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 landmark in visual effects, blending practical animatronics with groundbreaking computer-generated imagery to bring dinosaurs to the screen with unprecedented realism. The film was a massive commercial success and reshaped the modern blockbuster, influencing how studios approached spectacle, sound design, and franchise building for decades afterward. Its cultural footprint extends well beyond cinema, touching theme parks, merchandising, and the broader public imagination around genetic science and prehistoric life.
This cell preserves the opening title card, the frame where the film's name first appears on screen and establishes its identity before any character or plot unfolds. Title card cells are prized by collectors because they mark a picture's very first visual statement, the moment audiences are formally introduced to the world they are about to enter. For Jurassic Park specifically, this text carries the weight of a cultural touchstone, tied to the film's logo and instantly recognizable branding. Owning this piece connects a collector to the picture's origin point on the reel itself.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Jurassic Park (1993)
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analog stripe
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift
Projection history
Fine horizontal lines consistent with projection are faintly visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks seen
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames show the same title-card logo artwork, indicating a leader or title sequence section rather than consecutive action frames, consistent with Jurassic Park (1993)
Era check
The single variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated Eastmancolor-type dye image, and standard 35mm four-perforation layout are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 1990s
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 000063428
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
