50 greatest Jurassic Park moments

Flocking Hell

The Moment: A Gallimimus herd comes thundering past Grant, Tim and Lex, followed by a hungry Tyrannosaur. All together now, “they’re flocking this waaaaay!”

Dino Magic: It's nice to see a bit of variety in the Dinos Spielberg puts on screen, and it gives Dr. Grant another opportunity to show off his encyclopaedic knowledge.

Hide And Seek

The Moment: The Raptors stalk Timmy and Lex through the visitors centre, even managing to operate door-handles with their hooked claws. Clever girls indeed.

Dino Magic: The insidious cunning of the Raptors is on full display in this hair-raising finale. The fact that they’re hunting children only serves to heighten the terror!

Lunchtime Debate

The Moment: Malcolm calls out Hammond on the ethical implications of what he has set out to achieve: “Don't you see the danger, John, inherent in what you're doing here? Genetic power is the most awesome force the planet's ever seen, but you wield it like a kid that's found his dad's gun.”

Dino Magic: As cool as the dinosaurs are, Jurassic Park wouldn’t be half the movie without its superlative script. That’s some pretty weighty debate for a summer popcorn movie!

Call Of Nature

The Moment: The cowardly Donald Gennaro abandons Lex and Tim to the advances of the T-Rex by dashing from the car into a nearby toilet. Sadly for him, the giant lizard isn’t about to be put off by the smell…

Dino Magic: It’s the T-Rex’s first (human) kill, and suitably grisly it is too!

Chaos Theory

The Moment: Malcolm outlines his belief in chaos theory to the scientifically-minded and visibly irritated Dr. Grant. Dr. Sattler however, seems somewhat taken with the leather-clad maverick…

Dino Magic: Jeff Goldblum’s twitchy performance is a treat, as is the increasing impatience of San Neill. It’s not all about the dinosaurs you know!

The Journey Home

The Moment: The survivors make their way home in a helicopter, the two children safely cuddled up next to Dr. Grant. As the camera pans across the ocean, a flock of sea birds remind the viewer of their status as the dinosaurs’ nearest cousins.

Dino Magic: It’s a lovely touch that brings the whole thing full circle, John Williams’ brilliant score completing the feel-good moment.

The Miracle Of Life

The Moment: In a brilliantly innovative piece of exposition, the story of how Jurassic Park came to be is condensed into an informative video about DNA.

Dino Magic: One of the coolest parts of the film, capturing that early ’90s training-video feel perfectly. Mr DNA seems a likeable chap, doesn’t he?

Bedtime Story

The Moment: Dr. Grant comforts the traumatised kids as they bed down for the night in their tree-top sanctuary. The visit of a herd of friendly Brachiosaurs is the icing on the cake.

Dino Magic: The Brachiosaurs are extremely cuddly fellows, and after this touching scene, it would appear that Dr. Grant is also.

Armless

The Moment: Dr. Sattler, retreating from a marauding Raptor, is reassured to feel Mr Arnold’s hand on her shoulder. Sadly, the rest of his body is somewhere else.

Dino Magic: It’s a good old-fashioned horror movie trick, and one that guarantees at least one yelp of surprise in every audience. Hold on to your butts now people…

Sick Note

The Moment: The group are introduced to a sickly triceratops, prompting a compassionate Dr. Sattler to hang back and lend her assistance.

Dino Magic: Its hardly a pivotal scene, but it does serve to put across the idea that Jurassic Park is a zoo like any other, and the inhabitants require a bit of TLC every once in a while. Plus, the Triceratops was always one of our favourites growing up…