I've been obsessing somewhat over 4K Blu-ray of late. It's all part of bolstering my collection for my '4K Movie Club' – that being one physical media watch per month in 2026 – and I'd already spotted 7 decent Amazon disc-based bargains last month.
I was going through some classic listings today, however, and spotted that Jurassic Park, the 1993 hit – that quite frankly framed my whole view on cinema as a youngster – was re-released just four months ago, in March 2026, as an upgraded 4K Blu-ray disc.
I also spotted something that I never knew existed: in 2013, as part of Jurassic Park's 20th anniversary celebrations, the movie was re-released in 3D on Blu-ray. Yep, seriously. They went and 3Dified Spielberg's classic in a way that, well, pretty much nobody can ever view today anyway!
3D's short life span
The 3D version wasn't 4K resolution, of course, as in 2013 the best you could get was Blu-ray at 1080p Full HD resolution. That said, it was a 4K master scan of the original 35mm film to create the re-release, so there's no degradation in resolution for the sake of stereoscopic viewing.
But you'd need to have the tools to even view it in 3D at home, of course, which has long since died. There was a major boom in the promise of cinema's future in the early 2000s – largely led by Avatar, which I recall was a Panasonic Viera exclusive promotional disc back in 2010 – but it only lasted so long.
Indeed, by 2017 the final 3D TV manufacturers ceased support for the format, withdrawing the necessary hardware for such viewing, and banking on an inevitable 4K future. That, plus HDR (high dynamic range), is where we've arrived today. And I'm so glad that the parties involved made the right decisions.
The rise of streaming
Well, I say that as if the best streaming services haven't taken over and dominated. Which, of course, they have. But I still hold the paradigm view: 4K Blu-ray is far superior for quality, so for major viewing experiences that's where I'll spend the extra cash.
Jurassic Park might be 33 years old now, but it's not as though Hollywood hits were captured using budget camcorders. Indeed, Spielberg's movie was shot using Panavision Panaflex Gold cameras, loaded with 35mm Kodak film. Each frame measures 24 x 36mm and a decent scan can resolve better-than-4K resolution.
Picture is one thing, but sound is another. And the 2026 Blu-ray release adds a new Dolby Atmos mix to Jurassic Park that really ought to elevate this movie classic to a whole other level. I certainly hope so, as I've just added it to my online shopping basket for future viewing – take that, streaming!
