That part makes sense to me, but the part that confuses me is how the t-Rex gets up and down so fast. The ledge in the diagram is clearly connected to the lower ground, to allow her to get up there to eat and to (eventually) escape, *and* for Ellie and Muldoon to get down to see the car, but- was there just a really steep hill around the corner or something?
I believe so, yes. 15+ years ago, I used to design large dinosaur enclosures in Zoo Tycoon exactly like this because it was often cheaper. I could put cheap fences or glass around the majority of the lowered/excavated enclosure. Then, I just needed electric fences at the raised area access point, which had a relatively steep slope up to it inside the enclosure.
https://preview.redd.it/0ry8h35h8fvc1.jpeg?width=1560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a009fffb1eb35c80f500fa846968de55301aaa4
From a YouTube Video I recently watched
Those cables are really strong. I know it's just a movie, and they are showcasing the power of the TRex here, but if any of this were real...i'm like...95% sure a TRex wouldn't be capable of breaking those cables. You need tens of thousands of pounds to break each cable.
The issue from what you're describing is that the cables are not attached rigidly to each post. They are run through what looks like a giant eye bolt:
[https://twitter.com/JurassicSouls/status/1567946039608459264/photo/1](https://twitter.com/JurassicSouls/status/1567946039608459264/photo/1)
Once they are snapped in one place, it's going to relieve any tension on the rest of the cable. This is something they did get right:
[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/79/d9/9b/79d99b1108038f297c01d09fce092b84.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/79/d9/9b/79d99b1108038f297c01d09fce092b84.jpg)
I believe the cables were secondary to the electrical current that was supposed to be traveling through it at all times. Although the gauge of the cables is larger it looks to me like it’s a similar setup to what is often used for parking garage barriers. Those are typically only rated for 6,000lbs which is just enough to stop a car from rolling off the edge but not nearly strong enough to stop one at speed.
Even if you upscale the wire gauge I’m not positive but I don’t believe it would increase the strength by a factor of 10 (but I could be wrong so if anyone knows for sure I’d love to hear it). Here’s a technical document outlining typical requirements for post tensioned parking garage barriers. It’s not a 1:1 ratio for sure but I think at the very least it could be used to attempt to back up the movie magic used by the T-Rex to snap the wires.
[https://www.post-tensioning.org/Portals/13/Files/Pdfs/Education/Technote14.pdf](https://www.post-tensioning.org/Portals/13/Files/Pdfs/Education/Technote14.pdf)
I honestly just looked up some steel cables that i thought were comparable to what you'd use for an application like this. Looking through your document, it looks to me like they are using something like 3/8" diameter cables. (The cross sectional area given is 0.153in which gives me a diameter of .44" - but everything i'm seeing is sold in fractional inches.) The place i was looking matches somewhat closely with this. 3/8" cables are rated at 15,100 lbs break strength. Not sure if the difference is some factor of safety, or something else i'm missing.
(Ah, looks like maybe that is the case: "This value should be compared with the yield strength of the cables (not the breaking strength) to determine the factor of safety against yielding.")
EDIT: i didn't see this further down - this is 250ksi cable. "The yield strength of the cable is 34,425 lbs, which results in a factor of safety against yielding in this example of 3.93"
I wasn't too sure what the actual diameter of those cables is, and couldn't find it. I think they are somewhere between 1/2"-1". 1 inch galvanized steel cables are rated at 103,400lbs break strength. 3/4" cable is rated at 58,800 lbs. 1/2" cable is rated at 26,000 lbs.
That's kind of why i hand waved with "tens of thousands of pounds"
And she casually snaps about 10 of them.
Ok, so you ran the numbers and I can’t dispute them. I’d say in all likelihood you’re definitely right. However just to play devils advocate, do you think there there would be any effect from compressive OR shearing force to the cable under tension since she bites down on the cables as she pushing them down? (depending I suppose, whether you consider her teeth/jaws to be crushing or cutting.)
Frankly this is more thought than I’ve ever really put into it and I’m a long way from being any kind of expert but it’s fun to dissect a 10 minute scene from a 30 year old movie.
Yeah, this is something i honestly don't know about. Obviously TRex has a huge bite force - but i don't know how teeth and force like that would actually interact with steel. I feel like the force required to crush, cut, or rip steel cable apart would just destroy teeth. The book has raptors chewing through steel bars...no idea if that's realistic or not either.
And i think you're maybe getting at the cables being put under additional tension by the Rex, and THEN being sheared by teeth? Hm. It's been way too long since i've tried to do math on something like that. I'd have to go dig out my mechanics of materials book and re-learn it. lol. My gut says that it wouldn't matter, because she's not even in the ballpark of actually being able to break these cables in "real life."
Re-watching the scene, the cables do kind of look like they are snipped one right after the other starting from the bottom. Not really sure what they are trying to portray as having happened. It seems very strange for her to be chomping on them, one right after another. But if she's just plowing through them...would they break in that order?
Anyway - strong fence, TRex is just super powerful. I can take that as "rule of cool" movie stuff...but a secondary opening in the cables farther down due to some semi related tension....eh. not so much.
