The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a science fiction-adventure-monster-drama film and sequel to the blockbuster Jurassic Park. The film was adapted by David Koepp from Michael Crichton's novel The Lost World and was directed by Steven Spielberg.
Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough reprise their roles from the previous film. They are joined by Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn, Richard Schiff, Vanessa Lee Chester, Arliss Howard, Peter Stormare and Thomas Rosales JR. as "Carter". Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello have a cameo appearance.
Plot Summary
Four years after the disaster at Jurassic Park, a wealthy British couple have decided to take a vacation on Isla Sorna, an island 87 miles southwest of Isla Nublar. The couple's daughter wanders off into the wilderness, inadvertently encountering and being attacked by a pack of Compsognathus. The resulting lawsuit filed against InGen ends with John Hammond being booted out from his position as CEO of InGen.
Soon after, the company is taken over by Hammond's nephew, Peter Ludlow. Meanwhile, mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm, despite having signed an agreement that forbade him from ever divulging any information on his visit to Isla Nublar, reveals to the media of InGen's attempts at cloning dinosaurs, which almost destroys his credibility as he cannot support his claims under InGen's threat of legal action.
Hammond then calls upon Malcolm and asks for his help. Much to Malcolm's surprise, InGen has a second island, named Isla Sorna, where the original research was performed, and the animals were manufactured. A hurricane forced an evacuation of the island, and the dinosaurs were released into the wild at the very last minute, in order to mature and thrive in their own separate environment. Peter Ludlow persuades InGen's investors that a dinosaur theme park is still a viable idea, and decides to exploit the second island by capturing several animals, and bring them to San Diego, where InGen is finishing construction on an abandoned Jurassic Park stadium. Having had a change of heart, Hammond is trying to prevent this: if he gathers a team of experts to document the dinosaurs in their new habitat, he may just rally enough public support to save the ancient animals from life in captivity. Malcolm initially refuses, but then learns that his girlfriend, paleontologist Dr. Sarah Harding, is already on the island by herself. He then reluctantly agrees to go in an attempt to rescue Sarah. As he prepares for the trip, Ian is visited by his daughter, Kelly Malcolm (one of the three children he mentions having in the first film).
The Gatherers escape an adult Stegosaurus.
The rest of Hammond's team (nicknamed the "Gatherers") consists of engineer Eddie Carr (who built the custom vehicles the team use, including two solar-powered Mercedes SUVs and a special trailer with an onboard laboratory), and wildlife documentarian Nick Van Owen. While in the garage, Ian reunites with his daughter, Kelly Curtis. The two talk about their ways of life, but as Kelly is skeptical about her father going to Isla Sorna, it causes a rift between the two. They arrive at the island via boat and find Sarah in the wild, taking photographs. After escaping an alarmed Stegosaurus herd, the group returns to their camp site and find Kelly, who secretly stowed away on the trailers. A furious Ian tries to contact the boat, but unfortunately, this is interrupted as InGen has officially sent their second team to the island to hunt down and capture the dinosaurs.
InGen hunters bringing down a Parasaurolophus.
The InGen Hunters arrive with all-terrain vehicles and equipment, carried by Chinook and Huey helicopters. InGen's team is being led by big game hunter Roland Tembo and his hunting partner, Ajay Sidhu, who have come to the island to fulfill Roland's dream of hunting down a male Tyrannosaurus. Also accompanying the team is well known paleontologist Dr. Robert Burke and Ludlow himself, who has decided to personally supervise the mission.
Roland Tempo negotiates with Peter Ludlow.
