The Kidd here...
It's going to be easy to jump on the bandwagon and cry out "Why Spielberg why?!" with Universal Pictures confirming that they'll be re-releasing JURASSIC PARK in theatres in 2013 in post-converted 3-D. However, let's just examine one important aspect of this news...
It's JURASSIC PARK back in theatres... back on the big screen... as you fondly remember it...
Period.
After the debacle of replacing the guns in E.T. with walkie-talkies, Spielberg vowed to never again digitally alter any of his films as his buddy George Lucas has insisted on doing for years. Therefore, there's a part of me that believes he wouldn't be a part of doing this unless it was going to be done right. From what I've heard, James Cameron was able to do some pretty fantastic things in converting TITANIC to 3-D, so it's not impossible for this to be done right. Just think of that first appearance of the T-Rex, and how sweet it might look when he plants that foot in the mud in the foreground with Dr. Grant and Lex pressed against the Jeep in the background. The potential for that depth of field display is incredible.
However, even if you want to run with the thought that all 3-D is bad (that's a sweeping generalization) or all post-conversion 3-D is bad (that's a different argument), that doesn't change the fact that there will still be a small segment of theatres that will offer up JURASSIC PARK IN 3D (as it's being called) in 2-D. You can leave your hate outside the door and still marvel at dinosaurs at the movies in what is sure to be a print that matches the one we got on the recently released Blu-ray box set.
I can't see anything wrong with that.
There's still something incredibly cool about being able to see some of these films in theatres once more, because there's just no way your TV can match that sense of awe. Disney has managed to embrace this trend of getting new generations to love their films. Lucas will get there eventually once he gets the prequels out of the way and moves onto the Original Trilogy. It's nice to see Universal and Spielberg getting the message that some things will always be better seen at the movies... we'll just have to bite the 3-D bullet to get it, something I'm willing to do, because it's better than nothing.
JURASSIC PARK IN 3D is set for a July 19, 2013 release, just about a month past its 20th anniversary. It'll still be one hell of a summer movie, and, if you're looking for any further benefits to this, it's currently lined up against GROWN UPS 2 on the release calendar. Tell me you now don't want to see JURASSIC PARK however you can that weekend just because it means beating another horrible Adam Sandler movie.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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