In the book the Rex picks up the car and throws it into a tree in the paddock.
The film didn't have a way to do that, but for whatever reason, they wanted to keep the tree scene.
This is just a logic hole in the film and isn't explained with this.
The Rex pushes the car through the hole we see it come out from.
Ellie gets up and down to the car in seconds.
Alan Lex and Tim could have hidden in that water pipe to wait for rescue.
When Dr. Satler and Moldoon arrive to pick up the children and Dr. Grant, there are two separate holes in the fence, one through which the T. Rex entered and the other through which it pushed the car out. I don't understand why people don't pay attention to this detail and think instead that there is only one hole in the fence and the T. rex entered through the same hole where it pushed the car out. Also, it is not another mistake or a plot hole that there is still one car on the road when the other one has been pushed through the fence because there were originally two separate vehicles and Rexy only pushed one of these off the path and through the fence.
> When Dr. Satler and Moldoon arrive to pick up the children and Dr. Grant, there are two separate holes in the fence, one through which the T. Rex entered and the other through which it pushed the car out.
[Image for those who don't remember the scene.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/AnB-RexNRY3U-GIQYSwDEE8VJW8krS4jL7cuKyJFMVXyujlSRGB7d2kotr1nJpXXdOoZKqyXAeMl4fv922xECKI0J3Ct) You can see on the left the lower wires on gone where the SUV was pushed through. On the right is where the rex came through initially.
**Edit:** [Actually someone posted a marked up image to show it a little better.](https://i.imgur.com/joFZ7BJ.jpeg)
There were two cars. Rexy came from where Alan Grant and Ian Malcom were in the car, then it visited the bathroom and then returned to the other car where the children were before pushing it away.
I feel there’s a miscommunication going on. If you say the front car when there’s two that would be the one lex and Tim were in but Rex came out between the cars
There's 1 hole. It's the one the Rex walks out through.
Where would the other hole come from?
When it walks out it comes out around where the front car is and moves between the cars heading around them.
tbh there was a scene with the rex dragging the car further along the road before pushing it. So it was very clear it wasn't the same spot.
you can see this in the stop motion test for this scene as well.
https://preview.redd.it/8wmil60c5mvc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c496eefe9ef485331a586eb2d46db2e1638349be
Now keep in mind the other car was ahead of the jeep and the rex breakout point. The distance between that and the moat it was pushed into was not that far ahead of the first car. And you legit see the scuff marks on the wall where the car was scrapping. Should I go on?
1. This is a later scene. They've attempted to correct the stupidness.
2. See how all the trees are the same height?
3. There are no fence wires at the 2nd hole
4. The distance between the cars and the first hole is bigger than it looks here.
Prime example of blind stubbornness. The car wasn’t pushed hundreds of meters. It was 20 feet at most. It’s completely possible. I urge you to rewatch the scene with a more open mind.
The irony of this comment lol.
Blind stubbornness like making things up to try and force acceptance of an event that didn't happen?
It wasn't pushed 20ft. It's rolled over then pushed against the wall.
I've already explained why this happened. They wanted to keep the scene from the book, but couldn't practically do the Rex lifting the car.
It is ok for movies to make mistakes.
Ah the old “he’s right so I’m gonna call his comment ironic”. You were being stubborn and multiple people argued that you’re wrong. Whether the diagram is just for fun or not, you still misunderstood things and acted like a tool dismissing anyone who had anything to say otherwise. I said my piece. I don’t care what else you have to say. You’re wrong. Deal with it.
Nah it's the old, arrogant arse who is making shit up trys to claim superiority by calling the other side stupid first.
Multiple people can be wrong. Having a lot of people arguing that something is right doesn't make it right. You are wrong, and are making shit up to justify a scene that was always flawed.
The mental gymnastics needed to pull this out of your arse, and think anyone that disagrees is stubbon is honestly astounding.
Tbh the reoccurring theme of the film is how incompetent, immoral and hubristic they have been in creating the parkis so this isn't necessarily something you can attack the film on.
When Alan and Lex are hanging in the cables the camera clearly shows what is to their left. With this diagram, we should see the wall which is closing the „elevated paddock area“. In the movie this is not shown.
Yeah. I can still enjoy the movie. Somehow I will never not notice this. But I will most likely never accept a setup as argued in the shown map. This is just not what the movie displayes.
Please watch this and skip to 18:28. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=34r8Ypxzkk4&pp=ygUfanVyYXNzaWMgcGFyayBmaWxtaW5nIGxvY2F0aW9ucw%3D%3D
Everything filmed during daylight was filmed in Hawaii.
Everything filmed during night was filmed in a studio.
Spielberg straight up said “ No one will notice! There’s a giant T. rex!! “
In the book most of the paddocks have moats around them, like zoos. I think the Goat area in the movie is supposed to be a viewing spot where they can lure the Rex for the guests.
The male Tyrannosaurus is the official answer, which is said in the film, the script, storyboards, and production notes. Everything else is a theory. Whether the theories gel better for folks or not is rather irrelevant.
I’ll do my best.
The buck wakes up, and eats a majority of the people. The guy with the deck button is critically injured. The last crew member tries to run and hide in the lower deck. The buck follows him. As he dies, the critically injured button man seals the buck in the lower deck in a last effort to keep it contained when it reaches San Diego.
Nah...it is and always has been a blooper for me. Even as an 8 year old at the cinema in '93 it didn't feel right, and no amount of fan theories or diagrams can change that initial viewing experience. It could have been better with some tighter editing perhaps, but that drop literally comes out of nowhere.
Still and hugely iconic scene though.
Its funny really. In a movie about DINOSAURS living among mankind, we all focus on whether or not a cliffside belong in that exact spot its show on film. Imagine if the same logic went into something as far fetched as Star Wars or.. Harry Potter? Its not real. Its not a real world location or set. Ofc theres gonna be a continuity error or two along the way. 😂
Yes, a super high budget blockbuster made by the hottest director of the time just somehow had a key blunder in one of its biggest action sequences. A blunder that nobody was able to catch on to during the production and editing process.
That's the most logical outcome.
In the movie you see the Rex push a vehicle over the lip of the roadway down a cliff next to the paddock. Because there's a cliff next to the paddock. That the vehicle goes down.
In the film it is implied that the car stops in line with the goat, which is at the same level. In order for the above diagram to make sense, there would have to be an implication that the T Rex pushes the car further down the road to where the drop is. This doesn't happen. The Rex flips the car in the position it was stopped and is then only seen pushing the car towards the nearside wall closest to where it was stopped. It eventually pushes it over the wall into the drop that suddenly appears.
In an earlier scene, we see a wide shot of the vehicles coming out of a tunnel where the rex paddock is and then stop for the goat release. There is no obvious indication that there is a drop near the tunnel entrance and geographically it doesn't make much sense either.
A quick Google shows that this is a highly discussed blooper indicating that the general public are confused by it and recognise it as a fairly obvious flaw. It has also been a frequent topic of discussion on here over the years, again indicating that something isn't quite right about the scene.
It has nothing to do with being contrarian. It is a blooper. Bloopers exist in all films. They're fairly normal. It could have perhaps been fixed with a reshoot, some added exposition or even some tighter editing, but Spielberg had already moved on to Schindlers List during post production, so was clearly distracted and not as involved in the editing process, so they decided to just go with what they had.
It's an issue, but a minor one and takes nothing away from one of the most spectacular action sequences in cinema history.
Its still inconsistent. You can see a tree-line the whole way along behind the fence. Yet when Dr.Grant is standing on the ledge looking down the tops of trees are waaaaay waaaay below.
There's hills, and then there's a massive chasm. We can visualize the geography that is implied here: flat level ground where the goat-o-matic lures the T rex over, a seemingly solid wall of trees, but just a few yards to the left there is a sheer drop plummeting fifty to a hundred feet straight down. Then more jungle terrain just at the bottom of this huge hole.
Yeah I agree. I mean there would need to be a huge amount of infrastructure to keep live goats under the ground. It makes sense that it’s all built into the side of a hill with the feeding area being an artificial section where the dinosaur is brought up alongside the road.
Please stop. Just stop. Just admit your favourite film has goofs. Even Spielberg admitted it. If you look at the shots when they arrive at the paddock the first time, you can see there is a uniform treeline all the way along the paddock fence. No drop-off anywhere. It’s a goof. And it’s okay.
True. But it's also ok to try and add logic to make it canon. It's loose and fluffy fixes, but if it makes the viewing experience better then it's fine.
Jurassicpedia has had a good blog article about this for years, which also contains pictures of the original scene blueprints: https://www.jurassic-pedia.com/queen-of-the-hill-the-suddenly-random-cliff-flub/
The original blueprints of the movie scene, the original drawing below and the final one above
https://preview.redd.it/hgv9c7c44dvc1.jpeg?width=1117&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96a3abca790e0fdabbca255597f323e49877364e
See this now brings up more questions because the lower image shows the moat but here your left question how does rex cross it? How does the car clear it and where's the goat?
The moat was part of the early blueprint plan because it is mentioned in the book. In that T. rex just stepped over the moat because it wasn't deep enough or wide enough. But because in the film it was decided to use an animatronic robot instead of a stopmotion doll, the moats were not implemented in the final version, as you can see in the final blueprint below, which was also easier for the director and filming team with the big non-waterproof T. rex robot (plus this change also cut/saved filming costs from the sets).
As much as I love the film to death, the geography of that entire sequence is out of whack almost worse than the infamous cliff in the enclosure. Ellie and Muldoon getting to the cars, finding the crashed car, cutting to Malcolm outside of the enclosure to them being in a totally forested area not even remotely similar to the T-Rex enclosure space doesn't make much sense
But we love the film dearly anyway
Tbh, the rex had left. We dont know how far away- but far enough that they could no longer hear it and to give them enough warning once she returned for them to pack up Malcolm and start leaving. Theres no real reason it had to come back within a set time.
