April 30, 2010
What Are the Best Dinosaur Movies Ever Made?
Movie reel, courtesy of Flickr user gomattolson
As sorry as I am to admit it, most movies with dinosaurs in them are not very good. It is far easier for me to think of bad dinosaur movies (I still have nightmares from Theodore Rex, and that was meant to be a comedy) than good ones, but there are a few shining examples of what dino-cinema can be if done right.
Jurassic Park (1993)
This is the high-water mark for dinosaur films. Based upon the novel of the same name, this 20th-century “Frankenstein” fable featured some of the best-looking dinosaurs ever seen on film and ushered in a new age of dino-mania. Sure, there were a lot of scientific problems and inaccuracies with the movie, but the fact of the matter is that, 17 years after it was released, Jurassic Park is still a lot of fun to watch. (The first film was followed up by two so-so sequels.)
King Kong (1933)
Even though a giant gorilla was the tragic star of King Kong, when I first saw it I was rooting for the dinosaurs. It didn’t matter that they were stop-motion creatures filmed in black-and-white five decades before I was born—the Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, and other assorted prehistoric monsters in the film were every bit as threatening as the movie’s star. The battle between Tyrannosaurus and King Kong, especially, is one of the most exciting confrontations ever projected onto the silver screen.
King Kong (2005)
Ok, it might seem like a bit of a cheat to list a remake as a separate movie, but I think the 2005 version of King Kong deserves special mention. While the story generally hewed to the one laid out in the 1933 original, the creature creators working on the 21st-century remake envisioned what the living descendants of prehistoric creatures might look like. The modern-day descendant of T. rex, dubbed Vastatosaurus rex, got most of the attention, but there were also “raptors” (Venatosaurus), Brontosaurus and a slew of other imaginary dinosaurs. In fact, more dinosaurs were imagined than made it into the film, and the book The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island describes them in detail.
The Land Before Time (1988)
Given the number of annoying sequels this film has produced, I had some qualms about placing it on this list, but since it was the first dinosaur movie I ever saw in theaters it holds a special place in my heart. The tale of a group of anthropomorphic misfit dinosaur trying to make it to the “Great Valley,” The Land Before Time fit in with the notion (still relatively new when it was released) that dinosaurs had family lives and were not just dumb reptiles. Spike, the mute Stegosaurus youngster, was my favorite character, and I think I still have a stuffed animal version of him around here somewhere….
Gojira (1954)
This movie monster, essentially a radioactive dinosaur, has starred in over 28 films to date, but the original 1954 Japanese film is by far the best. As much a social commentary on the use of atomic weapons on Japan during WWII as a straight-up monster flick, the first Godzilla film is arguably one of the most important movies ever made (if for no other reason that its star has had such enduring popularity—a series reboot is already underway).
What makes for a “good” dinosaur film is largely subjective, though. What are your favorites?
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I always thought that from the three JURASSIC PARK films a pretty good one, consisting *only* of dinosaurs could be cobbled toghether by editing out all the annoying bits with humans.
Actually the production starring a dinosaur that I like the best was not a theatrical release but made for TV. It was the “Ballad of Big Al” episode in the WALKING WITH DINOSAURS series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_Of_Big_Al
My second choice would have to be “The Lost World” (1960). I admit it and “King Kong” (1933) top my list primarily because of the age I was when I saw them. Even though it wouldn’t get any votes, “Valley of the Gwangi” deserves to be on the list along with any others that Ray Harryhausen worked on.
One of my favorite dinosaur movies from when I was a kid was The Enormous Egg
Ya’ll forgot the classic “Prehysteria” movie about baby dinosaur puppets.
One of my favorites is “The Valley of Gwangi”, even with the T. Rex’s improper posture.
Although it’s hard to beat JURASSIC PARK for its stunningly realistic dinosaurs, the 1960 production, DINOSAURUS (in wide screen no less), remains one of my favorites from childhood.
I watched The Land Before Time last night with my son (and I agree, all the sequels are very annoying!). Also, I realized that TLBT and Jurassic Park are only 5 years apart, not to far apart for the way dinosaurs are depicted…
I just can’t pick against the original Jurassic Park. It was my “Star Wars.” I saw it five or six times in the theater, after having read the book at least as many times. My favorite shot is still the early one, right after the Brachiosaurus gets up on his hind legs, when Grant and Ellie watch the mixed group of herbivores at the edge of the lagoon. I love it despite all of its flaws, and despite the fact that one cannot write about dinosaurs without mentioning it. And despite the fact that none of Crichton’s gore made it past Spielberg.
