Walking With Prehistoric Beasts

Rating:
Summary: Six-Star film!
Review: I really LOVED "Walking with Prehistoric Beasts," and cannot recommend this documentary enough! This show will appeal to fans of nature documentaries who would like to view a researched but (fictional) account of the lives of ancient mammals. This series starts off at about 65 million years ago with the demise of the dinosaurs, and ends about 30 million years ago, with the demise of the Neanderthals. The animation and animatronics are so well done, so detailed that at times I forgot I was watching computer animation and animatronics. In particular, I loved the scenes with the saber-toothed cats, the hyeanadons and the ancient whales. Oh, and who can forget the andrewsarchus?

The narrator does an excellent job of describing each era, the animal life, the flora and fauna, and the climate change and how it impacts the animal populace. Creatures spring to life on the screen eating, drinking, fighting, dying, and yes even (mating).

Caveats: First: I wish the documentary had gone into a bit more detail with early homo sapiens and Neanderthals. I felt the impact of these early humans on their environment wasn't fully explored. Second: About the only scenes I saw where the animation was left than perfect, was where/when the animals fed. The chewing and eating motions didn't seem quite right. The early chimp-like humans were picking nits. But the nits never seemed to quite make it INTO the mouths. Etc.

Finally, one word of caution, while this did not bother me, some sensitive viewers and young children, might have trouble with repeat scenes of graphic violence, and animal death. Even though its animation, it is very realistically portrayed and no punches are pulled. This is not a movie intended for young children( although mature children will love it). As an example: my mother was quite distressed at the scene in the beginning where the trapped baby chick was being devoured alive by the giant ants (!) As a result, she refused to watch anymore.

Overall, an excellent film, sure to delight those who enjoy speculating on what things were like in the world of prehistory.

Rating:
Summary: Six-Star film!
Review: I really LOVED "Walking with Prehistoric Beasts," and cannot recommend this documentary enough! This show will appeal to fans of nature documentaries who would like to view a researched but (fictional) account of the lives of ancient mammals. This series starts off at about 65 million years ago with the demise of the dinosaurs, and ends about 30 million years ago, with the demise of the Neanderthals. The animation and animatronics are so well done, so detailed that at times I forgot I was watching computer animation and animatronics. In particular, I loved the scenes with the saber-toothed cats, the hyeanadons and the ancient whales. Oh, and who can forget the andrewsarchus?

The narrator does an excellent job of describing each era, the animal life, the flora and fauna, and the climate change and how it impacts the animal populace. Creatures spring to life on the screen eating, drinking, fighting, dying, and yes even (mating).

Caveats: First: I wish the documentary had gone into a bit more detail with early homo sapiens and Neanderthals. I felt the impact of these early humans on their environment wasn't fully explored. Second: About the only scenes I saw where the animation was left than perfect, was where/when the animals fed. The chewing and eating motions didn't seem quite right. The early chimp-like humans were picking nits. But the nits never seemed to quite make it INTO the mouths. Etc.

Finally, one word of caution, while this did not bother me, some sensitive viewers and young children, might have trouble with repeat scenes of graphic violence, and animal death. Even though its animation, it is very realistically portrayed and no punches are pulled. This is not a movie intended for young children( although mature children will love it). As an example: my mother was quite distressed at the scene in the beginning where the trapped baby chick was being devoured alive by the giant ants (!) As a result, she refused to watch anymore.

Overall, an excellent film, sure to delight those who enjoy speculating on what things were like in the world of prehistory.

Rating:
Summary: The BBC do it again. Awsome.
Review: I thought the BBC excelled themselves when they put 'Walking with Dinosaurs' together, and rated it 5 stars. Well, they have done it again. 'Walking With Prehistoric Beasts' is another fantastic series following on from the dinosuars. This deserves 6 stars as it builds on the earlier series with slightly better CGI and the stories allocated to the 'main star' of each episode is weaved even more interestingly. Great graphics, nice extra DVD features, wonderful research, all-age appeal, this DVD is a winner. Buy it now and keep it with your other BBC documentaries, 'Walking with Dinosaurs' and 'The Planets' and you've got the three best documentaries available on DVD. Essential.

