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Steven Spielberg
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Sam Neill Laura Dern Jeff Goldblum Richard Attenborough Bob Peck Martin Ferrero B.D. Wong Samuel L. Jackson Wayne Knight Joseph Mazzello Ariana Richards
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	John Williams

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired French Spanish Danish	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     With Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg moved from the monsters of the deep to the monsters of the deep past. Based on the hugely successful novel by Michael Crichton the film was as titanic upon its release in 1993 as Jaws had been in 1975. The film remains much loved by fans and cinema buffs alike.

     Jurassic Park took its sweet time to get to Blu-ray, in keeping with the careful and considered approach that Spielberg has made to the release of his films. The Blu-ray of the film was reviewed on this site last year here and now Universal Sony has released for your home viewing pleasure the 3D version of the film.

     This presents a typical conundrum for fans of the film. It was probably a no-brainer to upgrade from the DVD to the Blu-ray upon its release. The question is whether it is likewise worthwhile, if you already have the Blu-ray, to upgrade to the 3D version. The question is really one of whether the 3D is of sufficient enhancement to the movie to make it a must buy and perhaps also whether there are enough additional features thrown into the package to make it worthwhile.

Video

     Jurassic Park 3D is in the same aspect ratio, naturally, as the standard Blu-ray which was itself a proper reflection of the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

     It reflects a similar quality to the high standard we have come to expect of this film on home video. There are comments online suggesting that the transfer for the 3D version came from a different and less successful remastering with a more liberal use of digital noise reduction resulting in smooth textures. Not having seen the previous Blu-ray upon release all I can say is that the Blu-ray which accompanies the 3D Blu-ray appears to be of the same quality.

     The film is now 20 years old but rarely does it show its age. The special effects which were eye-popping in their day may have been exceeded by more modern films however they never look fake or unimpressive.

     The level of detail in the transfer is excellent and the colours are strong and accurate. The flesh tones look equally accurate.

     The question therefore is whether this is a worthwhile release for fans who already have the Blu-ray release. What does the 3D had to the film?

     The answer is some nice depth of field and some extra excitement in a few of the chase scenes. The film obviously didn't come in 3D and had to be remastered as such with the inclusion of subtle elements to bring the picture out to the viewer. Recent history is littered with unsuccessful 3D adaptations of 2D movies. This is not one of them. Truth be told there are few scenes which are truly amazing in terms of the 3D as they have not attempted to introduce new elements to come straight out at the viewer.

     The scenes with 3D dinosaurs running past the characters are thrilling and the depth of field is impressive particularly in scenes such as little Tim trying to climb the giant perimeter fence.

     Overall the 3D does add something to the film. For those who do not have the film on Blu-ray the 3D release has the advantage of including the entire Blu-ray and extras as well.

     There are English Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired as well as French Canadian and L.A. Spanish.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Jurassic Park 3D carries a mighty English DTS-HD Master Audio track through a glorious 7.1 channels.

     It is always a joy to get a 7.1 track. Here it achieves two purposes. One is to strike fear into the heart of the listener with the sounds of the nasty beasts amplified to the max. The other is to create a sense of perfect ambience and immersion. Both these attributes come to the fore in the justly famous T-Rex attack scene with persistent rain spread around the channels and the dinosaur lurking in the distance. That scene is also a pretty good example of the sub-woofer power with the dull thump of the dinosaur feet and its mighty scream. However a feature of the track is the excellent balance. Nothing sounds too loud or over-amped.

     The dialogue is clear and easy to understand and the John Williams score is very much to the fore.

     There are also L.A. Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     There is only one additional feature with the 3D package. That is, leaving aside the standard Blu-ray and the Ultraviolet copy.

The World of Jurassic Park 3D (8.59)

     In this fairly brief extra Spielberg talks about the way he originally shot the film to give it a 3D feel, with dinosaurs coming towards the camera. The animators show how they added small but significant details such as splintering wood and raindrops in the foreground to enhance the 3D effect.

    The 3D version is All Regions. Buy local.

     Jurassic Park will always be an action favourite for many people and the 3D transfer, though it doesn't revolutionize the film, does provide some extra enjoyment. The sole extra is brief but interesting though, not uncommonly, it seems to be just another excuse to keep the glasses on.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall