Jurassic Park III appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This turned into an inconsistent image but it usually satisfied.
Sharpness became the main moderate problem I encountered, as the movie could veer toward softness on occasion. While most of the film seemed accurate and well-defined, a few too many ill-defined elements crept up at times.
The movie provided no problems related to jagged edges or moiré effects. Some light edge haloes cropped up at times, but they stayed modest. Print flaws seemed similarly absent.
Colors looked fairly good, though I thought Isla Sorna jungles looked a little dull. Other hues worked better, so overall color vivacity seemed positive, even though I felt the HDR didn’t add a lot to this image.
Black levels seemed nicely deep and rich, and shadow detail usually appeared accurate without excessive heaviness. A few low-light shots on the island were somewhat thick, but these instances were rare. This wasn’t a great visual presentation, but it worked fine for the most part.
Even better was the DTS-X soundtrack of Jurassic Park III. Downconverted to DTS-HD MA 7.1, the soundfield consistently came across as engrossing and lively. The music displayed an excellent presence with solid stereo imaging, while effects created a terrific show.
Ambient elements cropped up all throughout the movie to provide a realistic and involving setting. Of course, the louder action sequences gave us very active audio action. From the front, effects were appropriately localized, and they moved across channels and blended cleanly.
The surrounds kicked in with strong reinforcement of the score and they allowed the effects segments to really breathe. From the early battle between the T-Rex and the Spinosaurus to virtually every other action scene, the soundtrack forced all five channels to work overtime, and it all made for a fantastic listening experience.
Audio quality also appeared to be excellent. Despite the fact that much of the dialogue needed to be looped, speech always came across as natural and distinct, and I discerned no concerns related to intelligibility or edginess.
Music boasted fine fidelity, as the score sounded bright and vibrant throughout the film. Highs seemed clear and bass response was deep and smooth.
Again, the effects contributed the finest aspects of the soundtrack. All variety of elements - from the quiet ambience to the loudest roars and explosions - appeared accurate and distinct. The mix displayed fine clarity, and the low-end really kicked into overdrive much of the time.
JPIII provided a serious bass-fest, and the track reproduced these elements with solid depth and warmth. Overall, I thought JPIII featured the kind of amazing sonic experience that we expect from the series.
How does this 4K UHD compare with the Blu-ray from 2011? The DTS-X mix added a bit more zing and involvement, but I thought the 4K UHD’s visuals offered more marginal improvements over the Blu-ray than usual.
As noted, the HDR didn’t give colors the expected boost, and the inconsistencies in definition meant that side of the image also showed modest growth. I’d still prefer the 4K UHD to the BD, but don’t expect a substantial upgrade.
Only one extra appears on the 4K UHD itself: an audio commentary from live dinosaur creator Stan Winston, effects supervisor John Rosengrant, animation supervisor Dan Taylor, and mechanical effects coordinator Michael Lantieri. All four were recorded together for this running, screen-specific track.
I was happy to finally get an audio commentary for a Jurassic Park flick, and this one included some decent information. Not surprisingly, the emphasis was on technical aspects of making the movie, but the participants helped ensure that it didn’t become a dry and tedious discussion.
Yes, I heard a lot of statements that told us what was practical and what was computer animated, and the piece seemed somewhat self-congratulatory at times. This meant they offered a lot of praise for all involved.
Still, the movie was very effects intensive, and this track told us how the filmmakers worked their magic. The information was related in an easily understandable manner and it revealed a fair amount of depth about the topic.
I especially liked the parts that covered the ways in which the dinosaurs have “evolved” over the years from their original Jurassic Park counterparts. Ultimately, this was a good but unspectacular commentary that should be reasonably enjoyable for big fans of the series.
On the included Blu-ray copy, we get the same extras as the 2011 release, and we go to Return to Jurassic Park: The Third Adventure. In this 25-minute, 20-second show, we hear from Lantieri, Rosengrant, executive producer Steven Spielberg, producer Kathleen Kennedy, director Joe Johnston, production designer Ed Verreaux, concept designer Mark “Crash” McCreery, and actors Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Trevor Morgan, and Laura Dern.
