Comparison of the Movie & the Novel “Jurassic Park”

Jurassic Park is well-known science fiction novel by Michael Crichton, written in 1990. The main plot of the novel is focused upon genetic engineering, presented via the collapse of an amusement park with genetically recreated dinosaurs. This is a kind of reflection of the chaos theory in science and an example of its implication in usual world conditions. In 1993 Steven Spielberg offered his adaptation of the book, creating a blockbuster film Jurassic Park. The writing of the novel by Crichton started in 1983, when he worked over a screenplay about a graduate student, who wanted to recreate a dinosaur. Later, however, it turned out that the readers expected rather a book for adults and the author had to rewrite his first versions into a story for adults. The film by Steven Spielberg was based upon the novel, written in 1990, and was produced by Gerald R. Molen and Kathleen Kennedy. Critics often called Michael Crichton a master of suspense and his talent helped him to produce a real novel for human imagination, showing the animals and plants from the prehistoric Jurassic period. For Steven Spielberg this story was a film project, belonging to his set of Science-Fiction motion movies. The results of the work of two talented individuals attracted attention of the audience from all over the world, both of them have a lot of features in common, at the same time there are some meaningful differences between the book and the movie.

Michael Crichton had to rewrite his initial version of the book, as it was suitable more for children and teenagers. The readers wanted this writing to be more for adults. Steven Spielberg, when he worked over the adaptation of the book into his movie, did the opposite, he took a story with scientific scent and turned it into an adventure, which was more appropriate for children. Some of the book scenes were left out due to the fact that technology was not advanced enough in order to represent the needed effects. The readers of the book feel constant threat from the side of the dinosaurs, as well as the attitude of the scientists is rather negative towards these creatures. In the movie the director did his best to underline the power of the dinosaurs, their majesty and helped to view these factors as the adequate motivations for recreating them. Generally the film follows the plot of the novel, but it tends to present it from a different point of view. Also the film adds a great portion of adventure elements.

The book by Michel Crichton builds associations with the Darwin’s theory. Within this theory it is difficult to imagine that animals could be sentimentalized. When Timmy makes an attempt to distract adult raptors, showing them their infant one ( in the movie the scene of playing with an infant raptor was substituted with the scene with the scientists, who were watching one hatch), Spielberg managed to create a connection towards human family bonds and their meaning. The book does not offer such sentimental moments.

The book by Crichton starts with a mystery, related to brutal attacks – a man is wounded in a strange way, and a little girl arrives to the hospital after she had contacted a strange lizard. In the book the dinosaurs are more brutal and aggressive towards humans, which could be confirmed by the death scenes, which are scaring the readers. At the same time Spielberg is a real master of the sequences. His versions of the appearance of the dinosaurs, when one of them attacks a car or when a brontosaurus appears for the first time, are brighter in the movie, in comparison to the book. Crichton often broke his narration by scientific monologues about DNA sequences and engineering. Such approach does not confront the concept of the plot, however, it deprives it its dramatic effects, which were definitely present in the movie.

Both book and the movie start with the story of the biotech company, called InGen, which used blood from the fossilized mosquitoes with the aim to create dinosaurs’ clones in order to put them into an advanced zoo afterwards. Before the opening of this park a group of scientists and John Hammond’s grandchildren arrived to the park to take a tour there. Initially most of the scientists revealed their skeptical attitude towards cloning of dinosaurs. Later this skepticism was lost completely and was transformed into the state of panic. Along with these similarities in plot in the book and the movie, there are also differences, related to InGen company. In the movie Hammond is an old billionaire, having the aim to delight the children and he is attracted to both the children and the dinosaurs and he is at despair, when he realizes that everything went wrong. In the book this character is portrayed in a different way. Crichton’s Hammond makes the choice to involve biotechnology into the entertainment industry due to the fact that there are less government regulations in this sphere in comparison to drug development. He comments this: “Personally, I would never help mankind.”[1] One more contradiction appears, when Hammond in the movie claims that the park was “not built to cater only for the super-rich”[2], whereas in the book Hammond says that “Nothing is going to stop me from opening Jurassic Park to all the children of the world. Or, at least, to the rich ones.”[3]

Overall, the book by Michael Crichton Jurassic Park and well-known blockbuster by Steven Spielberg Jurassic Park have a lot of similar features, both of them follow the single plot line and attract the attention of the audience, interested in exploring the connection between science, technologies and nature; at the same time there are a lot of significant differences between the two, including the whole concept of cloning and its meaning for the humanity.

Bibliography

Crichton Michael. Jurassic Park. Market Paperback, 2006.

Spielberg, Steven. Jurassic Park. Amblin Entertainment, 1993.


[1] Crichton Michael. Jurassic Park. Market Paperback, 2006.

[2] Spielberg, Steven. Jurassic Park. Amblin Entertainment, 1993.

[3] Crichton Michael. Jurassic Park. Market Paperback, 2006.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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