By the time night falls, the InGen team has already captured several dinosaurs, including Parasaurolophus, Pachycephalosaurus, Triceratops, Gallimimus, Compsognathus and Stegosaurus. Meanwhile, Roland and Ajay discover a Rex nest and capture the infant inside to use it as bait for the adult Rexes. As Peter prepares for a live stream via satellite video transmission to the InGen board room, Nick tells the others that, because Ludlow has arrived and is capturing the animals, he must carry out Hammond's wish, and free them (Nick is later revealed by Roland to be a member of Earth First!, a radical environmental advocacy group who engage in sabotage to achieve their goals). Nick and Sarah then sneak into the camp to release the dinosaurs from their cages and cut the fuel lines of the InGen vehicles. In the ensuing carnage, car explosions set off fires which quickly spread through the camp and Pachycephalosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops obliterate the tents around the camp and injuring several people while they and the other dinosaurs escape. One burning vehicle is jettisoned into the air, directly aiming for a tree where Roland and Ajay are atop at, but both men barely jump down for safety.
Nick and Sara doctor the infant.
Nick soon finds and frees the chained infant Tyrannosaur and decides to bring it back to the trailer, so that he and Sarah may try to fix its leg, which had accidentally been broken earlier by a drunken Ludlow. Kelly becomes highly animated when hearing the infant's cries, so Ian takes her to the "high hide", an observation platform that can be hoisted into the forest canopy. As Eddie accompanies Kelly on the high hide, Ian returns to the trailer just before the Rex parents arrive in search of their infant. Sarah returns the infant to its parents, who realize that the infant is injured, and they retaliate by attacking the double-trailer. The adults leave after forcing the rear trailer over a cliff with Ian, Nick and Sarah trapped inside. Eddie decides to help and leaves Kelly behind on the high hide. He takes the remaining SUV and drives to the trailers. He ties a rope to a tree and throws it down to Ian, Sarah, and Nick. Eddie then hooks the SUV to the trailer and tries to pull it back. As he tries to pull the trio to safety, the T. rex parents return unexpectedly and devour Eddie. The trailer plummets over the cliff's edge, but the trio manages to survive holding the rope Eddie tied to the tree. The Hunters arrive and help them climb back up.
Now, with no choice, Ian, Sarah, Nick, and Kelly join the rival Hunters, after the dinosaur attacks have destroyed all of their vehicles and communication equipment. They now have to migrate to the abandoned operations building to radio for help. Peter warns that the area is dangerously close to a Velociraptor nesting site.
Dieter before getting killed by a pack of Compsognathus
While trekking through the forest, Dieter Stark leaves the group, who are resting, to use the bathroom, and gets lost (his friend Carter is listening to headphones and does not hear Dieter's calls for help). While wandering, Dieter is killed by a large pack of Compsognathus soon after getting lost. During the night, the camp is attacked by the Tyrannosaurus pair during the night, and despite Malcolm's advice, everyone panics and scrambles into a wild frenzy. Roland tries to shoot the male Tyrannosaurus, but after finding the bullets in his shotgun missing (Nick stole them to try to prevent him from killing the male T. rex), he uses a tranquilizer gun. The female T. rex pursues the terrified hunters, stepping on Carter to his death, and trapping the others behind a waterfall. Burke sees a snake slithering on him and panics, running straight into the waiting jaws of the Rex, and is devoured. (Ironically, it was a harmless milk snake.) Once losing the T. rex, the surviving hunters travel through an open field of tall grass. Ajay tries to warn them, shouting "DON'T GO INTO THE LONG GRASS!" but none of them listen, and are killed one by one by Velociraptors.
Velociraptors pouncing.
Ian and his gang make it through the field alive and run for cover in the operations building, while the raptors are hunting the hunters. Nick goes into the building and radios for help while Ian, Sarah, and Kelly fend off a trio of raptors. The group then reunites and boards a rescue helicopter.
T. rex takes on San Diego.
On the flight out, they see that Roland has seized the Tyrannosaur Buck, which is being prepared for its journey to the mainland. Before he leaves, Ludlow orders his men to find the infant and fly it to San Diego.
InGen invites all prestigious investors and reporters to the docks to witness the arrival of the T. rex. The ship doesn't slow down and crashes into the dock. Security guards board the ship and find out that the crew has perished. One guard opens the cargo door in an attempt to look for survivors. With Ian warning not to open the hold, the T. rex storms out of the cargo bay and heads into San Diego. As Peter is surveying the destruction, Malcolm tells him "Now you're John Hammond."