“Adventure” looks at bringing Johnston into the franchise and aspects of script/story development, cast and performances, sets and locations, various effects, creature design and creation. The final installment in the six-part “Return to…” series, “Adventure” is probably the weakest.
It comes with some nice moments – I especially like Macy’s observations – but it lacks the depth of its predecessors and feels a bit more self-congratulatory than the others. Still, it boasts enough good material to deserve a look.
Next we find a program called Making Jurassic Park III. This 22-minute, 43-second piece offers comments from Kennedy, Neill, Macy, Morgan, Johnston, Verreaux, Rosengrant, Lantieri, Taylor, actors Michael Jeter, Téa Leoni, and Alessandro Nivola, production designer Ed Verreaux, paleontologist/advisor Jack Horner, creature creator Stan Winston, and visual effects supervisor Jim Mitchell.
Overall, this is a fluffy but decent overview of the production. Most of it seems pretty basic, and it runs through the topics at a rapid pace.
However, it gives us a reasonable synopsis of the issues faced during the making of the film, and it comes across as entertaining and compelling. Best of the bunch are the clips from the set, which provide a nice look behind the scenes.
The New Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park III appears like an extension of the prior show. This seven-minute, 52-second piece offers interview snippets from earlier participants Johnston, Horner, Macy, Kennedy, Winston, Neill, and Taylor plus it adds ILM CG modeler Ken Bryant.
Essentially it just gives us a quick look at some of the new critters and the modifications made to the old ones such as the raptors. It’s interesting and breezy but somewhat insubstantial; the material should have simply been included in the “Making of…” program.
During the 10-minute, 31-second The Special Effects of Jurassic Park III, we hear from Neill, Leoni, Macy, Kennedy, Winston, Rosengrant, Lantieri, Johnston, and Taylor. Overall, the show is interesting and compelling, but I must admit it seems a little redundant among a lot of the other pieces.
A fair amount of the footage looks familiar, so while some of it’s new to this piece, don’t expect to see only fresh material. Still, it’s a breezy and efficient program that neatly synopsizes some of the effects issues.
More effects material appears in The Industrial Light and Magic Press Reel. Accompanied by the film’s score, we see a progression of visual effects from JP III in various stages of completion during this 10-minute, 14-second feature.
Basically this show acts as a highlight piece for the studio, and it does so nicely. It displays a nice synopsis of their work and even tosses in some of the “before and after” splitscreens seen in earlier features. It’s an interesting little program that demonstrates a number of effects elements.
The Sounds of Jurassic Park III provides a solid 13-minute, 35-second look at that area of the process. While we see some movie snippets and rough footage from the shoot, mainly we hear from sound designer Christopher Boyes as he discusses his work.
In addition, we also get some good tidbits from foley artists Jena Vance and Denny Thorpe, foley mixer Tony Eckert, and composer Don Davis. Along with their sound bites, we see some of their work. Overall, the program offers a nice little view of this side of filmmaking, and it’s interesting to hear how the pieces came together, particularly in regard to Boyes’ creative combinations.
The Art of Jurassic Park III takes a look at the production design of the film. During the seven-minute, 55-second show, a particular emphasis falls upon the storyboards, but we also learn about the sets and the general visual look.
The program offers the standard shots from the set and clips from the film as well as interviews with Verreaux, Kennedy, illustrator Jack Johnson, key storyboard artist David Lowery, and storyboard artist Rodolfo Damaggio. In addition, we get some glimpses of storyboards, concept art, and a few other elements. This isn’t a deep feature, but it adds some decent information.
Montana: Finding New Dinosaurs provides a good four-minute and 21-second look at some dino digging. We hear from Jack Horner as he discusses his attempts to locate more skeletons, and we watch the diggers at work. It’s a nice view of the real-life research.
Another short piece offers a Tour of Stan Winston Studios. While we don’t actually get ushered around the place, we do see the process via which the practical creatures are created.
