I was 4 years old when my parents bought Jurassic Park on VHS for our family to watch completely forgetting how intense it was. I was glued to the TV. I was super scared that night but the next morning I asked my Mom if I could watch it again. It's been one of my all time favorite movies ever since and I've owned it on VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, Blu Ray, and I'll probably cave and get the 4k just because. This was an awesome video Jeff!

I still remember how I felt when I was watching it in the theater, I was blown away by the special effects, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for the whole movie, and that’s all I could talk about for the next few weeks after I saw it! And I still love that movie as much as I did when I first watched it, in fact I watched it again just 2 days ago and even after all these years, I’m still amazed by the special effects, nothing can beat the T-Rex reveal scene!!

The DTS Laserdisc supposedly has the best audio transfer out of all the Jurassic Park releases as it is taken from the theatrical DTS 6-Track and has the best dynamic range which is not seen in any future release.

I still have the DTS LASERDISC

The Making of Jurassic Park was also released on VHS in May of 1995. I still have mine! JP still holds the record of how many times I've seen a movie in theaters. 11 times during initial release (not bad for a 10 year old), one time for the 3D release, and three times during the pandemic.

Saw it at the Theater when was 12, this one and Terminator 2 were the best experiences I had at the movie theater.

Remember I was in a hospital for a week, and the first thing I did when I came out was to watch this in the theater with DTS. First time DTS was even a thing. Not gonna forget that, ever.

One little nitpick: the original VHS was available in Letterboxed in the states on the same day as the original October release. I was able to reserve a copy at Suncoast.

The CGI/practical FX holds up remarkably well over the decades and still one of the best sound designs ever. I was 24 when I saw it in the theaters I remember everyone gasping in awe when the brachiosaurus first appeared on screen. It is no surprise Disney dominated the VHS sales in the 90's

When I was 4 my brothers gave me all there power rangers and toho Godzilla vhs. At the top of the box was Jurassic Park. I watch that film probably more then any film and it deserves all the praise

I know this movie inside and out. It's my number 1 favorite movie of all time. I'm only 21, but I've been watching this movie since I was 2. Thank you for talking about it. Can't wait for Dominion!

Great video! I made some chapter timestamps, feel free to paste them into the description if you want: 0:00 Intro 0:44 Theatrical Release (1993) 1:34 VHS and Laserdisc (1994) 2:28 NBC TV Broadcast (1995) 3:21 The Making of Jurassic Park Laserdisc (1995) 3:49 Widescreen VHS and Laserdisc (1997) 4:45 VHS and DVD (2000) 5:37 Collector's Edition DVD Box Set (2000) 5:53 Jurassic Park DVD Trilogy (2001) 6:09 15th Anniversary / Adventure Pack DVD (2004) 6:29 Ultimate Trilogy Blu-ray (2011) 6:57 Universal Anniversary Set / Blu-ray (2012) 7:23 20th Anniversary 3D Theatrical Release (2013) 7:50 20th Anniversary 3D Blu-ray (2013) 8:11 25th Anniversary 4K Box Set (2018) 9:20 Standalone 4K Editions (2022)

Just bought the 4k this week at target. Man I remember watching it in the theaters. Playing the Super Nintendo game which introduced Dolby Surround sound for the first time in a video game. This movie had an amazing soundtrack. One for the ages for sure. One thing you didn't mention Jeff was that the DVD did come with DTS sound. At least depending which copy you purchased. I still own to this day the DTS version. Thanks again for an awesome video.

Jurassic Park is one of those movies I purchased brand new at a drugstore on VHS, and eventually I bought it on DVD widescreen, and also bought it on Blu Ray!

I have almost every single one of these releases including the laser disc. You should definitely keep doing these home video history lessons, very cool 👍

When a new independent theater opens up a few years ago, they had a launch party with a free screening of Jurassic Park. It was my first time swing in theaters after being relegated to vhs and dvd (I seem to recall it was one of my first dvds). I remember specifically look for the DTS version even tho I had no way of playing a DTS audio track or a had anything remotely close to a home theater system.

I found the DTS version of Jurassic park 1 and 2 last year for a couple dollars. They sound amazing

I purchased my first laserdisc player in 1995. This was one of the first LD's I bought. I believe that it cost around $40. I still have it.