The Tyrannosaurus rampages in San Diego
Ian and Sarah ask Ludlow, who is in total shock, where the infant is. He tells them that the infant was flown in by plane and is in confinement at the Jurassic Park amphitheater. They drive to the amphitheater and retrieve the infant, while the adult goes on a rampage in the city. Ian and Sarah bait the creature with its infant and drive back to the docks to place the infant in the cargo hold of the ship. Peter orders the police to shoot the rampaging adult, and then follows the couple onto the ship. However, they escape the ship, and Peter enters the cargo hold alone in search of the infant. While he attempts to catch it, the infant's father returns, and sneaks up behind him. Ludlow attempts to run away, but the enraged parent bites him by the leg and places him back down. Then it leaves the execution to the infant. Sarah prepares a tranquilizer dart and shoots the T. rex as Malcolm closes the cargo hold door, trapping the animals inside.
The next morning, Ian, Sarah, and Kelly are watching a news report on TV, which is covering the dinosaurs' return trip to Isla Sorna. John Hammond is then interviewed, pleading that the island to remain preserved and isolated for the dinosaurs only. It would require human absence in order for the dinosaurs to survive. He also offers a quote by Malcolm: "Life will find a way." The film ends on Isla Sorna, where the Tyrannosaurus couple is nursing their infant, the Stegosaurus herd migrating with their young, and a flock of Pteranodons glide into view and one of them lands on a tree and shrieks in celebration.
Characters
Click here for a complete list of cast and crew.
These are the main characters of the movie. They are divided in two groups.
Gatherers
The Gatherers are sent to Isla Sorna by John Hammond to make a scientific documentation of the dinosaurs. They can be considered the protagonists of the story.
Hunters
The Hunters came to Isla Sorna to capture some dinosaurs for Peter Ludlow's new Jurassic Park in San Diego. They can be considered the antagonists of the story (although they don't perform any cruel deeds towards the Gatherers).
List of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures in the Film
- Compsognathus
- Gallimimus
- Mamenchisaurus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Pteranodon
- Stegosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Triceratops
- Velociraptor
- Apatosaurus (skeleton)
- Dilophosaurus (computer screen and painted wall)
- Edmontosaurus (skull)
- Geosternbergia (paper and computer screen)
Media
Click here: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (film)/Media for images and videos related to this article.
Production
After the release of the original Jurassic Park book, Michael Crichton was pressured by fans for a sequel novel. Having never written a sequel, he initially refused, until the success of the first Jurassic Park film prompted Steven Spielberg himself to request one.[1] After the book was published in 1995, production on the sequel film began in September 1996.[2]
Shooting
The Lost World was filmed at Kauai, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Patrick's Point State Park, Eureka, Burbank, California and San Diego. Although the ending takes place in San Diego, only one sequence is actually shot there, where the InGen helicopter flies over the wharf and banks towards the city. The other sequences were shot either in Downtown Burbank or northern California.[3]
Spielberg suggested the Tyrannosaurus rex attack through San Diego be added to the film story, inspired by a similar attack scene of a Brontosaurus in London in the 1925 film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.[4]
Many elements from the original Jurassic Park novel that were ultimately not in the first film were eventually used for The Lost World. The opening sequence of the vacationing family's young daughter being attacked by dinosaurs was inspired by the scene where Procompsognathus escape from Costa Rica and attack young children,[5] and Dieter Stark's death is very analogous to John Hammond's compy-related death in the novel. Also, Nick, Sarah, Kelly, and Burke being trapped behind a waterfall by the female T. rex was also taken from the first novel, where Tim and Lex are trapped behind a man-made waterfall with the T. rex attempting to eat them.
