Jurassic Park (film)

"For me, honestly, if I had the choice, I would not have chosen to bifurcate my attention between Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park, because that in itself was a very bipolar experience for me. To be shooting the story of the Holocaust and at the same time, getting these effects of dinosaurs from an entirely different kind of motion picture genre to look believable to audiences."

"I am often asked if I would have liked to have been involved with Jurassic Park. The plain answer is no. Although excellent, it is not with all its dollars what I would have wished to do with my career. I was always a loner and worked best that way. Since the very beginning I fought and struggled under constant pressure to keep the design and final result within my hands. As time moved on this became more difficult, until I was forced to bow to the fact that my method of working, in the financial sense, was no longer practical. Model animation has been relegated to a reflection, or a starting point for creature computer effects that has reached a high few could have anticipated. However, for all the wonderful achievements of the computer, the process creates creatures that are too realistic and for me that makes them unreal because they have lost one vital element - a dream quality. Fantasy, for me, is realizing strange beings that are so removed from the 21st century. These beings would include not only dinosaurs, because no matter what the scientists say, we still dont know how dinosaurs looked or moved, but also creatures of the mind. Fantastical creatures where the unreal quality becomes even more vital. Stop-motion supplies the perfect breath of life for them, offering a look of pure fantasy because their movements are beyond anything we know."

"Laura Dern – Dr. Ellie Sattler"

"Jeff Goldblum – Dr. Ian Malcolm"

"[seeing the Brachiosaur for the first time] Uh…its…its a dinosaur!"

"[stunned after seeing the dinosaurs for the first time] Theyre moving in herds. They do move in herds."

"T. rex doesnt want to be fed. He wants to hunt. Cant just suppress 65 million years of gut instinct."

"The world has just changed so radically, and were all running to catch up. I dont want to jump to any conclusions, but look… Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution, have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?"

"Hammond, after some consideration, Ive decided not to endorse your park."

"[on the Triceratops] Ellie, this one was always my favorite when I was a kid. And now Ive seen one, its the most beautiful thing I ever saw."

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should."

"[responding to an unimpressed 10-year-old] Now try to imagine yourself in the Cretaceous Period. You get your first look at this "six foot turkey" as you enter a clearing. He moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing his head. And you keep still because you think that maybe his visual acuity is based on movement like T. rex; hell lose you if you dont move. But no, not Velociraptor. You stare at him…and he just stares right back. And thats when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side. [brings two fingers together with a whooshing sound] From the other two raptors…you didnt even know were there. [beat] Because Velociraptors a pack hunter, you see, he uses coordinated attack patterns and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this: [produces a claw] a six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the middle toe. He doesnt bother to bite your jugular like a lion, oh no…he slashes at you here [makes slashing motions below the childs chest] or here… [above the groin] or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you. So, you know…try to show a little respect."