Product Details

• Actors: Narrated By Martin Sheen
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Penguin Group(USA) I
• VHS Release Date: October 25, 1995
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303893368
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,266 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Another fine entry from Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness series. As with their books and computer software, the video clearly presents and dynamically illustrates numerous facts about those beasts from 65 million years ago. Martin Sheen narrates this program that explores what paleontologists have uncovered in the last 200 years (an important find is made every seven weeks on average). Typical fact: Did you know that all the information on Tyrannous rex is attributed to only a dozen skeletal finds? The varieties of illustrations are truly remarkable: computer graphics, animations, Claymation, even wonderful low-tech models. There's so much here that multiple viewings are necessary (and certainly to be requested by the child). It's keen stuff that adults should find as much fun to watch as the kids. The companion book and CD-ROM are also available. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Toddler Delight, May 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Eyewitness - Dinosaur [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I was amazed but would you believe my 3-yr old loves this video? He starts to whine towards the end - hoping to get an encore presentation. There is just enough dinosaur cartoon, special effects to keep him watching. He quotes from the narrative so he is obviously listening too. On the good side, he has learned several dinosaur names and plenty of obscure facts - on the down side, the tape is only about 30 minutes and he is HUNGRY for dino info (but not very patient with the EyeWitness Dinosaur book yet) so we watch it again and again. If you have a young dino lover consider this video in conjunction with the younger DK books (they come in board book style) or the early reading DK books (we bought a fairly simple Level 2 "I can read" to read together).

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kids love them!, March 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eyewitness - Dinosaur [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Eyewitness series is an excellent educational video set for children! My two and four year olds love them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, March 13, 2005

By 

Lawrence Dunn "LawrenceADunn" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eyewitness - Dinosaur [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video doesn't know what it wants to be -- it's written for adults but has graphics meant strictly for kids. As a result, kids will not be reached by the narration, and adults will find the animation and graphics silly.

Worse, even judged on their own, the graphics and the writing are quite poor. For instance, having only a limited amount of time (around a half-hour), the video chooses to fritter that precious time away by drawing obtuse analogies between dinosaurs and construction equipment. Sheen at times struggles to pronounce the dinosaur names, and some of the science is dated. The video actually gives serious exposure to the idea that dinosaurs became extinct because they died of boredom.

The graphics rely largely on creaky, outdated stop-motion footage of dinosaurs from old movies from the 20s-60's, which we now know are wildly inaccurate. The central graphic of the show is a little green clay dinosaur that will simply reinforce old, inaccurate tail-dragging stereotypes.

The Eyewitness nature series are generally excellent, as they can rely on stock footage and can easily use current animals for their in-studio shots. Of course, this is not possible with dinosaurs, and the Eyewitness crew -- normally experts at improvization -- utterly dropped the ball on this one. Save your money and find one of the many excellent current dinosaur videos to wow your kids. This one will quickly bore them, and you as well.