Chased by Dinosaurs on DVD
Theres probably a very small percentage of the population that hasnt
at least at some point in their lives wanted to be whisked away
to the land of the dinosaurs.
The BBC, with their record of producing great documentaries, has given us the
next best thing: theyve used state of the art computer graphics and a
very brave presenter to come up with Chased by Dinosaurs, in which Nigel Marvin
finds himself face to face with the largest creatures ever to walk the Earth.
The doc comes in three parts, The Giant Claw, The Land of Giants, and Chased
by Sea Monsters (which itself is split into three parts). Land of Giants has
Nigel following a group of Argentinosaurus (the largest land animal in history)
as they make their way home. They encounter various perils along the way, the
worst of which is a group of predators that may (or may not?) make off with
a little snack. In The Giant Claw, Nigel does his best to track down the owner
of said claw, which is about as safe and easy as youd imagine. Chased
by Sea Monsters takes us to the seven deadliest seas on the planet, full of
sea scorpions, giant squid, and a hell of a lot worse.
As much as I love BBC documentaries, sadly this is not one of their best. Even
as fascinated as I am by dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, I frequently found
myself disinterested, even bored. It could be that there have been so many dino
docs that it just isnt cool anymore; it could be that having a human right
there with the dinos takes away much of the realism and credibility; or it could
just be that the previous ones were so good that the lesser ones pale by comparison.
Who really knows for sure?
The CGI dinosaurs are very well done, though again, not as good as the previous
docs. Some parts look perfectly realistic, while others are clearly computer
generated. But I guess thats really no different than many of the big
budget Hollywood blockbusters coming out these days.
Unfortunately, I just cant bring myself to recommend Chased by Dinosaurs.
Its heart is in the right place, and theyve done a good job on it; I just
found myself bored too many times to be able to say that I enjoyed it. If youre
more of a freak for this stuff than I am, its probably worth your time.
Anyone else should try Walking with Dinosaurs (or the equally well-produced
Walking with Prehistoric Beasts) instead.
Once again, the DVD presentation is excellent. Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic
widescreen, the quality is very nice. Colors are very sharp, detail is well
done, and there is no dust or grain to be seen. Audio is Dolby Surround, with
fairly good separation between the front channels. Sound effects fill the room
nicely, Nigels onscreen narration is the predominant element, and the
score stays in the background enough to be audible but not overpowering.
Extras include a 50-minute making-of featurette, and a series of Dinosaur Fact
Files.
Chased by Dinosaurs, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
150 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Surround
Presented by Nigel Marvin
Produced by Jasper James
Executive Produced by Tim Haines, Adam Kemp
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