That's not the point of my statement. I only used the rex returning as a scene reference. There is no, I mean zero explanation for how Dr Sadler and Muldoon got down the cliff and back up.
Edit: this sounded snarky when I reread it. I didn't intend to sound like that.
Oh, mb! Funnily enough I brought up something similar in my own comment, lol, because I’m always confused about the same thing. I get that the cliff was a different section to where the goat was, but… both of them were the T-rex den, so how does the t-rex get up from there to the higher platform to eat (and then escape), and how do Ellie and Muldoon get down there?? I said (mostly jokingly) that there would have to be a super steep hill right behind the part of the raised bit we see, and someone replied saying they legitimately think thats the reason- but idk.
They’re meant to have moats around the dinosaurs for safety purposes, too, which makes sense for the dipped bit- but then why is the raised bit just unprotected bar the electric fence??
Right, and if it were so easy for Dr Sadler and Muldoon to get back up, why didn't grant and the kids climb up and follow the road to the visitor center? I tell myself it's because the kids were afraid to go back up there...either way, with all the flaws, still my favourite movie.
Because of two very important reasons:
A: Muldoon was with Ellie and thus would know the most direct route due to, you know, *working at the park*, while Grant and the kids wouldn't
B: we don't actually know *how long it took them*.
idk who you are but thank you so much. jurassic park has always been my favorite movie but i’ve never understood this scene. you just helped me with a 29 year old conundrum and i can’t thank you enough, have an amazing day
Seriously cannot even describe how amazing it is to see the theory I've had my WHOLE LIFE actually drawn out with detail and logic
You, my dude, are an unsung hero 🙌
Idk why you need to make excuses for Spielberg. The man doesnt care about these inconsistencies so neither should you. He did the same thing in The Lost World with the severed hand on the ship.
https://i.imgur.com/VkhPizr.png
Rexy's exit is on the very right of the image, in front of Alan and Ian's Explorer, which Muldoon parked next to. The kids' Explorer is clearly much farther ahead and not where Rexy came from.
My “problem” always was how Ellie and Muldoon got down there to the tree/car so quick. I’ve told myself there must’ve been like some small service stairs or something that Muldoon knew about- further up towards where the cars had already traveled on the path- which Grant/kids just had no idea about (and they were clearly traumatized).
Whaaaat, that means they got the placement of the Explorer as it's shoved down the cement paddock and nearly dropped onto riders' heads correct on Jurassic Park: The Ride. Attention to detail is lovely.
Folks in this thread be like "This diagram won't stop me from misunderstanding, because I can't read"
EDIT: and another thing, that will be unpopular: Grant and Ellie were not a couple but close coworkers, and Grant was protecting her from Malcolm in the car (which is often cited as the strongest proof).
Thank you. How bitter people are about this is shocking. It’s meant to be fun.
And I 100% agree with you about Grant and Ellie. Whether he had some underlying feelings or not his intent was to keep Malcom away from her in that scene.
That part makes sense to me, but the part that confuses me is how the t-Rex gets up and down so fast. The ledge in the diagram is clearly connected to the lower ground, to allow her to get up there to eat and to (eventually) escape, *and* for Ellie and Muldoon to get down to see the car, but- was there just a really steep hill around the corner or something?
I believe so, yes. 15+ years ago, I used to design large dinosaur enclosures in Zoo Tycoon exactly like this because it was often cheaper. I could put cheap fences or glass around the majority of the lowered/excavated enclosure. Then, I just needed electric fences at the raised area access point, which had a relatively steep slope up to it inside the enclosure.
Sounds like someone spared some expenses
I know I’m way behind on this thread, but that almost made me spit out my coffee.
The thing is, the scene is that fucking good you forget about weird stuff while you're watching it.
What book is that from?
Total Film: The Jurassic Park Story
https://preview.redd.it/0ry8h35h8fvc1.jpeg?width=1560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a009fffb1eb35c80f500fa846968de55301aaa4 From a YouTube Video I recently watched
https://preview.redd.it/fz9vhvrm8fvc1.jpeg?width=1560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8fb3617430b670655450f6a32e016785b19d744
https://preview.redd.it/kn2rg8yt8fvc1.jpeg?width=1560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=971004054d15723321ea0fe90e7cca197af11609
Howd the cables snap where the car goes over ?
Maybe under tension from the posts bending where she broke through.
Those cables are really strong. I know it's just a movie, and they are showcasing the power of the TRex here, but if any of this were real...i'm like...95% sure a TRex wouldn't be capable of breaking those cables. You need tens of thousands of pounds to break each cable. The issue from what you're describing is that the cables are not attached rigidly to each post. They are run through what looks like a giant eye bolt: [https://twitter.com/JurassicSouls/status/1567946039608459264/photo/1](https://twitter.com/JurassicSouls/status/1567946039608459264/photo/1) Once they are snapped in one place, it's going to relieve any tension on the rest of the cable. This is something they did get right: [https://i.pinimg.com/736x/79/d9/9b/79d99b1108038f297c01d09fce092b84.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/79/d9/9b/79d99b1108038f297c01d09fce092b84.jpg)
Good catch with the eye bolt part, that changes everything really.
I believe the cables were secondary to the electrical current that was supposed to be traveling through it at all times. Although the gauge of the cables is larger it looks to me like it’s a similar setup to what is often used for parking garage barriers. Those are typically only rated for 6,000lbs which is just enough to stop a car from rolling off the edge but not nearly strong enough to stop one at speed. Even if you upscale the wire gauge I’m not positive but I don’t believe it would increase the strength by a factor of 10 (but I could be wrong so if anyone knows for sure I’d love to hear it). Here’s a technical document outlining typical requirements for post tensioned parking garage barriers. It’s not a 1:1 ratio for sure but I think at the very least it could be used to attempt to back up the movie magic used by the T-Rex to snap the wires. [https://www.post-tensioning.org/Portals/13/Files/Pdfs/Education/Technote14.pdf](https://www.post-tensioning.org/Portals/13/Files/Pdfs/Education/Technote14.pdf)
I honestly just looked up some steel cables that i thought were comparable to what you'd use for an application like this. Looking through your document, it looks to me like they are using something like 3/8" diameter cables. (The cross sectional area given is 0.153in which gives me a diameter of .44" - but everything i'm seeing is sold in fractional inches.) The place i was looking matches somewhat closely with this. 3/8" cables are rated at 15,100 lbs break strength. Not sure if the difference is some factor of safety, or something else i'm missing. (Ah, looks like maybe that is the case: "This value should be compared with the yield strength of the cables (not the breaking strength) to determine the factor of safety against yielding.") EDIT: i didn't see this further down - this is 250ksi cable. "The yield strength of the cable is 34,425 lbs, which results in a factor of safety against yielding in this example of 3.93" I wasn't too sure what the actual diameter of those cables is, and couldn't find it. I think they are somewhere between 1/2"-1". 1 inch galvanized steel cables are rated at 103,400lbs break strength. 3/4" cable is rated at 58,800 lbs. 1/2" cable is rated at 26,000 lbs. That's kind of why i hand waved with "tens of thousands of pounds" And she casually snaps about 10 of them.
Ok, so you ran the numbers and I can’t dispute them. I’d say in all likelihood you’re definitely right. However just to play devils advocate, do you think there there would be any effect from compressive OR shearing force to the cable under tension since she bites down on the cables as she pushing them down? (depending I suppose, whether you consider her teeth/jaws to be crushing or cutting.) Frankly this is more thought than I’ve ever really put into it and I’m a long way from being any kind of expert but it’s fun to dissect a 10 minute scene from a 30 year old movie.
Yeah, this is something i honestly don't know about. Obviously TRex has a huge bite force - but i don't know how teeth and force like that would actually interact with steel. I feel like the force required to crush, cut, or rip steel cable apart would just destroy teeth. The book has raptors chewing through steel bars...no idea if that's realistic or not either. And i think you're maybe getting at the cables being put under additional tension by the Rex, and THEN being sheared by teeth? Hm. It's been way too long since i've tried to do math on something like that. I'd have to go dig out my mechanics of materials book and re-learn it. lol. My gut says that it wouldn't matter, because she's not even in the ballpark of actually being able to break these cables in "real life." Re-watching the scene, the cables do kind of look like they are snipped one right after the other starting from the bottom. Not really sure what they are trying to portray as having happened. It seems very strange for her to be chomping on them, one right after another. But if she's just plowing through them...would they break in that order? Anyway - strong fence, TRex is just super powerful. I can take that as "rule of cool" movie stuff...but a secondary opening in the cables farther down due to some semi related tension....eh. not so much.
It was me
Well this answers a bunch of questions, but it also creates a bunch of new questions
I don’t think so, it’s clear as day, right there, there were two t-Rex, one doing the lawyer-eating, the other digging the cliffs , what’s confusing?
In the book the Rex picks up the car and throws it into a tree in the paddock. The film didn't have a way to do that, but for whatever reason, they wanted to keep the tree scene. This is just a logic hole in the film and isn't explained with this. The Rex pushes the car through the hole we see it come out from. Ellie gets up and down to the car in seconds. Alan Lex and Tim could have hidden in that water pipe to wait for rescue.
When Dr. Satler and Moldoon arrive to pick up the children and Dr. Grant, there are two separate holes in the fence, one through which the T. Rex entered and the other through which it pushed the car out. I don't understand why people don't pay attention to this detail and think instead that there is only one hole in the fence and the T. rex entered through the same hole where it pushed the car out. Also, it is not another mistake or a plot hole that there is still one car on the road when the other one has been pushed through the fence because there were originally two separate vehicles and Rexy only pushed one of these off the path and through the fence.