According to Jack Horner part of the waterfall scene was written in as a favor for him by Spielberg. Burke greatly resembles Horner's rival Robert Bakker. In real life Bakker argues for a predatory Tyrannosaurus rex while Horner views it as primarily a scavenger. So Spielberg wrote Burke into this part to have him killed by the Tyrannosaurus rex as a favor for Horner. After the film came out Bakker, who recognized himself in Burke and loved it, actually sent Horner a message saying "See, I told you T. rex was a hunter!".[6]
Mercedes-Benz's new sport-utility vehicle, the M-class, had not yet been introduced and made its first appearance in the film.[7] As a result, on the original VHS copies of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a Mercedes-Benz ad appears before the film.[8]
Score
John Williams was again asked to score the second installment of the Jurassic Park series. Few motifs and themes carry on from the first film. The score for The Lost World: Jurassic Park is, instead, almost an entirely different score. Due to the hectic schedule and many changes post John Williams involvement, the score was heavily edited. The Album is available on CD from MCA but has yet to be released in its completion.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Film Score) article contains more information on the topic.
Deviations from the Novel
The plot and the characters of The Lost World: Jurassic Park are very different from the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. There are more differences than similarities.
The film and novel have these plot elements in common:
- InGen used a second island, Isla Sorna, to clone and breed dinosaurs.
- A team of scientists, the Gatherers, travel to the island to study the dinosaurs.
- Another team, the Hunters, wants to exploit the dinosaurs.
- The Gatherers have a trailer.
- Members of the Gatherers include Ian Malcolm, Eddie Carr and Sarah Harding.
- A girl named Kelly travels with the Gatherers as a stowaway.
- The Gatherers try to treat the broken leg of the Baby T. rex.
- The adult T. rexes attack the trailer and push it over a cliff.
- Raptors attack the humans.
- Eddie Carr is killed by a dinosaur.
- The Gatherers try to call for help in the Worker Village.
These plot elements were taken from the first novel:
- Bowman family visits a beach, and their young daughter is attacked by a (Pro)Compsognathus.
- Humans try to hide from a T. rex behind a waterfall.
- A character breaks his leg and gets attacked by a group of (Pro)Compsognathus.
Cultural References
- The cargo ship U.S.S. Venture transporting the Tyrannosaurus rex to San Diego is a homage to another ship with the same name that transports King Kong to New York in the King Kong movies and later in Peter Jackson's remake.
- In an obvious homage to Godzilla, the Tyrannosaurus rampage through San Diego features a brief clip of Japanese tourists, shouting something in Japanese. Translated, they're shouting "We left Tokyo to get away from this!"
- One of the characters in the film, Dr. Robert Burke, is obviously based on paleontologist Robert Bakker whose theories on warm-blooded dinosaurs helped to inspire Jurassic Park. Interestingly, Tim Murphy mentions "a guy named Bakker" in the first Jurassic Park film; therefore, both Bakker and Burke exist in the same world.
Reception
Box office
This film broke many box office records upon its release on May 23, 1997. It took an incredible $72.1 million gross on its opening weekend ($92.6 million for the four-day Memorial Day holiday) in the US, which was by far the biggest opening weekend taking at the time. It also took the highest single day box office taking of $26.1 million on Sunday, May 25, and it became the fastest film to pass the $100 million mark, achieving the feat in just five and a half days. The film eventually ended up grossing $620 million worldwide, becoming (at the time) the sixth highest-grossing film of all time, and helped to launch the movie careers of Richard Schiff, Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore.
Critical
Although the film did well at the box-office, it received mixed reviews.[citation needed] Many of the fans praised it as a worthy follow-up, while others were less impressed. It has a 53% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.6/10. It also has a 6.4/10 on IMDB. Some of the concerns centered on the characters' reckless and foolish actions (example: Sarah carrying the vest with the infant T. rex blood even though she knew the T. rex could track it), the character of Kelly (who uses gymnastics to subdue a Velociraptor), paleontologist Robert Burke (who during the T. rex chase sees a snake go down his shirt and instead of a snake bite runs through the waterfall to get eaten by the T. rex) and the Tyrannosaur's rampage through San Diego. Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, taking issue with the fact that the characters seemed to be bound by what the plot demanded, rather than their own free will like the dinosaurs were.
