T-Rex: A Dinosaur in Hollywood

Tyrannosaurus rex, or “tyrant lizard king,” first fired public imagination in the early 1900s, after bones preserved for more than 65 million years were discovered in southeastern Montana. This Discovery Channel documentary takes a novel approach to a familiar topic, treating the iconic dinosaur as an actual character savoring its moment in the spotlight. After covering the groundbreaking 1905 T. rex exhibit at NYC's American Museum of Natural History, the program quickly moves on to the dino's career in the movies, illustrating the pioneering “stop-motion” techniques of Willis O'Brien in the silent classic The Lost World (1925) and the later Ray Harryhausen flicks, including 1969's Valley of Gwangi, which mixes dinosaurs with cowboys! Unfortunately, by the time of the 1950s creature-features, the ferocious carnivore was already beginning to look a little moth-eaten and cheesy, but the computer-generated effects introduced in the Jurassic Park films allowed the king to come stomping back onto the screen to terrify a new generation of admirers. Among those interviewed here are paleontologists who touch on some facts and theories, including the T. rex's possible genetic link to birds, but the overall whimsical tone taken by writer-director Michael Davies ultimately wears a bit thin. DVD extras include an excellent feature on the mosasaur, a gigantic marine reptile that wreaked havoc in the oceans during prehistoric times. Although it places more emphasis on entertainment than education, this is still a strong optional purchase. Aud: H, P. (S. Rees)