I don't think I've seen a more impressive movie in the theaters than watching Jurassic Park when it first came out. It probably helps that I was 15 at the time, so it left a huge impression. So much so that I immediately bought the book and speed read it in a day. That's crazy about the number of people that watched a network broadcast of it 2 years later. That will certainly never happen again.

I remember seeing this on its release date in 93, and have collected the VHS, DVD, bluray and the 3D blu-ray, which is an incredible conversion. I am one of the few diehard 3D bluray collectors left standing, but Jurassic Park is a jewel among any 3D collection.

The VHS & DVD releases of Jurassic Park in full screen was actually open matte, although the CGI shots were pan and scan. There was also a letterboxed edition back when it first came out on VHS in 1994.

I still have my suitcase from the opening of the movie from 1993. From when I was 7 years old

I saw this film around the age of 4-5. It has stuck with me ever since. I still have my VHS copy. Jurassic Park is the reason that I'm a filmmaker. My favorite film. Thank you for doing this!

There was a widescreen VHS of the movie released on the same day as the first pan-and-scan VHS. I preordered it and bought it, and the guy at Suncoast asked which version I'd prefer.

Awesome! Thanks Jeff! 🙏🏻

This movie is and always will be a classic. A gem in visuals, sound, and story telling. A movie that really does belong in everyone’s collection. This was a great watch, had fun watching this and the history of home media.

For me the Pal Widescreen Laser Disc was outstanding at the time, wonderful picture and audio. Today, its the 4K disc all the way.

The sound mix for JP on the DTS Laserdisc is beast. That and the 3d blu-ray are my favourite way to watch, other than at a cinema on 35mm. Love this movie.

I remember when Jurassic Park released at the theaters back in 1993 it played for over 6 months, now movies are rushed so fast to cinema then to home media, if studios let movies playout more in theaters maybe they would do better at the Box Office. Jurassic Park was one of my first video cassette tapes and is what really got me started in physical media collecting back when it first released in the early 90's to which now I own 7,000 movies spread across Blu-ray, 4K UHD disc and DVD.

There was also a white box set in 2014 and it had a slot for Jurassic world when it was released

My family had the first 3 movies on VHS and they were all on heavy rotation in our VCR during my childhood.

When my stepfather was alive he likes Jurassic Park and he used to have the special edition on VHS 📼.

My brothers and I watched it every single day after school for a couple weeks when we got it on VHS.

I was a 12-year-old kid and watched it in the theater on opening day and the two nights thereafter. What a memory. I will hold off on getting this on 4K blu-ray, based on your information. Thanks!

hope to get the new box set soon in 4K and one of my favourite classic sci fi horror adventure movies by Steven Spielberg and I was 6 years old the first time I saw it as a kid in 1995 on vhs and on tv

the VHS release of Jurassic Park was an event for me, it was released days after my 10th birthday and i had my mom buy the vhs from Target in the morning so i could watch it with Pizza Hut that night, I watched that copy maybe 10 times first year i had it loved Jurassic Park

There was a same day VHS release of Jurassic Park in Letterbox format as well, I bought two of them. Also, once Jurassic Park III hit DVD I remember having to send away for the silver and red box to put all three films into, I remember that because my box arrived badly crushed lol.

This video just makes me wanna go and rewatch Jurassic Park.

This is my favorite movie all time. Thank you, good to know the history.

Jurassic Park is by far my best movie theatre experience. We owned it on VHS first. Later I bought the DVD, then the Bluray. I found the bluray very grainy, to the point were it got distracting in the darker scenes. So much grain that I started looking for a better alternative. I found that on iTunes. Now I own the 4K disc and it's the best version I ever had.

jeff, great job on the video i liked the part where you mentioned that jurassic park premiered on nbc i believe the first time i saw this film was on vhs but given the jurassic world films are popular, its good to revisit the earlier installments there are moments in the first movie that are humorous and ones that seem like it came out of a sitcom, which im refering to Nedry i was wondering if the next one could be a Home video history of Star wars, apparently that film and its sequels has a deeper history and sometimes a rather confusing one

I saw the 3-D conversion of Jurassic Park in theaters and was very impressed. The tech and techniques were quite mature at the time so many tricks were used (comparison videos are out there on KZfaq where you can see changes made to specific assets to solve 3D problems). I picked up the 3-D Blu-ray and it is a favorite with my kids.

