That's about all the analysis I have in me regarding the fantastically entertaining Jurassic Park flicks. The first features a theme park within a theme park, as Hammond invites four experts--two palaeontologists, Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler (Sam Neill and Laura Dern), "chaotician" Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), and a "blood-sucking" lawyer--to preview his futuristic zoo, an island full of genetically engineered dinosaurs outfitted, Disney-style, with a tram of sorts, an enormous commissary, and enough cloning equipment to start ten more places just like it. The majority of the plot consists of set-up; after the crazy plan of a rogue InGen employee ("Seinfeld"'s Newman, Wayne Knight) to thieve dino-embryos is finally executed--with wayward results--the animals escape (including a hungry T-Rex (is there any other kind?)), and Jurassic Park becomes a fairly traditional run-and-duck thereafter.

This shift to an every-man-for-himself tone gives Jurassic Park the feel of a Spielberg quickie, despite the pioneering, lovingly detailed CGI and puppeteer work. Perhaps the soon-to-be Oscar-winning helmer was too preoccupied with the impending stress of his next shoot, Schindler's List, to give it his narrative all. (There's also a heinous jump cut post-prologue that clearly happened from lack of coverage.) Nevertheless, Spielberg on an off-day is better than most filmmakers on their best days: graceful, blink-and-you'll-miss-them touches are abundant, such as when Grant has his hat whisked clean off by T-Rex breath. The whole enterprise is just, to put it mildly, more eyewash than Jaws. Masterful in spurts, but not a masterpiece.

The Lost World picks up, in chronological accordance with its theatrical release, four years after the events of Jurassic Park. After a terrific (and adventurously edited--a young girl's screams blend into the sound of a subway train and Jeff Goldblum's yawning) opening sequence, Ian Malcolm is ushered to the home of a vaguely retired Hammond, where he is talked into visiting "Site B," a naturally evolved variant of Jurassic Park: turns out, you see, that Malcolm's girlfriend (Julianne Moore) is already there, intimately studying prehistoric behaviour.

This alternative site is in danger of being raided by industrialist hunters (including Hammond's own nephew (Arliss Howard)) who seek to transport a handful of creatures to San Diego for display at an enormous amphitheatre. Thus Malcolm comes up against far greater obstacles than his loved one's stubbornness--there is also her environmental compassion to contend with, to say nothing of the free-roaming dinosaurs.

Structurally speaking, The Lost World is nearly identical to its predecessor, yet they are aggressively distinct films. This second entry is starker, less predictable (here, both good guys and bad guys are ripped limb from limb like so much chum), and its show-stopper--a hi-tech trailer that threatens to spill from a cliff-top--recalls Spielberg in Indiana Jones mode: it's not just a well-paced white-knuckler, it's a short spectacle unto itself. About the only element of The Lost World that displeases when weighed against same in Jurassic Park is its oppressive cinematography. Janusz Kaminski's images are of that thematically obvious, high-contrast black-and-white-for-colour aesthetic even Ridley Scott, Mr. Blade Runner himself, abandoned years back.

Home theatre owners rejoice: both Jurassic Park and The Lost World on DVD offer demo-worthy presentations. These discs force a resort to monosyllabic praise: wow, neat, cool! Jurassic Park is my preference visually and The Lost World my preference aurally between them. Gary Rydstrom had perfected his sound design by instalment number two (a third is being prepped for summer 2001, although by Joe Johnston, not Spielberg), though that's not to say Jurassic Park sonically disappoints in any way, shape or form. Either is a tour-de-force of technical expertise.

The two movies are available on DVD in separate anamorphically enhanced widescreen (1.85:1) editions. Jurassic Park and The Lost World also come packaged together (in pan-and-scan or letterbox) and together with soundtrack CDs in a Limited Edition giftpack. Only the individually packaged, letterboxed discs were available for review, and I ain't complaining. Video compression is across-the-board stupendous; the image is slightly softer on Jurassic Park, but it boasts stronger blacks than the darker The Lost World.

The 5.1 Dolby Digital audio on these titles is expectedly bass-heavy (here's where it gets even more confusing for the consumer: an individual DTS release of each DVD is also available)--get yourself a badass subwoofer to match. John Williams' percussive score for The Lost World is not quite as resonant as his more classically Spielbergian work on Jurassic Park, but prepare to be deposited in the middle of an orchestra pit either way--and a theme park, and a junglescape, for that matter. Split surrounds usage is craftier on The Lost World, however we should cut Jurassic Park some slack for revolutionizing six-track digital sound--prior to the implementation of DTS, there were very few points of reference for the boys and girls in the mixing booth.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: JURASSIC PARK

The Making of Jurassic Park
John Schulz's truly wonderful documentary explores the genesis of the project and doesn't shy away from such pre-production drama as the firing, and subsequent rehiring, of stop-motion guru Phil Tippett. Unfortunately, Universal chose not to chapter encode or even time-code this hour-long special, so it must always be viewed in one sitting.

Early Production Meetings
A static camera spies on Spielberg, F/X wizard Stan Winston, and others during a pitch session. Film geek heaven. Again, no chapters or time-code--frustrating.

Phil Tippett's dazzling, animated proposal for the 'raptors in the kitchen' segment, which I have capped at left.

The Foley Artists section gives us a brief but revealing glimpse into the contribution of homegrown sound effects, using a simple egg-hatching clip to demonstrate.

Location Scouting is a compilation of location footage sans monsters.

Browsable storyboards, production stills, design sketches, and conceptual paintings. Helpfully categorized, all.

A kid-friendly Dinosaur Encyclopaedia begs the question, Do parents really want to traumatize their children by letting them sit through the violent and scary Jurassic Park flicks?

Trailers (including an embarrassing teaser for Jurassic Park III), cast and crew bios, and DVD-ROM stuff (leading to a JP III on-set web-cast and other related links) additionally guarantee that this DVD will sell-out (go extinct?) very swiftly.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: THE LOST WORLD

This DVD contains similar supplements to its companion (though they of course deal specifically with The Lost World), as well as one extra. That would be, or, they would be, a couple of enlightening deleted scenes. (Note: there are certified kicks to be had in watching Postlethwaite do his best Harrison Ford.) The only drawback to these omissions is their work-print condition--curious, since they appeared in good shape when Fox reinstated them for The Lost World's network television premiere.

Also of distinction, a 60-minute "Making Of" from Laurent Bouzereau that's even more revealing than The Making of Jurassic Park--I drooled in fanboy ecstacy at the mention of a planned pterodactyl number. Unfortunately, it takes longer to get cooking than Schulz's film and is padded by too many of those annoying "I play a [yadda, yadda, yadda]" soundbites that actors are so fond of providing when they don't have anything of consequence to say. Alas, there are no chapter divisions to assist us in skipping past these interviews.

Don't let that money in your wallet fossilize--buy these discs! As if your rubber arm needed twisting. Jurassic Park and The Lost World, as collectible DVDs, are just shy of perfect.-Bill Chambers