Rank This Matchup

My two favourite Spielberg films of all time hands down. Still, I actually find this a much easier choice than a lot of people on this board seem to; despite the fact that both films are in my top 10, and despite the fact that I saw them around about the same time as each other, as a young kid between 6-8 years old, I'm going to side with Jaws. A few pointers for comparison: Script/characters: Both are based on best selling novels released two or three years prior to the release of the film; Jaws by Peter Benchley and Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I think it worth pointing out that I am not much of a fiction reader, but these are two books that I HAVE read cover to cover and enjoyed very much (one more so than the other). I watched the films when I was younger, and I remember having a lot of blank patches in Jurassic Park, particular in the first act. The dialogue was heavily bogged down with scientific jargon and most of the characters were either boring or annoying (I'm looking at those bloody KIDS!!!). The average 6-8 year old will not understand most of the dialogue (although it is significantly toned down from the book), and with the exception of the beautifully executed and truly memorable Brachiosaurus scene, there were a lot of times were I kept thinking "I don't care about any of this, where are the DINOSAURS!!!!!?" Jaws on the other hand was a lot more direct and to the point, with interesting characters which you cared about, and some truly memorable quotes, in particular Robert Shaw’s Indianapolis monologue, which while it didn’t mean much to me as a kid, is probably one of my favourite monologues in cinematic history. The atmosphere is extraordinary in that scene. The script is also a lot more unforgiving in Jaws; in Jurassic Park, it’s fairly obvious who is going to get eaten, but in Jaws you really don’t know who is going to die. No demographic is spared; men, a woman, a dog, even a KID was killed on camera; that’s rare (incidentally this scene, along with many of the other gruesome death scenes in Jaws are among the most jarring to have ever gotten away with a PG certificate in the UK with the possible exception of the Indiana Jones). I’ll admit now that I’m in my later years the dialogue in Jurassic Park is easier to listen to, and I find the science more interesting (although as I said it’s much more developed in the book, and for a good reason), but Jaws is still much more engaging. Point to Jaws (although if we were comparing books, Jurassic Park would win hands down easily; Jaws the novel has one of the WORST anticlimaxes ever). Acting: So admittedly the acting is not what these films are necessarily about, really it’s about the creatures in them, but as with the script and characters, I think that the cast of Jaws did a much better job overall, especially the three leads Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. I do find Jeff Goldblum entertaining in Jurassic Park, as well as the underused Bob Peck and Richard Attenborough, but as I said, most of the other performances are either bland, annoying, or are simply there for Dinosaur chow. Point to Jaws. Effects: This one is fairly obvious, and while they are beginning to show their age, there is no doubt that Jurassic Park is still one of the most groundbreaking films in terms of both visual and sound effects development, and the dinosaurs still look fantastic to this day. And yes I know everybody says “the shark looks like plastic” but I feel I should defend Jaws a little. Compared to other shark films, I’d still say the animatronic shark in the original jaws is still the best looking. Yes it broke down all the time and yes can tell at times that it is an animatronic, but the filmmakers realised this and realised that less is more. You rarely see the shark, and that actually made for a more terrifying experience (see below), not to mention the use of some stock footage of a real Great White from legendary underwater filmmakers Ron and Valerie Taylor which is put to brilliant use in the climax with the cage fight. And I still think that the shark is better looking than most of the CGI crap that we see now days. It may look fake at times, but the CGI in films like “Deep Blue Sea” looks REALLY god awful. Still, like I said, and easy choice. Point to Jurassic Park. Soundtrack: Both from the same composer, the legendary John Williams, but both very different scores. Jurassic Park goes for the more majestic, sweeping score in order to convey the enormity and grandeur of both the animals and the adventure and is probably one of Williams’ most underrated. The scene with the Brachiosaurus, as I mentioned before, is still one of the most magical memories I have of films while I was growing up. Plus there were some pretty tense moments in the film conveyed well by the music, especially with the Velociraptors prowling around. But for iconicity and sheer terror, Jaws is still unbeaten in my books. One of the most simple leit motifs in history, and still one of the most effective (I am excluding Psycho since I have not seen it, although I am aware while Jaws owes a lot to Psycho, not just in soundtrack but in editing and filming as well). Although it is like comparing apples and oranges, I’m going to go with Jaws here simply because it does a slightly better job of conveying emotion, probably because the emotion is one of the most primeval; fear. Overall experience: Not really a comparison because they do differ rather in what they set out to do. Jurassic Park was intended to be a high-octane Sci-Fi adventure with undertones of man vs. nature, while Jaws was intended to be a thriller adventure with some elements of horror. I’ll admit there were elements in horror in Jurassic Park as well, but much of the time they were either underplayed or put in for laughs (the scene with the lawyer is still one of the best moments in cinematic history where you actually cheer on the monster!). I know I have been a bit harsh on Jurassic Park and you’re probably wondering why I keep it in my top 10, but not only is it a nostalgic pleasure trip which I grew up with, but also an extremely entertaining movie overall. But as I said before, Jaws is technically a much better film, and I’d put Jaws on before Jurassic Park any day. Both are still brilliant though, both at the top of their class and both two of Spielberg’s finest.