About this Piece

Novelist Michael Crichton was a master of the “techno-thriller,” in which he extrapolated contemporary scientific knowledge into dangerous future possibilities; the result was a series of bestsellers including The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, Sphere, and Jurassic Park.

He began writing Jurassic Park in 1983, imagining that dinosaurs could be cloned from ancient DNA. He worked on it for several years, and its 1990 publication—in which the creatures were the main attraction for visitors at an island theme park—was met with huge book sales and an immediate commitment from Steven Spielberg to turn it into a big-screen summer blockbuster with astounding visual effects.

In the 1993 film, Sam Neill and Laura Dern play scientists who visit the island, Richard Attenborough a billionaire businessman who masterminds the entire operation. John Williams’ two main themes have become among his most popular: a celebratory fanfare and high-spirited adventure theme that accompanies the scientists’ initial visit to the island and music of awe and beauty for the gentle, majestic creatures they first encounter there.

Jurassic Park pioneered the extensive use of computer-generated visual effects that is commonplace today; it won three Oscars for its innovative visual and sound work. It eventually made more than $1 billion and launched a franchise that includes six sequels, most recently last summer’s Jurassic World: Rebirth.

—Jon Burlingame