Steven Spielberg has directed quite a few films during his career that became classics. For Jurassic Park, he drew inspiration from one of his own works, which was for a specific reason.
The career of Steven Spielberg began in 1972 with his television film Duel. Just three years later, he achieved major success when Jaws hit theaters and became one of the first real blockbusters.
In the following years, he achieved success with films like E.T., Indiana Jones, or Jurassic Park. The latter was made during a very special time in Spielberg’s career, and the director himself admits that in some ways he borrowed from one of his earlier films.
Swap Shark for Dinosaur
How did Jurassic Park come about? 1993 was a special year for Steven Spielberg. Two films that are now undisputedly among his best were released: Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List.
Both are fundamentally different. While Schindler’s List is a dark Holocaust drama, Jurassic Park clearly falls into the summer blockbuster category. Spielberg filmed both movies within a few months – even though good friends helped him along the way.
Nevertheless, the project Schindler’s List was so complex and challenging that Spielberg decided to take an easier path with his dinosaur film. In an interview with The New Yorker, he said:
I am not ashamed to say that with Jurassic Park, I was actually just trying to make a good sequel to Jaws. On land. That’s shameless – I can tell you that now. But nowadays I prefer to make the more difficult choices. Schindler’s List just challenged me so much and fulfilled me and disturbed me so deeply.
Steven Spielberg
In fact, there are some parallels between Jaws and Jurassic Park. Foremost is the monster that terrorizes people and instills fear. Those people believe, however, that they have control over nature and the animals living in it – in both cases a fallacy.
Additionally, Spielberg employs similar techniques: He reveals the monster gradually. This creates tension, as Alfred Hitchcock perfected in his films.
As a role model, Spielberg couldn’t have chosen a better film. Jaws is still considered a masterpiece of animal horror films and caused a real panic at beaches when it was released.
Spielberg’s statement also shows that the director might work differently today. This would likely lead to more innovative ideas, yet ultimately Jurassic Park has turned out to be an incredibly watchable and thrilling film despite the similarities to Jaws.
It is also much better suited for younger viewers and narratively lighter than the shark film from the 70s. And Schindler’s List is a film that continues to touch audiences today. It is understandable that the challenging subject of the film demanded Spielberg’s full attention at the time. It also led him to a different kind of success: Steven Spielberg submitted two blockbusters and finally got his university degree
