[.ca] Jurassic Park/The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg's 1993 mega-hit rivals Jaws as the most intense and frightening film he'd ever made prior to Schindler's List, but it was also among his weakest stories. Based on Michael Crichton's novel about an island amusement park populated by cloned dinosaurs, the film works best as a thrill ride with none of the interesting human dynamics of Spielberg's Jaws. That lapse proves unfortunate, but there's no shortage of raw terror as a rampaging T. rex and nasty raptors try to make fast food out of the cast. The effects are still astonishing (despite the fact that the computer-generated technology has since been improved upon) and at times primeval, such as the sight of a herd of whatever-they-are scampering through a valley. --Tom Keogh The Lost World: Jurassic Park After the global phenomenon that was Jurassic Park, it was a given that novelist Michael Crichton would conjure up a sequel and that Steven Spielberg would then commit it to film. Considering the potential profit involved, it was practically a commercial mandate. Perhaps it was inevitable that both efforts were contrived, and well below the talents of Crichton (well, maybe) and certainly Spielberg, who just didn't have the heart for this recycling after the artistic triumph of Schindler's List. What we're left with, for better and worse, is a redundant blockbuster that still benefits from Spielberg's mastery of high-intensity action sequences and the further development of amazing computer-generated special effects. What's missing is the awe and wonder that made Jurassic Park a technical marvel and a dazzling product of scientific imagination. The story's a no-brainer: after the deadly fiasco of the original dinosaur theme park, we're taken (along with returning star Jeff Goldblum) to a second island where genetically engineered dinosaurs still thrive under the watchful eye of Goldblum's biologist girlfriend (Julianne Moore). But a devious capitalist (Arliss Howard) is determined to export dinosaurs to a new park in San Diego, financing a hunt-and-capture expedition that results in another series of fatal disasters. In Spielberg's hands this movie's more exciting than it has a right to be, given the creative paucity of Crichton's novel and David Koepp's adapted screenplay. The special effects are state-of-the-art, and the T. rex's rampage through the streets of San Diego is nothing short of spectacular; but apparently an improvement upon the shortcomings of Jurassic Park was too much to hope for. --Jeff Shannon

Get the Trilogy Set Instead:
I enjoy all three of the the Jurassic Park movies, though I think "The Lost World" is a bit weak. While I think that anyone who enjoys action movies, monster movies, or horror movies should own all three, I find it difficult to recommend this set because there is a set that contains not only the three movies, but a fourth DVD containing substantial background information on the making of the movies. I give this collection four stars only because the larger, more comprehensive collection is available and if you liked the first two, you will definitely like the third movie.

What was there was good:
Well I can say that The Lost World was good, but that's all I can say, because the Jurassic Park disc was MISSING.

Two-pack of Jurassic Park:
This is a two-pack of DVD's that include Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. There are no features present here that aren't in the single releases, but this is cheaper than buying them separately. If you want to see my opinions of the two films, please check out my individual reviews of them. In saummary, I gave Jurassic Park a 4 star rating, and Lost World a 2 star rating.

Jurassic Park-Lost World Disc Set:
This 2 pack was an excellent present for Christmas. Both Films are so action packed with whimscal characters and unforgetable moments! These movies rock the house.

Jurassic Park and The Lost World:
Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park and the blockbuster sequel The Lost World are presented in this impressive collection. Spielberg's dinosaur adventure Jurassic Park is up there with the all-time greats. Taken from Michael Crichton's thrilling novel, Jurassic Park is one of the most entertaining and exciting films ever made. The special effects are from FX maestro Stan Winston, who did the special effects for Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2 (1991). The seamless combination of CGI and robotic creatures creates some truly terrifying action set- pieces. Despite what some critics thought when the film was released, I feel that all the principal actors give good performances, especially Sam Neill as Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm. But admittedly, the special effects are the main attraction, and Winston's dinosaurs (which won him another Oscar after Terminator 2) are truly frightening. Great entertainment. The film's transfer onto DVD is first- rate, with superb picture and sound. The special features are exceptional, with a 50 minute 'making of' of the film and trailers for Jurassic Park, the Lost World and the teaser for Jurassic Park 3. Most interesting, however, is the footage of early pre-production meetings with Spielberg and the FX team discussing how certain shots and effects should be done. Also, there's a Phil Tippett animatic "Raptors in the Kitchen", showing how claymation assists the director in visualising the shots and camera angles. Also there are storyboards, production photos and web links. A 5 star film, 5 star extras. Excellent entertainment. The Lost World is an exciting adventure starring Jeff Goldblum, Vince Vaughn, Julianne Moore and Pete Postlethwaite. The film picks up four years after the incident at Jurassic Park, where a corporate businessman Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) plans to take dinosaurs off the second island (Isla Sorna, where dinosaurs have been breeding) and bring them to a theme park in San Diego. Spielberg knows what the audience wants; the film has more dinosaurs, even better CGI and impressive animatronic dinosaurs from the maestro Stan Winston. The action throughout the film is exciting and while not as astonishing as Jurassic, the effects are first-rate. John William's music for the film is suitably jungle -driven, with a dark and exhilarating score that fits the film's tone. There are problems, the tagged- on ending with the T. Rex stomping through San Diego is silly, and although the action is good, the story isn't one of Spielberg's best. That said, the principal cast are fine, especially Goldblum as Malcolm ("Ooh, aah, that's how it always starts, and then later the running and screaming") and Postewaite as Roland Tembo, a game hunter intent on shooting one of the Tyrannosaurs. Silly in parts, it's still an exciting adventure movie, with enough action and light humour to satisfy audiences. The DVD extras are great, with a 50 minute 'making of', deleted scenes, trailers for all 3 Jurassic movies, a huge amount of conceptual drawings, storyboards, a featurette 'The world of Jurassic Park', marketing, posters and toys, production notes and web links. Great stuff.