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 in the summer of 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from Michael Crichton's novel. It redefined what audiences expected from a summer blockbuster, pairing pioneering CGI with practical effects to bring dinosaurs to the screen with a realism no prior film had achieved. It became the highest grossing film of its time and remains a touchstone in the history of visual effects and popcorn cinema, launching a franchise that continues decades later.
This cell carries the name Tim Murphy, the young grandson of park founder John Hammond, whose presence in the story anchors much of its sense of wonder and peril from a child's vantage point. Collectors seek out material tied to Tim because his arc runs through some of the film's most memorable set pieces. A 35mm cell bearing his name preserves an actual frame of release printing, a physical fragment of the reel that once ran through theater projectors during the picture's original run.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of Jurassic Park (1993).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area (two-track) waveform pattern.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint consistent with colour print stock; the dye image shows no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Jurassic Park (1993).
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack and colour print stock base are consistent with a 1993 theatrical release print era, before DTS timecode or Dolby Digital between-perforation encoding became universal.
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 000063421
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
