Michael Crichton's Forgotten Thriller 'Rising Sun' Overshadowed by Jurassic Park

In 1993 Michael Crichton released two film adaptations: the blockbuster Jurassic Park and the techno‑noir thriller Rising Sun. Rising Sun, directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, Tia Carrere and Cary‑Hiroyuki Tagawa, earned roughly €99 million (about $107 million) at the box office, but its depiction of Japan and Japanese characters has aged poorly. Critics note that the film’s portrayal of Japanese culture now appears stereotypical and dated, and the novel’s earlier accusations of racism were not mitigated by the movie.

While Jurassic Park became a lasting cultural phenomenon, Rising Sun has largely faded from public memory, remaining a footnote despite its initial commercial success. The story follows a murder investigation in Los Angeles involving a Japanese consortium, with themes of technology, media manipulation, and cross‑cultural tension that resonated in the early 1990s but feel anachronistic today.