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I bought both the Blu Ray and DVD versions of this series. It is one of the best dinosaur shows yet to be produced. The effects were spectacular and the realism is yet another level, as technology allows for increased detail and even the superfluous, background is completely realistic. The chosen dinosaurs are some of the most desirable for a paleo / dino fan. Also this series is fine for younger viewers, as there is not too much extreme violence. While this may be disappointing to many viewers (as full out battle scenes are great), it makes it appropriate for all ages, while not automatically being lame because of this. They have found the perfect balance between the action most of us crave and the interesting and entertaining scenes devoid of violence.
I could not recommend this DVD series more highly.
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If you loved Walking With Dinosaurs (and I still do!), you must see this. Like WWD, it's almost all dino-animation; very little interruption and when the flow is broken, it's to explain the scientific reasoning that supports the (sometimes surprising) conclusions. And while WWD's animation was excellent for its time, this show demonstrates the improvements possible with 2012 technology.If you were disappointed by Jurassic Fight Club (and I was!), this is everything JFC wasn't. No repetition of video sequences, and best of all, no annoying George Blasing (sorry, George).
I see a lot of reviews for dinosaur shows that begin with something like, "My 5-year-old grandson is crazy for dinosaurs, so I bought him this..." Well, maybe you think dinosaurs are a phase that you're supposed to grow out of, but not all of us think like that. And the BBC, with "Walking With Dinosaurs" and this show, Planet Dinosaur, acknowledges this fact. This is NOT a kiddie show. This is aimed at an adult, very sophisticated audience, and it shows.
The visuals here are beautiful, and often stunning. The animation is so lifelike it must be seen to be believed. The effects are amazing my favorite may be the running raid on a Centrosaur herd by a group of Daspletosaurs, driving them into a flooding river -in a thunderstorm.
As someone mentioned, many animals make their animated debuts in this series, and they're worth the wait. Don't confuse Planet Dinosaur with "Dinosaur Planet"; that was good, but this is far, far better.
One earlier review complained about the constant "drumbeat" of eating and killing, that dinosaurs are portrayed as mindless eating machines. Well, unless you read different science books than I do, I have to say that's pretty much what they were, and what most animals still are. When they're not sleeping or breeding, most animals are either eating, trying to kill another animal, or trying not to be killed. I'm not sure what more the other reviewer expected, because watching dinos sleep makes a pretty slow-moving video.
Still, it's true that the predation is realistic, graphic, and relentless, and might be scary (or "gross") for very young viewers. If you're buying dinosaur shows for your grandchildren, this might not be the best choice. For a proverbial dino-crazed 5-year-old, I recommend Disney's "Dinosaur" movie, or PBS' excellent "Dinosaur Train" series (which actually has good science and a real scientist).
For the adult dinosaur enthusiast, though, and with all respect to Walking With Dinosaurs (a classic, and still one of my favorites) if you only have room for one dino DVD on your shelf, this is the one to buy.
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Planet Dinosaur is a very good documentary, in a six episode format a la Walking With Dinosaurs, covering some of the most important finds of the last 20 or so years.The first episode covers the three superpredators of Mid Cretaceous Africa Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and the crocodilian Sarcosuchus (a/k/a SuperCroc), which remarkably coexisted together. The second episode covers some of the more important feathered dinosaurs of Asia which have changed the way we look at dinosaurs. The third episode profiles Daspletosaurus and Majungasaurus as representatives of the two major predator groups that dominated the Late Cretaceous worldwide. Episode four takes a look at two Jurassic predators the sea monster Predator X and the domination of Allosaurus by it's less prolific but larger relative Saurophaganax (stay tuned for further scientific news regarding whether or not it's actually not a separate species but rather an oversized Allosaurus). Episode 5 profiles the sauropods Argentinosaurus and Paralititan, two contenders for the largest dinosaur ever found. The series wraps up jumping around to examine several lesser known dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous.
There are a few instances where the CGI seemed evident to me, but all in all there were alot of quite memorable images. A few of the dinosaurs have already been covered in other documentaries, but there are also a few long overdue debuts. Camptosaurus, a mid-sized herbivore which appeared in almost every kid's dino book back in the day but is probably not quite as well known by today's kids, finally shows up after having been inexplicably omitted from Walking With's Jurassic episode and Allosaurus spinoff. Chasmosaurus, my choice for the most beautiful horned dinosaur, makes a full appearance after having only shown up, to my knowledge, in a brief section of the Bizarre Dinosaurs special covering Ceratopsian headgear. The highlight of the set might be the elegant potential death race (flight?) between China's Microraptor and Sinornithosaurus, a surprisingly creepy and nasty little predator.
A must have for any dino fan.
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The BBC's latest dinosaur documentary was all the talk among many of you when it was announced, even though we couldn't watch it here in America. (luckily we had "Dinosaur Revolution" to watch here in the US at the same time) Now you can watch it; well, sort of.Planet Dinosaur is an almost three hour Blu-Ray disc showing all six episodes from the BBC series special. Narrated by John Hurt, the CG graphics are extremely well done. I know its an over-used word but I thought several scenes were truly awesome. In between the CG action scenes, we are shown various graphics and fossilized bones that tell us stories about the dinosaur's fights and their lives. The show provides some great, very up-to-date information; some of which, I dare say, you did not know. The first episode is set in prehistoric Africa, where we follow a Spinosaurus and meet Carcharodontosaurus, Ouranosaurus, Sarchosuchus, Rugops and more. The second episode is all about the feathered dinosaurs of China. Episode 3 covers the Late Cretaceous and the meat-eaters of that era. Part 4 is set in the Jurassic where we watch not only stegosaurs and allosaurs but marine reptiles too, including the huge Predator X. (It's a funny term, so I was surprised to hear John Hurt seriously use the word "Thagomizer" to describe Stegosaurus spikes.) The fifth episode is mostly about sauropods and other large dinosaurs and the final episode shows various dinosaur forms that evolved to help dinosaurs survive. I highly recommend the show; but, as mentioned at the beginning of this review there is a possible problem. The Blu-Ray would not play on my Blu-Ray player, even though it is supposedly for all areas of the world. I have a new laptop that plays Blu-Ray movies and fortunately it did fine on it. I also understand you can update your Blu-Ray player to where it will play foreign discs, but you have been forewarned. Check before you buy this DVD. However, I give it all five stars.
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