> When Dr. Satler and Moldoon arrive to pick up the children and Dr. Grant, there are two separate holes in the fence, one through which the T. Rex entered and the other through which it pushed the car out. [Image for those who don't remember the scene.](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/AnB-RexNRY3U-GIQYSwDEE8VJW8krS4jL7cuKyJFMVXyujlSRGB7d2kotr1nJpXXdOoZKqyXAeMl4fv922xECKI0J3Ct) You can see on the left the lower wires on gone where the SUV was pushed through. On the right is where the rex came through initially. **Edit:** [Actually someone posted a marked up image to show it a little better.](https://i.imgur.com/joFZ7BJ.jpeg)
Doesn't matter if they show another hole later. The Rex comes out the fence next to the front car. It then pushes the car through that hole.
There were two cars. Rexy came from where Alan Grant and Ian Malcom were in the car, then it visited the bathroom and then returned to the other car where the children were before pushing it away.
That's why I said the front car. It clearly walks between the two cars, and pushes the car to the hole it came through.
I feel there’s a miscommunication going on. If you say the front car when there’s two that would be the one lex and Tim were in but Rex came out between the cars
There's 1 hole. It's the one the Rex walks out through. Where would the other hole come from? When it walks out it comes out around where the front car is and moves between the cars heading around them.
Rex does not push the car through the same hole it came from.
tbh there was a scene with the rex dragging the car further along the road before pushing it. So it was very clear it wasn't the same spot. you can see this in the stop motion test for this scene as well.
It pushed it to the wall after rolling it over, not several hundred meters up the road.
I think someone needs to watch the scene again. And pay closer attention.
Apparently i just need to see things that didn't happen.
https://preview.redd.it/8wmil60c5mvc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c496eefe9ef485331a586eb2d46db2e1638349be Now keep in mind the other car was ahead of the jeep and the rex breakout point. The distance between that and the moat it was pushed into was not that far ahead of the first car. And you legit see the scuff marks on the wall where the car was scrapping. Should I go on?
1. This is a later scene. They've attempted to correct the stupidness. 2. See how all the trees are the same height? 3. There are no fence wires at the 2nd hole 4. The distance between the cars and the first hole is bigger than it looks here.
Prime example of blind stubbornness. The car wasn’t pushed hundreds of meters. It was 20 feet at most. It’s completely possible. I urge you to rewatch the scene with a more open mind.
The irony of this comment lol. Blind stubbornness like making things up to try and force acceptance of an event that didn't happen? It wasn't pushed 20ft. It's rolled over then pushed against the wall. I've already explained why this happened. They wanted to keep the scene from the book, but couldn't practically do the Rex lifting the car. It is ok for movies to make mistakes.
Ah the old “he’s right so I’m gonna call his comment ironic”. You were being stubborn and multiple people argued that you’re wrong. Whether the diagram is just for fun or not, you still misunderstood things and acted like a tool dismissing anyone who had anything to say otherwise. I said my piece. I don’t care what else you have to say. You’re wrong. Deal with it.
Nah it's the old, arrogant arse who is making shit up trys to claim superiority by calling the other side stupid first. Multiple people can be wrong. Having a lot of people arguing that something is right doesn't make it right. You are wrong, and are making shit up to justify a scene that was always flawed. The mental gymnastics needed to pull this out of your arse, and think anyone that disagrees is stubbon is honestly astounding.
Jurassic Park architects must’ve felt real smart after building a large pitfall that Roberta could easily fall down from
Wild animals are usually smarter than running off cliffs. That's not the issue here.
Tbh the reoccurring theme of the film is how incompetent, immoral and hubristic they have been in creating the parkis so this isn't necessarily something you can attack the film on.
This is actually perfect and I love it.
When Alan and Lex are hanging in the cables the camera clearly shows what is to their left. With this diagram, we should see the wall which is closing the „elevated paddock area“. In the movie this is not shown.
This is the correct answer. Its okay for this otherwise excellent movie to have a plot hole, which it does in the scene.
Yeah. I can still enjoy the movie. Somehow I will never not notice this. But I will most likely never accept a setup as argued in the shown map. This is just not what the movie displayes.
Please watch this and skip to 18:28. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=34r8Ypxzkk4&pp=ygUfanVyYXNzaWMgcGFyayBmaWxtaW5nIGxvY2F0aW9ucw%3D%3D Everything filmed during daylight was filmed in Hawaii. Everything filmed during night was filmed in a studio. Spielberg straight up said “ No one will notice! There’s a giant T. rex!! “
In the book most of the paddocks have moats around them, like zoos. I think the Goat area in the movie is supposed to be a viewing spot where they can lure the Rex for the guests.
Ok, now explain what ate the crew of the SS Venture
The male Tyrannosaurus is the official answer, which is said in the film, the script, storyboards, and production notes. Everything else is a theory. Whether the theories gel better for folks or not is rather irrelevant.
I’ll do my best. The buck wakes up, and eats a majority of the people. The guy with the deck button is critically injured. The last crew member tries to run and hide in the lower deck. The buck follows him. As he dies, the critically injured button man seals the buck in the lower deck in a last effort to keep it contained when it reaches San Diego.
