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15 – Bird Cage (Jurassic Park 3)

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The stand out moment of Jurassic Park 3 had Alan Grant facing off against Pteranodons for the first time in a foggy and surprisingly creepy scene. What begins with the misted approach of a walking Pteranodon soon descends into a mad dash as Erik becomes potential chick food and Billy makes a daring parachute glide to save him. The rest of the crew are hunted by the adult Pteranodons themselves, crashing into the well designed ‘Bird Cage’ set that’s both a vast construct and a narrow maze of paths at the same time. The action falls from the misty heights to the deadly currents below, keeping each and every character in peril, without the set piece ever feeling contrived. Its a well crafted scene that sends Billy off (kind of) in heroic fashion and delivers something entirely new, earning its place in the higher ranks of Jurassic Park scenes. Also Alan Grant kicks a Pteranodon in the face.

You can watch the scene below.

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14 – Dinosaur Safari (The Lost World: Jurassic Park)

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Having already introduced the dinosaurs with the Stegosaurus herd, The Lost World outdid itself by having the second dinosaur scene deliver thrills on a whole new level. The late Pete Postlethwaite arguably makes the scene as the gung ho Roland Tembo, stealing the show with a curt speech to Ludlow about his terms. From his introduction onwards he delivers nothing but brilliant lines, failing to name half the dinosaurs he’s hunting in truly comedic fashion, falling back on nicknames such as ‘Friar Tuck’ for the Pachycephalosaurus and ‘Elvis’ for the Parasaurolophus. The humour alone doesn’t make this scene though; the scale of the action was like something the series had never seen before as the convoy darted between the stampede of herbivores. The scene deserves credit for convincing audiences that The Lost World was indeed a Jurassic Park experience, and a bigger one at that.

You can watch most of the scene below.

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13 – Heated Lunch (Jurassic Park)

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The debate which soon erupts over lunch not only establishes Ian Malcolm as one of the most quotable characters in film history, but also does a stellar job of giving us an insight into the viewpoints of the core cast. Proceedings are dominated by Malcolm as he lays into what John Hammond is doing, bluntly labelling it as “rape of the natural world”, but Sattler and Grant soon get to add their more level headed concerns. Its definitely an awkward exchange that brings down the wonder of having brought dinosaurs back down a peg or two, and naturally it leaves Hammond shocked. The best thing about the discussion though is that it gives you reason to like those on both sides of the argument despite the one sidedness of the presentation. Valid points are raised against the science being performed in Jurassic Park, and we all know how it goes wrong, but Hammonds courteous demeanour (letting his opposition talk without objection) and child like enthusiasm paints his characters motives as being entirely innocent no matter how risky. Its testament to the late Richard Attenborough’s excellent portrayal of Hammond that such a heavy scene can be ended on a lighter note with his closing quip that the only one on his side is the “blood sucking lawyer.”.

You can watch the scene below.

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12 – Six Foot Turkey (Jurassic Park)

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Long before Owen Grady was ever talking about treating Raptors with respect, Alan Grant was using fossilised claws to mimic a Raptor spilling one poor unfortunate child’s intestines onto the floor. From the moment the poor boy mocks the Raptor, calling it a “six foot turkey”, you can see Grants mood turn sour with a glance. Sam Neill’s the perfect Grant here as he gives the boy, and the audience, some real reasons to fear the Velociraptor before we’ve even seen one. Its great to see just how little time he had for children before the Isla Nublar incident, and speaks volumes of his characters ability to demand control of a situation without ever needing to raise his voice. An incredible introduction to the passionate character and an ominous foreshadowing of the fate of Muldoon at the same time, this is an impeccably written and acted scene.

You can watch the scene below.

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11 – Apatosaurus Massacre (Jurassic World)

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Jurassic World delivered some real emotional clout in this death scene, the death scene of a dinosaur no less, in a take that echoed the triceratops scene of the first yet with far darker ending. Watching Owen and Claire comfort the Apatosaurus in its last moments was pretty upsetting, and its lack of dialogue coupled with the slowing heart beat of the Apatosaurus made it a very poignant moment. Matters only got worse as Owen discovered there were several more dead Apatosaurus’s over the crest of the hill, and the sympathy you had gained for Claire suddenly became conflicted with the notion that she had in part been responsible for creating the creature that killed these gentle giants. With the confirmation that it was “killing for sport” this scene cemented the Indominus Rex as the franchises first big bad, through and through, and it had to be stopped. An effectively sombre scene amongst all the action then.