Most of the three-minute, 14-second featurette is silent except for musical score as we watch the workers make their magic. At the end, we get some nice shots of the critters on the set. It’s too short to offer any real value, but it’s a good presentation of some basics nonetheless.
Next we find brief examinations of Spinosaurus Attacks the Plane (1:48), Raptors Attack Udesky (0:59), and The Lake (1:38). These all have some cool shots from the set, and they’re interesting as a whole, but unfortunately they show too many clips from the movie itself, and they also cut too quickly from image to image. As such, it could be tough to get a good look at the material.
A Visit to ILM packs in a slew of small snippets. Under “Concepts” we find an “Intro” from visual effects supervisor Jim Mitchell and then watch material that covers “The Spinosaurus”, “The Pteranodons”, and “The Raptors”.
All three of those pieces provide comments from animation director Dan Taylor; all in all, the clips last a total of five minutes and 35 seconds. The give us a decent overview of what the folks at ILM wanted to do with the characters, and they show some good behind the scenes material.
This “Visit” then moves to “The Process”. After a 95-second “Intro” from Dan Taylor, we go to additional subdomains.
“Models” gives us a 40-second “Interview” with digital model supervisor Ken Bryan, and we then watch “View Models”, which shows some basic computer work along with more commentary from Bryan.
“T-Rex Vs. Spinosaurus” opens with an “Interview” from lead animator Glen McIntosh and then shows us the 13-second “Production Plate”; that piece depicts the film before the CG creatures appear. Lastly, we see the 10-second “Final Shot”.
After a 59-second “Interview” with lead animator John Zdankiewicz, “Pteranodon Air Attack” launches into a three-second (!) animatic and than gives us the five-second “Final Shot”. “The Process” ends with “Raptors: Returning the Eggs”.
A 72-second “Interview” with McIntosh starts the section, and we then see an eight-second “Production Plate” and the five-second “Final Shot”.
That finishes “The Process”, and we move to “Muscle Simulation”. The “Intro” includes 49 seconds of comments from creature supervisor Tim McLaughlin, and we then witness a 103-second “Demonstration” of the computer techniques with technical animation supervisor Dennis Turner.
The “Visit” ends in the “Compositing” domain. In “Definition”, compositing supervisor Eddie Pasquarello tells us what the term means in 32 seconds or less, and the “Demonstration” shows 88 seconds of these techniques in action.
All in all, “A Visit to ILM” offers some interesting material. Due to the brevity of many components, it can be a bit of a chore to wade through the footage, but at least the Blu-ray makes it easier than the DVD, as it comes with ample “Play All” opportunities.
The Dinosaur Turntables show the computer-animated critters in basic configurations - without coloring or detail - and in final form as they spin for the virtual camera. Some of the segments add running or other interaction as well.
Via “Play All”, the 12 pieces go for six minutes, 23 seconds. These are reasonably interesting studies but they don’t seem terribly fascinating.
The Storyboards to Final Feature Comparison shows the boards in the top half of the TV frame with the finished movie in the bottom segment. We see three scenes: “The Lab” (1:08), “The Aviary” (2:57), and “The Boat Attack” (2:02). I’ve never been terribly interested in storyboards, but this presentation seems pretty solid.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we get a collection of Production Photos. These show the images as a running program accompanied by the movie’s score.
Sometimes this method works well, but here it makes the pictures fly by in too dynamic a manner, so it could be tough to really see them in this two-minute, 50-second compilation.
As a fan of the Jurassic Park movies, I enjoyed Jurassic Park III and I thought that it was a fun and entertaining piece of fluff. It doesn’t live up to the standard of its two predecessors, but it remains fairly exciting and compelling for the most part. The 4K UHD provides excellent audio and a nice selection of supplements but visuals feel less accurate than I’d like. While the 4K UHD becomes the best version of the film, it’s not the upgrade I’d anticipated.
Note that as of July 2018, this 4K UHD version of Jurassic Park III can only be purchased via a four-movie package. The “Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary Collection” also includes 4K UHD versions of Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and Jurassic World.
To rate this film visit the Collector's Edition review of JURASSIC PARK III