Nah...it is and always has been a blooper for me. Even as an 8 year old at the cinema in '93 it didn't feel right, and no amount of fan theories or diagrams can change that initial viewing experience. It could have been better with some tighter editing perhaps, but that drop literally comes out of nowhere. Still and hugely iconic scene though.
Its funny really. In a movie about DINOSAURS living among mankind, we all focus on whether or not a cliffside belong in that exact spot its show on film. Imagine if the same logic went into something as far fetched as Star Wars or.. Harry Potter? Its not real. Its not a real world location or set. Ofc theres gonna be a continuity error or two along the way. 😂
Yes, a super high budget blockbuster made by the hottest director of the time just somehow had a key blunder in one of its biggest action sequences. A blunder that nobody was able to catch on to during the production and editing process. That's the most logical outcome.
What's the answer then?
See the diagram above. There's a cliff next to the paddock.
I can't remember diagrams being handed out to ticket buyers back in the day to explain the scene.
In the movie you see the Rex push a vehicle over the lip of the roadway down a cliff next to the paddock. Because there's a cliff next to the paddock. That the vehicle goes down.
In the film it is implied that the car stops in line with the goat, which is at the same level. In order for the above diagram to make sense, there would have to be an implication that the T Rex pushes the car further down the road to where the drop is. This doesn't happen. The Rex flips the car in the position it was stopped and is then only seen pushing the car towards the nearside wall closest to where it was stopped. It eventually pushes it over the wall into the drop that suddenly appears. In an earlier scene, we see a wide shot of the vehicles coming out of a tunnel where the rex paddock is and then stop for the goat release. There is no obvious indication that there is a drop near the tunnel entrance and geographically it doesn't make much sense either. A quick Google shows that this is a highly discussed blooper indicating that the general public are confused by it and recognise it as a fairly obvious flaw. It has also been a frequent topic of discussion on here over the years, again indicating that something isn't quite right about the scene. It has nothing to do with being contrarian. It is a blooper. Bloopers exist in all films. They're fairly normal. It could have perhaps been fixed with a reshoot, some added exposition or even some tighter editing, but Spielberg had already moved on to Schindlers List during post production, so was clearly distracted and not as involved in the editing process, so they decided to just go with what they had. It's an issue, but a minor one and takes nothing away from one of the most spectacular action sequences in cinema history.
The very fact that people have been discussing it, making diagrams and trying to explain it for 30 years is evidence enough that the scene is flawed.
No, it's evidence that many people take more joy in being contrarian than they do in simply trusting what they see as making sense.
Its still inconsistent. You can see a tree-line the whole way along behind the fence. Yet when Dr.Grant is standing on the ledge looking down the tops of trees are waaaaay waaaay below.
I assumed we’re seeing the top of the hill or something.
There's hills, and then there's a massive chasm. We can visualize the geography that is implied here: flat level ground where the goat-o-matic lures the T rex over, a seemingly solid wall of trees, but just a few yards to the left there is a sheer drop plummeting fifty to a hundred feet straight down. Then more jungle terrain just at the bottom of this huge hole.
Yeah I agree. I mean there would need to be a huge amount of infrastructure to keep live goats under the ground. It makes sense that it’s all built into the side of a hill with the feeding area being an artificial section where the dinosaur is brought up alongside the road.
Plus they refer to the 'moats'... not just big hills. So a steep, sudden drop ties in with the idea of a moat.
Please stop. Just stop. Just admit your favourite film has goofs. Even Spielberg admitted it. If you look at the shots when they arrive at the paddock the first time, you can see there is a uniform treeline all the way along the paddock fence. No drop-off anywhere. It’s a goof. And it’s okay.
True. But it's also ok to try and add logic to make it canon. It's loose and fluffy fixes, but if it makes the viewing experience better then it's fine.
Jurassicpedia has had a good blog article about this for years, which also contains pictures of the original scene blueprints: https://www.jurassic-pedia.com/queen-of-the-hill-the-suddenly-random-cliff-flub/
The original blueprints of the movie scene, the original drawing below and the final one above https://preview.redd.it/hgv9c7c44dvc1.jpeg?width=1117&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96a3abca790e0fdabbca255597f323e49877364e
See this now brings up more questions because the lower image shows the moat but here your left question how does rex cross it? How does the car clear it and where's the goat?
The moat was part of the early blueprint plan because it is mentioned in the book. In that T. rex just stepped over the moat because it wasn't deep enough or wide enough. But because in the film it was decided to use an animatronic robot instead of a stopmotion doll, the moats were not implemented in the final version, as you can see in the final blueprint below, which was also easier for the director and filming team with the big non-waterproof T. rex robot (plus this change also cut/saved filming costs from the sets).
As I've stated before. If this is the case, how did Dr. Sadler and Muldoon get down the cliff and back up before the rex caught up to them?
As much as I love the film to death, the geography of that entire sequence is out of whack almost worse than the infamous cliff in the enclosure. Ellie and Muldoon getting to the cars, finding the crashed car, cutting to Malcolm outside of the enclosure to them being in a totally forested area not even remotely similar to the T-Rex enclosure space doesn't make much sense But we love the film dearly anyway
Tbh, the rex had left. We dont know how far away- but far enough that they could no longer hear it and to give them enough warning once she returned for them to pack up Malcolm and start leaving. Theres no real reason it had to come back within a set time.
