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. Its blend of animatronics and groundbreaking computer-generated imagery reset audience expectations for what a blockbuster could achieve, and its box office dominance made it one of the defining releases of the decade. The film's success cemented Spielberg's reputation for large-scale spectacle grounded in character and wonder, and it launched a franchise that continues today.
This cell preserves the opening title card, the frame where the film's name first appears on screen and announces the story to come. For collectors, title card cells hold particular value because they mark the threshold moment of a film's identity, distinct from character or scene cells drawn from later in the reel. A card bearing the words "Jurassic Park" carries the weight of introduction itself, the instant a viewer's imagination is handed over to 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 complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical track; a second narrower band suggesting a Dolby stereo encoded track appears adjacent to it.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any key numbers or manufacturer codes.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm tint; the dye image reads as a strong, saturated colour positive with no visible fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible running the length of the strip, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames carry the same title-card logo artwork, indicating this is a title or leader section rather than consecutive action frames; the logo matches the Jurassic Park (1993) release branding.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack format, colour positive stock, and clear safety base are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 1990s, the period of the film on record.
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 000063423
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