Yes I have the 3D jurassic Park from 2013. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it in theaters.

I had a bit of luck when I moved to Glendale, Ca.in the year 2000 because I worked doing special effects make-up in films, and one day I walked into the Tower Record on Broadway St. and who did I meet? I looked up and to my surprise it was Dennis Muren standing there looking at the CD's. I instantly recognized him, and couldn't resist to approach and talk to him. He was very pleasant and even knew of an effects make-up guy from Chicago, which is where I am from, that we both knew. He also told me he was there because he came in for a meeting for a film he was going to be working on (he didn't mention the name of the film however) I also saw Stan Winston at a Make-up Trade show and talked to him. Sure miss his contributions to film since his passing. Also Jeff, you mentioned how expensive Laser Disc were in the 90's, well when Studio's first released films on to Betamax in the early 80's they cost close to $100.00 if not.

You missed one. There actually was a DTS DVD release of Jurassic Park. I had it. Apparently, after digging on the web, there were two releases of this DVD. One in which the bass wasn’t up to par, and Universal quietly corrected it. Great work as always!

Anyone remember the scene when the T-rex ate that dude in the toilet? Man, did that the scare me. Great in-depth video, Jeff.

My mom rented this when I was 6 or 7 when it was new and I LOVED it. I have the vhs, dvd, bluray, and 4k. I literally tear up everytime I see the trailer for the new one.

The 3D version has a super clean transfer. I'm not sure if it's because of the conversion, but there's virtually no grain or anything. It looks pristine.

Grant “How did you do this?” Hammond “I’ll show you” Goosebumps everytime

They actually did make DTS Collector’s Edition DVD’s of both Jurassic Park and The Lost World in 2000. Both their DTS tracks sound awesome!

Loving these deep dives into individual home video movie releases over the years - keep it up!!

People forget- there wasn’t really any other way to see the film. I think in Australia we had to wait until 96 before it came on tv. Before that we would have to rent the vhs. The waiting made you love the film even more

I had the DTS laserdisc even though I don't have a way to play back DTS on LD. I actually just sold it fairly recently, though I kind of wish I would have held on to it!

I still have my Jurassic Park vhs from when I was a little kid. Whew the nostalgia

Just had the pleasure of watching this at the Alamo and seeing it on film was just an incredible experience cuz my GF had never seen it before. can’t wait to pop in the 4k

Huh, JP, lost world, and JP 3 and jurassic world has been available with slipcovers in 4k for well over a year in Europe. I've had them on my shelf for a good while...

I previously owned Jurassic Park on Laser Disc. It was a great demo disc back in the day especially for surround sound.

Got re-released again but this time as part of the Jurassic World Ultimate Collection

Hell yeah, this series is a great idea, and nice coverage man! It's really cool to hear about things like Laser disc having superior audio to the first DVD, and the cable TV broadcast numbers. I can't tell you how many time I watched Jurassic Park on VHS. Whenever I was home sick from school, it was either Star Wars Trilogy or Jurassic Park/Lost World marathon.

I love this series of videos. Keep them going!!!

Saw it in theater as a kid, and I remember the wait for the home video release seemed like FOREVER. I swear it seemed like it took over a year for the VHS to come out, which is interminable for a kid

I saw the 3d theatrical screening of JP and it is still the best 3d movie ive ever seen. Very well done!!!

A good thing that Universal Pictures canceled their copy right dispute. They should actually pay you for making this mini history documentary about the Jurassic serie. I enjoyed watching it 👍

There was def a DTS dvd release of Jurassic park in Aus before bluray.

when i was a kid my parents bought me a VHS 2-pack at Costco that had Jurassic Park and The Making of Jurassic Park. I watched the making of more than the actual movie, it's def one of the movies that made me become interested in how movies are made.

The first widescreen release of the film was not the widescreen VHS or the DTS laserdisc. The very first laserdisc releases of the film were available in widescreen. I owned the CAV 3-disc edition box set, and later the DTS laserdisc version. Laserdisc enthusiasts enjoyed widescreen releases long before those who only watched VHS. Also, Criterion has been issuing films in that format since their founding in 1984.