Rating:
Summary: Totally incredible!
Review: I thought Walking with Dinosaurs was excellent, but Prehistoric Beasts really blew me away. The CGI is very well done and very convincing. I love how they weave a story around a particular species in each segment.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves prehistoric animals and those who are interested in evolutionary theory. Even though an educational film, this will go down as one of my all time favorite movies.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, but not as good as "Dinosaurs"
Review: I'm a big fan of "Walking With Dinosaurs" so bought this follow-up series without hesitation. However, I felt it wasn't nearly as good as WWD. Part of the problem lies with the nature of the subject. Many of these animals closely resemble living species, so a viewer will too easily detect any hint of artificiality. In particular, the episode with the hominid Australopithecus looked extremely artificial: they are basically hairy men but the way they moved and were constructed (especially their shoulders) suggests that more progress in CGI is needed. Cutting from the CGI hominids to footage of living animals (warthogs) or live-action puppetry was jarring. The believabiltiy of the tiger-like Smilodon and the rhino-like Brontotherium was also hurt by our familiarity with living animals. On the other hand, no one's ever seen a living dinosaur, so any problems are less easily noticed. Dinosaurs also don't have fur.

Another problem is that the lifestyles of these extinct mammals are very similar to those of living mammals, so their stories are not quite as compelling. For example Indricotherium is basically a tall, long-necked rhino and acted like one. Smilodon and the Mammoths also acted pretty much like modern animals.

One thing that bothered me was a Matrix-style "bullet-time" special effects shot. In a scene of one animal chasing another in the rain, the animal and the raindrops freeze as the camera rotates around them. You are immediately reminded that you're watching special effects. However, they made up for it by having some shots that looked as if the camera was knocked over by an extinct mammal.

But I do recommend this series. You'll get a view into a prehistoric world too long overshadowed by the dinosaurs. Just be prepared not to like it as much as WWD.

Rating:
Summary: BBC and Discovery are a great team!
Review: I've been a prehistory fan for some time now and all of the BBC/Discovery documenteries have been great but the "Walking with" series is just fantastic! Sure, some of what they make sound as fact is really only speculation but that is expected. I own all of the "Walking with" DVDs available and have watched each one of them at least 4-5 times. Certainly worth the purchase for anyone with even the slightest interest in prehistory, dinosaurs or even just the excellent special effects.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting, great Walking with Dinosaurs companion
Review: If you liked Walking with Dinosaurs, this video makes a good companion piece. You get the same fascinating computer animated and animatronic reconstructions, though in this case of course they are of early mammalian life, just a great show to watch and imagine what might have been. One thing I remember in particular was a shot in which a group of primitive proto-humans (ausralopithicines?) walk past the camera, the producers actually thought to include the detail of one of them kicking up a stone as they passed the camera. That stone flew right at the lens and cracked it, just like it would have done had this really been filmed back in the past. I love seeing that kind of detail.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Walking with Dinos
Review: Just as good as the previous BBC "Walking With Dinos" series, and in our opinion, even better! My kids really liked seeing the variety of mamals - "the big, the bad, and the ugly" - and the carniverous terror birds. Even after seeing how these extinct beasts were created I always find myself forgetting that they're faux.

Browse the companion book (See ISBN: 0789478293) for beautiful images taken from this series and I know you'll be as instantly sold on this DVD as we were.

Rating:
Summary: A Roaring Good Documentary
Review: Little have been said about prehistoric beasts. Other than the famous Mammoths, mention Basilosaurus or maybe Gastronis to anyone, and they will throw you a blank stare. Almost everyone relates prehistory to the age of the dinosaurs, however, this documentary is about to change all that. Its producer Jasper James (Tim Haines is the excutive producer this time) once said that he hopes that this series would induce people to take notice of prehistoric beasts. You know what? I think he succeeded quite well.

Beautifully crafted, this documentary packs a big punch. Narrated by Kenneth Branaugh, whose monotonous voice is excellent throughout the show can be described as, humourous, majestic and emotional at times, this documentary will hardly put you to sleep. With graphical improvements, this documentary takes viewers back to the age of prehistoric beasts, with its abosrbing storylines. The first episode takes viewers back to Germany, where they witness how vurnerable life can be, as they see a new born Gastronis chick being devoured by giant ants. Episode two throws viewers into the ocean, in the midst of the upcoming El Nino, and viewers themselves get to witness how harsh life could be on a pregnant prehistoric whale.

Another factor that makes this documentary so much more interesting, is the cliches thrown in, not present in any other documentary. We see spectacular Matrix effects, viewers themselves will be 'attacked' by the creatures, as the camera is pushed at, splashed at, pelted at, and even rammed at !( which will literally send you 'tumbling' )

Overall, this is a great DVD set to buy, the second disk will only interest those who want to find out more about the beasts, read the storyboards, go behind the scenes, or watch the trailers.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing and Gripping Tale
Review: Older children and adults will love this DVD, but I found it was too intense for my 4-year-old son. I made the mistake of not previewing it. We had already watched, "Allosaurus: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special" and it was fairly tame. "Prehistoric Beats" pulls no punches in depicting the raw brutality of prehistoric life. We got through some of it, but had to click it off as the army of giant ants swarmed the baby dinosaur, stinging it to death. Enough said!