We've really only just recovered from the first two "Jurassic Park" films on DVD, and then part III comes lumbering along on a packed disc. Still, if Sam Neill is game for another bite then so are we.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

Picture Universal hasn't scrimped on disc space here, and the result is a sharp, detail-rich transfer that's just perfect for oohing and aahing over the quality of the effects.

Sound How do you like your sound? Like a T-Rex driving a lorry, or a T-Rex driving a juggernaut? Respectively there's the choice of a Dolby 5.1 or a DTS 5.1 mix on the DVD, and they fit into the vehicular categories offered for your selection. Both are meaty mothers with speaker-whipping effects, but we reckon that the DTS track wins on the ludicrous amounts of bass front.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Audio Commentary For your listening pleasure is a group commentary with four of the main technical guys, including Stan Winston (mechanical effects), and Dan Taylor (ILM CGI effects). If there are no effects on screen to comment on they tend to fall silent, but otherwise they poke fun at each other's work, and fill in a fair amount of detail on the work involved in some of the more complex sequences.

Making of Featurette These cast and crew interviews concentrate on the matter of why "Jurassic Park III" offers even more thrills than what's gone before. There's also a detailed look at the plane crash effects and the new flying dinosaurs.

The New Dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park III" Poor old T-Rex was not considered frightening enough for part III, so they reduced him to a cameo in favour of the mighty new Spinosaurus. With an eight-foot skull and 60-foot long body, the only creature capable of taking it on are the savage film critics. In truth we get to see the fx development of the spiny one, rather than a dinosaur ripping chunks out of venomous movie hacks.

Tour of the Stan Winston Studio A tour of a building where well-fed model makers stand and consider new dinos, created by pouring lots of grey goo into moulds.

A Visit to ILM This section splits into four categories which then split again into the composite layers used to produce the finished effects. We start with 'Concepts', move onto 'The Process', add 'Muscle Simulation', and finish with 'Compositing'. These little featurettes include interviews and effects shots in various stages of completion through to the finished dinosaur.

Trailers This is an exciting section. Not because you get the trailers for all the "Jurassic Park" films, but rather for the flashback inducing "ET" 20th Anniversary Edition trailer, and a trailer for the summer DVD release of the "Back to the Future" films. Oh my!

Montana: Finding New Dinosaurs We join palaeontologist Jack Horner in a dusty valley where he's uncovered 30 dinosaur skeletons. Sadly within the five minutes we have with the guy he's not able to choke-up another one.

Behind-the-scenes Three key action scenes broken down into alternating finished shots, and behind-the-scenes shots.

Storyboard Comparisons Three scenes with animated storyboard and finished film comparisons.

Dinosaur Turntables A gallery of spinning dinosaurs complete with vital stats for you to ogle over. Included are 11 different reptiles and one human.

Additional Extra Features There's also a photograph gallery with a large stills selection and a pile of conceptual poster design to sift through. DVD-ROM features: interactive games, screensavers, and an internet link to the Universal Studios website.

Region: 2
Chapters: 20
Ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1
Extra Features: Scene selection, animated menus, and English subtitles.

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.