It should be noted that the 2011 Blu-ray is also present in the Steven Spielberg Blu-ray set that contains the films he did for Universal barring Schindler's List. I remember the VHS when it came out. It was the one everyone had come Christmas time since I knew nobody that had laserdisc. The film was 1:85, so you wouldn't be losing as much picture as let's say Jaws. I believe the VHS was also open matte, so the sides were somewhat cropped, but more was shown on the top and bottom. However, since the intended ratio is 1:85, there's more of a risk that you could see boom mics, camera crews, or other things not meant to be seen.

These deep dives are so cool! Would love to see more of these from you and the channel!

really enjoyed this, thx!

This would be a footnote, but the first HD release of Jurassic Park was the Hi-Vision (MUSE) LaserDisc release in Japan. Although the equipment cost a fortune at the time, it was the best quality image you could get until the 2000s with the rise of digital HDTV.

Yes I bought the VHS , played it with my Sansui system with Advent Speakers and a cheap Subwoofer making it a 2.1, we had a Jurassic Party for the kids and I played the movie, the kids got scared, ran out the room and started crying while watching it on a 32” TV, Wow those where the days.

This is THE best video you have done. Takes me back to memory lane.

The DVD release had its own stand alone DTS copy as well as the DD version. Not many people had DTS DVD comparable players. I imported it from America. Sounds great even today.

I cannot wait to see the collectors edition of the full saga once Dominion is out on blu ray, and the arm I'm gonna lose to get it.

Jurassic Park was actually shot in full screen 4:3 (minus a few CGI shots), then cropped for theaters.

Jurassic Park's 1st DVD release did have DTS copies, albeit separate and with lesser features to make up for the sound data on the disc.

The first HD release was in February 1996 in Japan in Hi-Vision Laserdisc in 1035i60 with 3+1 discreet audio.

Literally JUST got done watching the 4k disc lol

Fantastic video, as usual. This series is fantastic. Can't wait to see the next one!

The 3D one is the best disc, hands down.

They had separate dts releases for both Jurassic Park and Lost World.. These editions were dts only and dolby surround track

I was waiting for them to put an individual release out on the first film in 4k. Glad to see that they finally did. At this point, though, we're so close to the 30th anniversary that I feel like a proper 4K remaster might very well be on its way, so I'm going to wait for a while longer before I pick it up.

This is the best video I've ever watched on this channel. Astounded at the amount of marketing promo footage you managed to unearth. Awesome.

How do the 4k transfers stack up against the blue ray, worth the upgrade if you have the blue rays already?

Absolutely amazing video

I'm pretty certain when the trilogy got that DVD release after JP3 came out there was also a VHS release of the trilogy. Great video either way, I remember when my family got their first DVD player second hand in the early 2000's someone had left the disc for The Lost World in the player, so for years the disc just rattled around loose in the Jurassic Park box.

I still have the original Trilogy on VHS and DVD. Also have the Blu-ray boxset and now the 4K versions. I do not miss watching VHS. And when you grew up watching movies on that format, you really appreciate Blu-ray and 4K like nothing else.

I was very lucky to find a copy of the DTS laserdisc. It sounds stunning!!

I had the VHS tape and then got the Collector's Edition DTS DVD - which I still have and watch to this day - but I ended up getting the infamous defective disc with the bad LFE track. Universal had the replacement program at that time, though, and I got a new one from them.

I wish they still did animatronics like they used to. Looks so much better

Still rockin my 3d BluRay disc. 3d is not dead.

I hope we will get a new 4K restoration of the original movie, maybe for its 30th anniversary next year.

My uncle has the DTS Laserdisc, he says it’s “Too Loud” 🤣

2:42 *network television* NBC is a television network, not a cable channel. Keep up the otherwise excellent work, dude!!

Thank you!

God I LOVED that 15th Anniversary DVD set, watched all the movies on there for the first time and they were amazing as a kid, I was obsessed with the packaging. Got a chance to see the original in theaters in 3D, and let me tell you, that was an amazing experience that I encourage anybody to go see.

I've got a VHS of Jurassic Park in a limited edition plastic "rock" case. It's so precious 5:29 WOW! I remember that website vividly as shown in this video. How I discovered the upcoming JP3 and it's new logo !

They actually did release DTS on the individual dvds. It was another Universal screw up. There was Full-Frame Dolby, Widescreen Dolby, Full-Frame DTS, & Widescreen DTS. The right/left audio channels were reversed on the DTS releases and they had to recall them.

A wide-screen vhs came out too in 93

Great video, worth the wait