Dinosaur 13

Name: Dinosaur 13
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Documentary
Released: August 15, 2014
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 66

2014

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Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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6.9

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Dinosaur 13

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Movie Details & Credits

| Release Date: August 15, 2014 | PG

Summary: When Paleontologist Peter Larson and his team from the Black Hills Institute made the world's greatest dinosaur discovery in 1990, they knew it was the find of a lifetime; the largest, most complete T. rex ever found. But during a ten-year battle with the U.S. government, powerful museums, Native American tribes, and competingWhen Paleontologist Peter Larson and his team from the Black Hills Institute made the world's greatest dinosaur discovery in 1990, they knew it was the find of a lifetime; the largest, most complete T. rex ever found. But during a ten-year battle with the U.S. government, powerful museums, Native American tribes, and competing paleontologists they found themselves not only fighting to keep their dinosaur but fighting for their freedom as well.… Expand

Director: Todd Douglas Miller

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Documentary

Rating: PG

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Jan 16, 2014

Douglas Miller's Dinosaur 13 is both awe-inspiring and tragic. Conventionally made but featuring an undeniably compelling story at its core, Miller’s debut benefits greatly from the combination of passion and sadness embedded in its subjects’ tale. Read full review

Joshua Rothkopf

Aug 12, 2014

In its early scenes, Dinosaur 13 works nearly as well as a certain Steven Spielberg thriller, creating the giddy, ominous mood of past and present colliding in excitement. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Aug 21, 2014

Sue wins out, and the film is worth seeing, if only for the reminder of how badly justice can miscarry if enough millions are spent by the U.S. government. Read full review

John DeFore

May 19, 2014

Engaging characters and the persistent appeal of dinosaurs benefit the doc, whose Byzantine legal content might otherwise be off-putting. Read full review

John Anderson

Aug 14, 2014

Guaranteed to fan antigovernment sentiments among its audiences, Dinosaur 13 is less about paleontology than it is about prosecutorial overreach, political gamesmanship, dinosaur swindlers and true crime — if in fact crimes were even committed, and/or committed by the people accused. Read full review

The Guardian Mike McCahill

Sep 22, 2014

If it all feels too anomalous to seal its case against today's big legal and corporate predators, it never lacks for diverting turns and quirks. Read full review

David Hiltbrand

Aug 15, 2014

Mostly, Dinosaur 13 is far too long, slogging along without momentum or suspense. These events would have been better handled in a single installment of Dateline. Read full review

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User Reviews

stoneofdarkness

Jun 18, 2022

One of the great documentaries about dinosaurs. I recommend this if you are also interested with documentaries.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LeZee

Aug 8, 2015

A story of Sue, surrounded by the legal conflict.

Everyone has something to remember their childhood and cinema is one of the sectors to talk about. In my time it was 'Jurassic Park'. The first film to give a perfect picture of either visual graphics or the characteristic behaviours andA story of Sue, surrounded by the legal conflict.

Everyone has something to remember their childhood and cinema is one of the sectors to talk about. In my time it was 'Jurassic Park'. The first film to give a perfect picture of either visual graphics or the characteristic behaviours and much more. So I proudly say I grew up being a fan of that movie and got a special interest in the Tyrannosaurus Rex. There are many varieties, but T-Rex is the many people's favourite, as well as mine. This documentary movie is about the same species and I was delighted to learn more about it.

I was ready for the adventurous ride, the film opened with the dialogue which states that we are surrounded by the past. Moves on with a team of paleontologist discovering the 13th T-Rex in the human history nicknamed Sue. The recovery percentage is higher than the previous 12 specimens. Listening to their interviews of what they are saying with their enthusiasm and eagerness on the find, gives us the goose bumps. It was going well, suddenly after the 30 minutes it switched from scientific study and research to the legal battle to save the Sue. I did not expect it and I don't want the trial and courtroom drama. I did not have a choice, but had to finish my watch.

"So you look up and you're looking at the past,
and then you look down and you're looking at the past."

What comes next was the interesting stuff. The intervening of the federal government was actually the film, the truth that many people did not know. The fight for Sue begins. We would know with our commonsense what's legal and illegal by the end of the half movie, but taking side is the tough part. Because at the one end sympathy for emotional attachment and the other end legislation that everyone has to bow. Soon you would forget the Sue, since the scenario completely changed and you would be no clue where it will progress from there. As from the perspective of the paleontologists who found Sue, it is heartbreaking. And as a public eye, the allegations are just the misuse of power.

It had a dark humour as well, like two dogs fight for a piece of bone. But in reality, someone has to go down and the price was big. America's U-turns and wrong decisions either internal or the external affairs is not the first time to showcase in a movie or the documentaries. As a movie fanatic, Charles Chaplin's exile was the hardest thing I ever disliked about America. These peoples, including Peter Larson from this documentary are the exceptions for their achievements. There they have failed, at least I expect them to give a right credits.

There was actually no case, just a mishandled situation that stretched to a decade long. In a couple of parts it confirms like when a prison guard says 'Man, you must have really pissed somebody off'. In another case, it was the real Ph.D paleontologist, Robert Bakker, who praised the technics and expertise of Peter Larson team and called they are not pirates. But did not support openly as he knew legal limits was crossed by them. Watch this just to know the truth about Sue and men behind unearth her. A good documentary film, but you won't learn scientific terms other than it was Sue's struggle from the day she was seized by the FBI to the journey to a museum. If she was alive, no one wanted to claim her, rather run for a life.

8/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ajaydalmeida

Nov 4, 2014

This is truly one of the best documentaries made. The story is both awe inspiring and shocking. It is a story that not many people know of and hence makes it a must watch.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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