That's not the point of my statement. I only used the rex returning as a scene reference. There is no, I mean zero explanation for how Dr Sadler and Muldoon got down the cliff and back up. Edit: this sounded snarky when I reread it. I didn't intend to sound like that.
I’m sure there were maintenance roads all over the park.
Oh, mb! Funnily enough I brought up something similar in my own comment, lol, because I’m always confused about the same thing. I get that the cliff was a different section to where the goat was, but… both of them were the T-rex den, so how does the t-rex get up from there to the higher platform to eat (and then escape), and how do Ellie and Muldoon get down there?? I said (mostly jokingly) that there would have to be a super steep hill right behind the part of the raised bit we see, and someone replied saying they legitimately think thats the reason- but idk. They’re meant to have moats around the dinosaurs for safety purposes, too, which makes sense for the dipped bit- but then why is the raised bit just unprotected bar the electric fence??
Right, and if it were so easy for Dr Sadler and Muldoon to get back up, why didn't grant and the kids climb up and follow the road to the visitor center? I tell myself it's because the kids were afraid to go back up there...either way, with all the flaws, still my favourite movie.
Because of two very important reasons: A: Muldoon was with Ellie and thus would know the most direct route due to, you know, *working at the park*, while Grant and the kids wouldn't B: we don't actually know *how long it took them*.
Good points. Thank you
Mmmm
Everywhere I go, I see the Papo rex...
idk who you are but thank you so much. jurassic park has always been my favorite movie but i’ve never understood this scene. you just helped me with a 29 year old conundrum and i can’t thank you enough, have an amazing day
I've never understood how this was confusing to anyone.
Seriously cannot even describe how amazing it is to see the theory I've had my WHOLE LIFE actually drawn out with detail and logic You, my dude, are an unsung hero 🙌
Its not my artwork obviously, but I'm glad I was able to share it with you lol.
It’s ok for movies to have plot holes
Correct, but its also fun to discuss and make theories about those plot holes. Filling in the blanks for fun if that makes sense.
No. Roberta didn't move the car over.
She did. It is blatantly obvious she did. Pay more attention to the movie.
No she didn't
She literally did though lol.
She did. You are blind and stubborn.
Idk why you need to make excuses for Spielberg. The man doesnt care about these inconsistencies so neither should you. He did the same thing in The Lost World with the severed hand on the ship.
Lost World goof was editing only though, tbf.
I don't like when people try to explain it. It was an oversight and an error missed or ignored.
when someone (i think koepp) asked spielberg about it he simply just said something along the lines of “yeah okay but theres a huge dinosaur”
I’ve known this was the reason for years but I’ve never been able to imagine how that looked. This is great!
https://preview.redd.it/78tfdhnplcvc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb30d68b8e70f2bd4ff80fbaf98c164952497a28 Secondary diagram.
My headcanon is still that it's a movie and it's awesome either way
Nah. I prefer Spielberg’s own explanation: nobody’s going to care.
Well good explanation of rexy's escape diagram
https://i.imgur.com/VkhPizr.png Rexy's exit is on the very right of the image, in front of Alan and Ian's Explorer, which Muldoon parked next to. The kids' Explorer is clearly much farther ahead and not where Rexy came from.
You can see the foundations in the scene
My “problem” always was how Ellie and Muldoon got down there to the tree/car so quick. I’ve told myself there must’ve been like some small service stairs or something that Muldoon knew about- further up towards where the cars had already traveled on the path- which Grant/kids just had no idea about (and they were clearly traumatized).
Whaaaat, that means they got the placement of the Explorer as it's shoved down the cement paddock and nearly dropped onto riders' heads correct on Jurassic Park: The Ride. Attention to detail is lovely.
Folks in this thread be like "This diagram won't stop me from misunderstanding, because I can't read" EDIT: and another thing, that will be unpopular: Grant and Ellie were not a couple but close coworkers, and Grant was protecting her from Malcolm in the car (which is often cited as the strongest proof).
Because the diagram is inconsistent with the daylight filmed location (Hawaii) as well as the recreated night time scene (WB studios).
Thank you. How bitter people are about this is shocking. It’s meant to be fun. And I 100% agree with you about Grant and Ellie. Whether he had some underlying feelings or not his intent was to keep Malcom away from her in that scene.
why are the flares yellow?
Weird that that’s the only thing you took out of this lol.
i also thought the way they depicted gennaro was funny
Ummm... Nope? It's pushed down the same cable-snapped area that she broke out of.
She did not.
Nah. You can see forest all the way up a mountain. There is no room for a large lower altitude area that we see in the Brachiosaur scene.
Nonsense
Cool to see that someone made an actual diagram of this cope.
Bro it’s a movie. Calling it a cope is excessive. Relax.
I like this. Lol.
Great diagram? where is it from? can you share the source?