4. Steven Spielbergs Direction
If anyone knows how to introduce, build, and execute an awesome dinosaur attack sequence, its Steven Spielberg. My favorite example; the T-Rex jeep attack. It starts with our main characters sitting idly, and a simple close-up of a cup of water, still at first, but suddenly disturbed by a distant impact. One bloody goat leg and broken fence later, and all hell breaks lose. But the ability with which Spielberg is able to sustain the suspense for several minutes, even after the T-Rex arrives, is truly incredible. With his subtle camerawork, alternating between wide shots of the huge T-Rex and close ups of the tiny frightened humans, he creates a dichotomy of interior safety/exterior danger. He expertly plays with size dimensions to disconcerting effect, exemplified best by the mirror shot - Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. These elements come closer and closer together right up until the moment the T-Rex smashes through Lex and Tims car, eradicating the fragile safety barrier and plunging us into danger on all fronts. The suspense had built for so long that the release is simultaneously horrifying and satisfying. It may be my absolute favorite example of suspense filmmaking. The Brachiosaur reveal also deserves a special mention. Accomplished first through close-ups of his actors with that Spielbergian look of awe, a wide shot then reveals the Brachiosaur in all his glory. It creates a meta experience that unites both characters and audience in a transcendent moment of pure wonder.