For many years, Jurassic Park has been one of my favourite movie franchises, just tailing Star Wars. I love all of the movies of the Jurassic Park franchise but nothing can beat the original movie. I have probably watched the movie at least five times. However, upon a recent viewing, I noticed something different: the sounds.

Jurassic Park could be almost as good if you only heard the movie and didn't actually see anything. In today's article, I look through my favourite sounds and noises in the film. I look at three distinct sounds which help make the film an incredible masterpiece.

Of course, the most obvious sounds that come to mind when thinking of Jurassic Park are the distinctive dinosaur roars. The many dinosaurs that are seen in Jurassic Park all have a unique growl or roar that would seem out of place if placed with a different animal. Basing a movie on creatures that existed millions of years ago meant that the sound designers had the task of inventing a sound for a creature they had never seen, let alone heard. The sound designers blended and edited many different animal sounds including geese, horses, dolphins, dogs, elephants, and even mating tortoises. This resulted in recognisable sounds that fitted their animal perfectly. My favourite dinosaur sounds of Jurassic Park would be the classic T. Rex roar, the velociraptor hisses and growls, and the brachiosaurus wails.

The other most iconic sound of Jurassic Park would be the incredible score that is paired with the movie. Of course, the score was written by John Williams so it was inevitable that it would become iconic. If you read my article counting down my favourite John Williams scores, you'll know that (spoiler alert) Jurassic Park topped the list. The themes from Jurassic Park are my favourite John Williams pieces and my favourite songs ever heard in cinema. The sequels to Jurassic Park also had some great themes but nothing has been able to top the original. The main theme reflects the magic and wonder of Jurassic Park but also incorporates the suspense seen in the movie. If you haven't listened to the album, you are missing out! Stop reading this article and go listen to it. Like I said, "Theme From Jurassic Park" is my favourite but I also adore "Opening Titles". This theme isn't explored later in the movie, making the opening credits so much more memorable. When you hear the song, you can easily picture in your mind a velociraptor lurking around the corner. I also love "Welcome To Jurassic Park" and "Journey To The Island" so if you don't have the patience to listen to the whole hour and ten minutes, promise me you'll listen to those four songs.

The final sound that I love in Jurassic Park is less obvious than the other two. This is the ambient noise. By ambient noise, I mean what you would hear if you stopped the music and dialogue in the movie and just sat and listened to the world around you. The sounds of crickets, thunder, rain falling, and distant dinosaurs make the audience feel fully immersed. I have found a video online that plays an hour of this noise that I was talking about. I love putting this on and pretending to be on the island.

These sounds of Jurassic Park are my favourites, however, there are many others that I haven't mentioned. These sounds fully immerse the audience and it is this vibrant soundscape that makes the film a favourite. It is no wonder it won an Oscar for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing.

Article by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 30/05/22