National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2018
“The concept of people somehow existing in the age of dinosaurs (or dinosaurs somehow existing in the age of people) has been explored in film and on television numerous times. No treatment, however, has ever been done with more skill, flair or popcorn-chomping excitement than this 1993 blockbuster.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Studio
Amblin Entertainment · 127 min
Box office
$1.03B worldwide on a $63M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 3 wins, 3 nominationsSaturn Award — 2 winsHugo Award — 1 winKids' Choice Award — 1 winAll 7 wins · 3 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing
Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects
Academy Awards: Best Sound
Saturn Award: Best Science Fiction Film
Saturn Award: Best Director
Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation
Kids' Choice Award: Favorite Movie
Scholarship
Named in the title of 12 peer-reviewed works
Examples
The Making of Jurassic Park — Medical Entomology and Zoology, 1993
Jurassic Park — Liverpool University Press eBooks, 2020
Jurassic Park (franchise) — Alphascript Publishing eBooks, 2011
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Jurassic Park arrived from Universal Pictures in the summer of 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from Michael Crichton's novel. It became a defining event of 1990s blockbuster cinema, prized for its groundbreaking blend of animatronics and computer-generated imagery that made dinosaurs feel tangible on screen. The film's success reshaped how studios approached tentpole releases and special effects, and it remains a touchstone for collectors of both movie memorabilia and cinema history, representing a moment when technology and storytelling converged to create something audiences had never witnessed before.
This cell preserves the opening title card, the frame that announces the film itself before any character or plot unfolds. Such cells hold particular appeal for collectors because they mark the very beginning of the theatrical experience, the threshold moment where anticipation is set. A title card carries the weight of introduction, establishing tone and scale before the story begins. For a film so tied to spectacle and discovery, this piece represents the first breath of that journey, the instant the audience crosses into the world the filmmakers built.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Jurassic Park (1993).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean throughout the visible strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical release print.
Edge print
Bottom edge reads, mirrored: 'EASTMAN SAFETY FILM 30' — quoted as visible in the capture.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm-neutral tint; the dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the picture area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to carry the same title-card artwork, consistent with a title or leader sequence from Jurassic Park (1993).
Era check
Eastman Safety Film stock with a variable-area optical track and this perforation layout is consistent with a 1993-era theatrical release print.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063419
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