There are no clips of the scene yet, but this making of video gives you a good glimpse into the animatronic used.

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10 – Don’t Go in the Long Grass (The Lost World: Jurassic Park)

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The Raptors are only introduced in the tail end of The Lost World, but what an introduction. The brief jaunt through the long grass is full of brilliant imagery; the converging trails through the grass from a birds eye view to the tails flailing in the air immediately after a kill. It led into a tense chase sequence but somehow eclipsed it, evoking classic horror with its simplicity and immortalising the warning “Don’t go in the long grass!”. As Grady utters in Jurassic World, “They’re dinosaurs, wow enough”, but in classic Jurassic Park fashion it takes a creature that is ‘wow enough’ and makes it so much more.

You can watch the scene below.

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9 – Clever Girl (Jurassic Park)

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Things are eerily quiet as Muldoon bravely hunts the Raptors. Its another sequence made all the better by taking its time, the slow preparing of his shotgun coupled with the deathly silence making for some suspenseful atmosphere. To see he was the one being hunted all along as he’s flanked and killed by another Raptor was unexpected as well, though just as Grant previously predicted. To see the most capable combatant on the island be dispatched with ease by the pack was a great way of setting them up as a major threat. Muldoon isn’t under served however, as he delivers his timeless final line of respect for the Raptor before perishing. The final shot of the other Raptor coldly staring at Muldoon being mauled from behind the bushes is just the spine tingling icing on this unforgettable cake. Clever girls indeed.

You can watch the scene below.

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8 – Welcome to Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park)

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Hammond certainly know hows to impress, knocking his guests flat with the view of the Brachiosaurus as he welcomes them to Jurassic Park. There’s a good 30 seconds of build up as Grant first takes off his hat then his glasses and turns Sattler’s head with his hand, and the astonishment becomes entirely justified as we see the enormous Brachiosaurus in front of them. John Williams’ iconic theme accompanies it, its climax building to not one but two amazing moments as the Brachiosaurus stomps the ground and we’re treated to the sight of the herd of herbivores grazing by the river. Sam Neill encapsulates the pure shock of having witnessed a live dinosaur, and Attenborough’s delivery of “Welcome…to Jurassic Park” is as much an announcement to the audience as it is to his guests. This scene has welcomed viewers to the park for 23 years, and no matter what you’re doing you’ll want to stay and experience the rest of Jurassic Park.

You can watch the scene below.

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7 – Life Finds a Way (Jurassic Park)

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The egg hatching scene marries the wonder of the welcome to the park with the foreboding theories of the lunch debate to create one of the best scenes in the film. The magic of the Velociraptor egg hatching still holds up today thanks to the beautifully crafted model used and Attenborough’s genuine joy in helping it enter the world. Its a wonderful moment for the entire group, but greater issues are once again raised by Ian Malcolm as he questions the effectiveness of Wu’s breeding control. The way he breaks into his speech to only cut himself short with the natural “Well…uh…there it is” and a smile upon realising he’s made his point is marvellous, made even more so by Hammonds turning round to dismissively repeat the conclusion. Of course the defining moment of the scene comes soon after as Goldblum delivers the iconic line in his laid back demeanour, his pausing for the ‘uh’ making his “Life…uh…finds a way” somehow even better; like a scientist coining a defining conclusion without realising it.

You can watch the scene below.

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6 – The Sick Triceratops (Jurassic Park)

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Stan Winston’s animatronic work really makes this scene, like it does many others, as the Triceratops and its laboured movements still remain believable to this day. Fortunately too as the entire scene revolves around it, and Sam Neill and Laura Dern convince the audience in their interactions with it. Watching Grant, as Lex does, lay on its stomach to be lifted by up and down is a brilliant moment for his character. Watching his gruff exterior completely vanish when given a chance to interact with his favourite childhood dinosaur is always touching. Sattler gets to flex her biological know-how whilst Malcolm mostly takes the back seat until remarking on a certain pile of shit, so its a relatively tame scene, but one that shows the real heart of what Jurassic Park has to offer. Hammond’s “Damn!” in the brief aside has to be mentioned as well, a rare moment in which he looses his composure, hinting at the much larger problems at hand.

You can watch the scene below.

Continue to page 3 for the top 5 scenes!