Customer Reviews

National Geographic - SuperCroc

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first few minutes give the impression of this documentary being a spoof. If this were not a National Geographic documentary, I'd still believe it was.
Details about the Supercroc are amazing and its ability to eat dinosaurs fully believable. Sadly, there were too few details about the 40-foot long crocodile; instead, the viwer is given a documentary that seems to spend about 90% of its time in praise of the amazing abilities of the people involved in the fact-finding required to link the supercroc to today's remaining species of crocodile. All could have been covered by a few lines of commentary explaining that there was detailed research on the likely similarities of size (and predetory instincts) of present-day breeds of crocodile and the supercroc: however, that was not the case; so be it! But, to collect the required comparative data, the crocodile-hunting scenes seemed so lacking in safety for the people involved that I remain somewhat discomforted about why National Geographic endorsed such amateur displays (including one crocodile hunter stepping on the nose of a crocodile and looking very fortunate indeed not to have become a crocodile meal!).
Praise is certainly due to the amazing sculpting of what the supercroc would have looked like in comparison to mere human beings but, overall, too much time was spent on looking at the self-glorification of the presenters rather than the awesome glory of the supercroc.

Although the focus of this program is Sarcosuchus, the fossil "SuperCroc" of what is now the Sahara, it includes a great deal of information on contemporary crocodylians through "Croc-Hunteresque" segments in all sorts of interesting places. Particularly striking are a night croc "hunt" in Costa Rica, and Adam Britton's unique method of inserting and removing sensors into and out of a Saltwater Croc's stomach (by hand - you won't believe it 'til you see it).

Recovering the animal's fossilized skull is covered at some length and in such a way as to convey the tension inherent in recovering such a heavy, cumbersome, delicate, and valuable chunk of rock without destroying it or hurting yourself. Paleontologist wannabes, take notes.

The now-familiar method of bringing extinct animals to life through computer animation is used, but it would have been nice if there had been somewhat more footage of this sort and it could have been more lifelike; say, something more like that in "Walking With Dinosaurs." Also, other giant crocodilians such as Deinosuchus and Purussaurus were never discussed. This is understandable, since it was about Sarcosuchus after all, but I, at least, would have welcomed some comparison.

Quibbles aside, it was well done and my kids and I still think it's a blast, even after watching it a half-dozen or so times. Now, if the traveling display would just come to Omaha. . . .

This was one of the specials on prehistoric monsters released about the time of the Walking With Dinosaurs series. Compared to that,this is almost a bad cartoon.The CGI is clunky at best and does not even measure up to video game quality.
The info itself is good and the views of the life sized statue in the making are very interesting. But anyone one looking for the quality we have all come to expect from our CGI dinosaurs will be very disappointed.
I rated this item 3 Stars because I did like the narrative and general content of this DVD.The animation is the singular flaw that keeps me from giving it 5 Stars.If you are getting this for a kid, 10 or under,they should enjoy it well enough.
IMHO JPF

This movie is a great movie. I use it for one of my classes. The kids have stated constantly that "it was the best science video they've ever seen". They enjoy it immensely and they never fail to get so engrossed in it that they jump at the part where the modern crocodile jumps out of the water at someone. I've read the rather critical comments left by some of the less than educated reviewers (they can't write, spell, or write a complete sentence). Quite frankly they seem rather baseless. No one can get in a time machine and go backwards to see the real creature. However, via Science everyone gets to learn how scientists really "re-create" these ancient creatures. This is the part that the general public doesn't see. Australians probably get a lot of info on crocs because they are native to that area but the rest of us like to see them as well. It isn't a movie you watch to look for "big kills" (rather pathological to me) but it is a movie to watch to become better educated and better informed of the world around you. But based on everything I seen, my students love it and find it very interesting.

Even for National Geographic, this video is excellent. It covers the methods of discovery, analysis, and preservation of prehistoric finds, plus the excitement of crocodile hunters. A bit wild and even risky in the approach, but very informative and exciting at the same time. This is one to watch.

Paleontology has always been a competitive "sport" among scientists and enthusists. When a great discovery is made the person(s) will of couse 'beat their chests' and play the 'great white hunter'. And so they should. The fossiling they do at their level is dangerous grueling and full of highs and lows. Really, two movies could could be made, one about the discovery and the other about the life of the creature.

If you're looking for the big kill, this video isn't for you. The producers showed real imagination with the bone collection and making the "Super Croc", come to life in a model but I was looking for the kill. Even though they showed a couple of the scenes, zebras crossing the river and gazelles drinking, it was more of a "what was/if" kind of documentary.

This is a very educative movie about the prehistoric croc that was probably about 35-40 feet in length and weighed about ten tons. Starting from the Discovery of the Skelton of this supercroc's skull to various observations and calculations taken from watching the dimensions and different behavious of the Crocs around the globe and finally leading to the estimated model of the Supercroc based on these averages. The movie is quite advenurous and looks rational. Another National geographic classic. Must see the Model of Supercroc Designed in the end of the movie. Wow What a great Supercroc.

i really hate that steve erwin wannabe, restling alligators trying to find the bite pressure of sarcostucus, an 11 metre long crocodile from the late cretaciose period. i just thought id tell you that, sins u dont find that out till and our in. thats all i can say, i didnt watch the whole thin, cause it was boring............

not even feature length size movie and it took over two hours and hogged my lap top. i won't be down loading from unbox until the speeds are increased and a price drop for movies.