Everyone knows Peter Jackson for directing the amazing Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, but I’ve always been impressed by how much variety there is in his work – he’s done horror, sci-fi, and even documentaries! It turns out his taste in movies is just as diverse as the films he makes. I recently read an interview with him from 2024 on Letterboxd where he shared his four all-time favorite movies, and one of them was a classic monster film!
Peter Jackson began by discussing the 1993 film King Kong, a movie he’d often praised, as well as The Night of the Hunter (1955) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). However, his ultimate pick, Jurassic Park, seemed obvious, particularly after he explained how groundbreaking the film was. This choice highlights just how remarkable Jurassic Park is and why it holds a special place for so many viewers.
Jurassic Park Boasted Groundbreaking Visual Effects
I have to say, while the story itself is pretty good, what really grabbed me about this film wasn’t the plot. It was the effects – both the stuff they built practically and the incredible CGI. Seeing it back then was a game-changer. The dinosaurs felt real, and honestly, it completely altered how I thought about filmmaking and what was possible with technology. It truly revolutionized the industry.
When Jurassic Park came out, its special effects were groundbreaking and still look impressive today, even after thirty years. Initially, director Steven Spielberg envisioned using practical effects – animatronic dinosaurs for close-ups and stop-motion clay models for wider shots. He ultimately decided he wanted to go further than what traditional models could achieve. So, he partnered with Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company George Lucas created for Star Wars, to create the dinosaurs using innovative computer-generated imagery (CGI).
Spielberg and his team knew CGI wasn’t perfect, so they used it cautiously and only when necessary. They preferred practical effects like animatronics whenever they could. To make the CGI dinosaurs look convincing, they often hid any flaws by using things like shadows, rain, and other environmental details. The scene with the dinosaur, for instance, happened during a nighttime storm, which helped conceal the CGI model.
The animators for Jurassic Park focused on making the dinosaurs move realistically, paying close attention to their weight and how their bodies worked. This subtle detail made the creatures more convincing to viewers, even if they didn’t consciously notice it. What really set these dinosaurs apart from earlier computer-generated characters was their ability to interact with both the environment and the actors. This made them feel like they truly belonged in the film’s world, instead of simply being added on top of existing footage.
Jurassic Park Inspired Peter Jackson’s Filmography
I was so fascinated to hear Jackson talk about how much Jurassic Park shaped him as a director! He explained that the creatures in films like King Kong and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad really paved the way, and Jurassic Park felt like a natural progression – the next exciting leap forward in that incredible history of cinematic monsters.
As a huge film buff, I always loved hearing about the making of The Lord of the Rings, and Brian Sibley’s biography of Peter Jackson revealed something fascinating. Apparently, Jurassic Park was the real turning point for Jackson. He realized after seeing it that computers could create truly incredible visuals. He and Fran Walsh started brainstorming – what kind of film could they make with these new tools? What hadn’t been done convincingly before? And Jackson landed on fantasy – a genre he felt hadn’t had a truly great cinematic treatment in a long time.
As a huge movie fan, it’s always fascinating to see how filmmakers build these incredible worlds. I learned that when Wētā Workshop was bringing all the fantastical creatures of Middle-earth to life in The Lord of the Rings, they actually borrowed a lot of techniques from ILM’s work on Jurassic Park. Both films were really groundbreaking when it came to digital effects. Wētā didn’t just copy, though – they developed new CGI software that let them create massive battle scenes, like the one at Helm’s Deep, and make creatures like Gollum look unbelievably real. In fact, Gollum’s realistic skin was such a leap forward that it inspired James Cameron to finally make Avatar! So, you can actually draw a line from the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, through the creatures of Middle-earth, and right on to the Na’vi in Avatar. It’s a pretty cool connection when you think about it.
After wrapping up The Lord of the Rings trilogy back in 2003, Peter Jackson tackled a remake of King Kong. That movie had some cool dinosaurs in it, and honestly, they felt like a nod to both the original King Kong and, even more noticeably, Jurassic Park. Speaking of which, Jurassic Park is a total classic – a huge critical and commercial hit that kicked off this massive franchise we’re still seeing new installments of. But for me, its biggest impact isn’t just the sequels, it’s how much it influenced filmmakers and movies for years afterward.
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2026-01-06 07:09