Express & Star

Jurassic Park In Concert, Symphony Hall, Birmingham - review

Dinosaurs ruled the Earth once more yesterday as Birmingham Symphony Hall screened Steven Spielberg classic Jurassic Park with a live orchestra.

Published
Jurassic Park

Featuring one of John Williams’ most iconic musical scores, Jurassic Park transformed the movie-going experience for an entire generation and became the highest-grossing film of all time in 1993, winning three Academy Awards.

Based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton and starring the likes of Richard Attenborough, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill and Laura Dern; Jurassic Park transports us to Isla Nubar, a secluded island where scientists have succeeded in reviving dinosaurs in a brand new, immersive theme park.

And last night, fans experienced the classic film like never before in full HD and with a live orchestra performing the thrilling score.

It's easy to let the music of a film wash over us as the action on-screen grips our attention, but with a full symphony orchestra in front of your eyes, it's a little harder.

Every iconic scene - from the first moment you see Brachiosaurus traverse the plains of Jurassic Park, through to the hatching of a Velociraptor and the tense moment a Tyrannosaurus Rex preys upon our heroes - was given a brand new layer of emotion as the music that illustrates these scenes was played before our very eyes.

A scene from Jurassic Park

It truly made me appreciate the amount of work that goes into creating the sound that drives the entire atmosphere of the blockbuster film as I watched each member of the orchestra play faultlessly, and in perfect synchronicity.

It was interesting to see exactly which instruments created which sounds within the score, as well as awe-inspiring to witness how so many people were needed to create even the shortest pieces.

Including everything from violins, cellos, cymbals, brass instruments and more - the orchestra played the score perfectly at all times and successfully created an exciting atmosphere to accompany the action flick.

Despite watching the film hundreds of times in my lifetime, I still found myself on the edge of my seat and marvelling at the grandiose scenes in high definition as I was completely drawn in by the electric atmosphere of the event.

A thrilling day out for the entire family - Jurassic Park In Concert allowed fans of all ages to experience the iconic film and score in a fresh and exciting new way.