My favorite was a movie called Journey through time, made by the smithonian in the 1970s, I wish they would do an up to date version with the more recent scientific knowledge my son loves it even though the special effects are old.
I can’t get behind Land Before Time. When I was a kid, I remember most of my friends knew the basic dinosaurs: stegosaurus, triceratops, (then) brontosaurus, etc. When that movie came out, it was an instant hit with many kids. My mom ran an in-home daycare, and I remember swaths of younger kids talking about “long-necks” and “three-horns” and not knowing what the heck a triceratops was anymore. It dumbed things down too much.
Okay, enough kvetching on my part. I totally agree with Davor about the Brachiosaurus part of Jurassic Park.
And I don’t think you can get the full King Kong (2005) experience without having played the video game. Peter Jackson directed the game, and the part as Jack on the raft with the two V-Rexes chasing you down the river made me more tense than any other gaming experience.
I still have to find and play that game, Glendon. It’s gotta be dirt-cheap now, and I’ve heard it’s very atmospheric and immersive.
How did “Valley of Gwangi” not make it on this list?
Pity you don’t have a graded pole. My second choice would have been Gojira – which I still remember by the name of Godzila – although for sheer ingenuity it might well have been first.
Thought non-fiction (mostly) the BBC series might also have been mentioned…
Jurassic Park and the sequels rule!
What about “Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend”? Okay, it wasn’t that good, but maybe a mention as well…
OK. I love special effects and see Jurassic Park almost every time it rolls around. I even admit to watching Land Before Time (original). The Pterodactyl section of Walking With Dinosaurs is up at the top of my list, too, as well as the movie, Dinosaur (animated). So-so plot but really nice graphics.
[...] The best dinosaur movies ever made (slim [...]
Jurrasic Park forward is on top for visual effects.
However anything Ray Harryhausen has done is pretty good i.e. Gwangi, Beast fron 20,000 fathoms.
Willis Obrien’s “The Lost World” (1925 silent movie) and of course “KIng Kong” are classic.
One of my childhood favorites also is Journey to the Begining of Time where 4 boys travel from NYC Museum of Natural History to the begining of time. Lots of Dino sighting along the way!
My favorit movie is “Jurassic Park”, 1st part…I think thats the best dino movie ever made(my opinion).Thats the first movie about dinosaurs I have seen.
I have to vote for Valley of Gwangi too. (It’s an Allosaurus not a T-Rex by the way) As a dinosaur fanatic as a kid, this film was IT!! Sure CGI makes the effects look dated, and there’s been so much research since then that the design of the dinosaurs is now believed to be way off. But the movie still has that element that clicks the dino lover in me.
You made a Big mistake leaving out ‘Valley of the Gwangi’ as mentioned elsewhere here, this was THE movie for me as a child even now years and years later I still A) Remember it and B) Own the VHS of it .. A Classic!
Jurassic Park, TLBT, Kong…Toy Story? really? a dinosaur film? I agree Gwangi should have made the list, but, even that…IMHO…is surpassed my One Million Years BC! Raquel Welch in a bikini and the Harryhausen dinosaurs are too good not to be included…and just for kicks, how about Caveman? Come on!
“Journey to the Begining of Time”, original Czech version was “Cesta do Praveku”. Four boys travel back in time to fight dinosaur:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Q51CNwET0
As much as I absolutely love cheesy Godzilla movies, Jurassic Park was the finest so called dinosaur movie ever made. There’s another movie made in the 70s I think called The last dinosaur that was very good. The original King Kong was a classic too. I’ve still got mad love for the movies with the guy in the big rubber suit, but today’s special effects trump that like crazy.
Jurassic Park was an absolute classic.
There is one film missing in your list…
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World, the remake by the BBC.
The dinosaurs are made by the same people who made the dinosaurs for Walking With Dinosaurs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-pNTQbQK7M
It isn’t just dinosaurs… But still… It’s a pretty good movie.
Anyone who loves dinosaur movies should at least see it one time.
Updated the links!
“Journey to the Begining of Time”, original Czech version was “Cesta do Praveku”. Four boys travel back in time to fight dinosaurs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bjRVQvgMlA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiWhwgXHJvI
Cloverfield
how can barney & friends not be no1 on the list , i have all 268 episodes playing on repeat , its like the best dinosaur stuff ever wow go barney !
what about dinotopia?, i used to love that.
“The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” was my first dinosaur movie (I was 7 at the time), and I got to see it in re-release on the big screen. My all-time favorite. My 2nd favorite is “Jurassic Park III,” which at 90 minutes was a lean, mean fun ride.