The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Tail Trail, "Beware Of The Bull" Trail Featurette-Visual Effects Comparison
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	117:40 (Case: 120)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (58:56)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Peter Leonard Nigel Paterson
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Bill Oddie
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$19.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

    Dinosaurs have been a subject of fascination for small (and big) boys the world over for many years and there have been many attempts to capture them onscreen, from Jurassic Park to Godzilla to Walking with Dinosaurs. This latest go at it was made last year in 2005 by the BBC in conjunction with Discovery Channel and is hosted by Bill Oddie, known to many from his days in The Goodies. He is, of course, much older now but still just as scruffy. Here he leads us in the discovery of what the result would be in death matches amongst the dinosaurs. Although at first glance that might just sound like a light entertainment idea gone wrong, this show uses scientific research to reconstruct the dinosaurs on the basis of fossil finds, both in high quality computer animation and in mechanical reconstructions of parts of the dinosaurs' anatomies such as T-Rex's jaws. Obviously, this is not all straight science with a lot of guesswork and artistic license taken, however, it certainly seems to be strongly rooted in up to date research on the dinosaurs and many scientists appear. Their reactions to the mechanical reconstructions are priceless. If you didn't think scientists knew how to have fun, you'll see them doing it in this show. This disc includes two episodes (just under an hour each), which I assume is all there is.

    The episodes are:

1. Tyrannosaurus Vs Triceratops (58:56) - They compare these two in terms of skills such as eyesight, cunning, agility, aggression, speed, weapons and intelligence to try to determine who would win a fight between them. A highlight is getting an ostrich to run on a jogging machine to simulate a T-Rex.
2. Velociraptor Vs Ankylosaur (58:44) - This show focuses mostly on the velociraptor to show that it was quite different to the image portrayed in films such as Jurassic Park. They then pit a group of hungry velociraptors against an Ankylosaur who can protect himself with his massive tail club.

     This is a well made show with a lot of thought and research in the reconstructions and a stylish and interesting approach to the subject. My only word of warning would be that it might be a little gory for the smallest dinosaur fans. I quickly decided it would be too much for my 3.5 year old despite him having a healthy interest in dinosaurs. Recommended.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was very sharp and clear and was encoded at a quite high bitrate. There was no evidence of low level noise.

    The colour was very good with only a little colour bleeding from light colours to complain about.

    The only noticeable artefact was aliasing which could be seen on the grilles on the main set and on Bill's shirt in episode 2.

    There are subtitles in English which were clear and easy to read.

    The layer change is between episodes.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The music by Ty Unwin is dramatic and adds excitement to the show.

    The surround speakers added a bit of atmosphere when the disc was played using ProLogic II.

    The subwoofer added bass to the music and the dinosaur footsteps. This was due to my amp's bass management.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu included music and the ability to select scenes, episodes and subtitles.

'Tail' Trail (0:19)

    A short TV trailer for the show.

'Beware of the Bull' Trail (0:28)

    A short Goodies inspired TV trailer for the show.

Visual Effects Comparison (1:51)

    A silent run down on the stages of the computer animation for two scenes in the show.

     This show does not seem to have been released in Region 1 at this time and is available in the same format in Region 2.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The set has a a few very minor extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall