Steven Spielberg’s iconic blockbuster “Jurassic Park” (1993) celebrates its 30th anniversary this summer.
This Saturday, the National Symphony Orchestra performs the score live for a screening at Wolf Trap.
“Can you believe that it was 30 years ago when this came out?” NSO Pops Conductor Steven Reineke told WTOP. “The movie holds up so well. A lot of people can remember where they were when they first saw the movie. There was so much hype about it and I certainly remember very vividly, it was kind of a turning point in my musical life actually when I saw this movie. I was 21 years old and, yeah, it was very special.”
The live orchestra will perform the score from start to finish with one intermission as the full movie is projected onto a giant screen inside the Filene Center pavilion, as well as other screens for folks on the lawn.
“It really was the most groundbreaking CGI that anybody had every seen,” Reneike said. “That mixed with the animatronics of the T-Rex and raptors, it gave you this real sense of belief. I remember watching it like many people thinking, ‘What am I watching? This is astounding.’ Obviously, CGI has come a long way since then, but it still looks so good and still gives you that magical feeling like you’re seeing real dinosaurs.”
Composer John Williams’ masterful score features two popular themes, starting with the main suite.
“When they see them for the first time out in the field, the brontosaurus, it’s just a majestic feeling — and John’s music put on top of that, it’s the first time you hear one of the big main themes and it’s so special,” Reineke said. “John knew he needed a couple of themes like ‘Close Encounters’ that would be awe-inspiring, not a sense of fear but joy, this jaw-dropping sensation … this more serene ballad that has a big build.”
There’s also the rousing “Welcome to Jurassic Park” as the jeeps enter the park’s giant gate.
“That’s more of a march,” Reineke said. “That is mainly driven by the brass and percussion and of course the French horns. … It’s just such a striking theme and, I mean listen to us, we all know that. We hear that theme and you know exactly what it is. John just has this incredible knack of writing themes that are so memorable and they become iconic. You hear it and it immediately takes you back to the film. They’re inseparable.”
Ironically, those main themes come easier to Williams than the passages in between.
“He said those main themes are so easy; the hard part is where the T-Rex is chasing them in the dark, the guy gets trapped in the outhouse and the T-Rex eats him,” Reineke said. “I talked to John about this a year ago because I got to conduct this ‘Jurassic Park’ score, as well as ‘E.T.,’ in front of John Williams and Steven Spielberg at the Kennedy Center last summer for John’s 90th birthday. Talk about nerve-wracking!”
Listen to our full conversation here.