Awards
- The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Visual Effects.[citation needed]
- It was also nominated for "Best Action Sequence" in the 1998 MTV Movie Awards for the sequence where the T. rex is destroying San Diego, looking for his son.[citation needed]
- However, it was also nominated for three Golden Raspberry awards - Worst Screenplay, Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property.[citation needed]
Goofs
Movie mistakes
see The Lost World: Jurassic Park movie mistakes for a complete list
Paleontological inaccuracies
Some of the dinosaur's appearance or behavior in the film contradict paleontological knowledge.
- The Stegosaurus's head is too broad; there are no throat osteoderms, and there are only 4 digits on the manus and all have hooves.[citation needed]
- The Stegosaurus are considerably larger than real ones. Actual Stegosauruses are 7-9m long (about 21-27 feet) while the movie counterpart is about 12-13m long(40-43 ft).
- Velociraptors are much smaller in real life than in the film, and are more anatomically similar to Deinonychus than their dog-sized counterparts.
- One raptor leapt twenty feet in the air to attack. It is highly unlikely that real Velociraptors could jump that far or high.[citation needed] Note: they only jumped 8 feet up, then climbed up the rest.
- The Pteranodon at the very end is briefly shown landing on a branch like a bird. Real Pterosaurs could never do this, and though some smaller Pterosaurs might have lived in trees, they never could have landed like that.[citation needed]
Trivia
- Spielberg suggested the Tyrannosaurus rex attack through San Diego be added to the film story, inspired by similar attack scene of a Brontosaurus in London in the 1925 film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. This replaced the original ending, featuring an extended Raptor sequence and an attack by Pteranodons while escaping from the Island. Instead of the CNN news footage of the T. rex returning to the island, the final scene would have been Hammond's funeral, where Malcolm delivers a eulogy. The dinosaurs would remain undiscovered by the general public.
- Spielberg was approached by the producers of Swingers who needed the director's approval for use of the theme from Jaws. Spielberg asked to see footage of the clip that would eventually feature the music, which featured Vince Vaughn, who caught the director's eye. Spielberg soon offered Vaughn a part in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which provided a breakout role for Vaughn.
- This was the first film to feature Universal's new logo, which was still used until 2012.
- Mercedes-Benz's new sport-utility vehicle, the M-class, had not yet been introduced. Its appearance in the film was strategically placed, along with full-page ads in several newspapers, such as USA Today, touting the vehicle's appearance in 'The Lost World.' As a result, on the original VHS copies of The Lost World, a Mercedes-Benz ad appears before the film.
- Screenwriter David Koepp has a cameo as the man in San Diego who is eaten by the Tyrannosaurus rex. When he breaks from the fleeing masses and tries to enter a video store, the Tyrannosaurus singles him out and devours him. He is listed in the credits as "Unlucky Bastard".
- Dieter Stark's death is an homage to John Hammond's compy-related death in the first Jurassic Park novel.
- The end is said to take place in San Diego. There is actually only one sequence shot in San Diego, where the InGen helicopter flies over the wharf and banks towards the city. The other sequences were all shot in northern California.
- The names of the characters Roland Tembo and Nick van Owen are references to the song "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner".[9]
The characters of Roland Tembo and Ajay Sidhu are not based on any character in Crichton's novels. Tembo is included to give the InGen team a strong leader, and his name is a reference (as is Nick's).
- The film first appeared in cinemas outside Los Angeles on May 23, 1997. On May 23 2017, precisely twenty years later, Michael Crichton's novel Dragon Teeth was published posthumously. It was Crichton's first book about dinosaurs after The Lost World. The second part of the novel is named "The Lost World".[10] It is unknown if the choice of publication date was intentional.
External links
Notes
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ The Making of The Lost World: Jurassic Park (book)
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Gritton, Lance. Personal interview. 14 Apr 2007.
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Movie Answer Man, Roger Ebert / December 27, 1998". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
- ↑ Crichton M. (2017). Dragon Teeth, page 79, image.
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