Big Al

2000

Big Al

8.1 | en | Documentary

145 million years ago an adolescent Allosaurus lay down to die in a dried up river bed. In 1991 scientists discovered his perfectly preserved body and nicknamed him Big Al. This is the story of this predatory dinosaur's life - how he grew from a tiny hatchling to the terror of the Jurassic plains, why his body was covered in so many wounds and how he ended up in the river bed. The second part tells the story of the extraordinary forensics, spectacular paleontological finds and intricate studies of Al's closest living relatives to unravel his intriguing life for the film.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP2 Big Al Uncovered

Dec. 27,2000

The life of a dinosaur was recreated in amazing detail in the Ballad of Big Al, but how was so much known about an animal that died millions of years ago? This programme tells the story of the extraordinary scientific detective work that got Big Al, the Allosaurus back on his feet. Scientists used forensics, spectacular paleontological finds and studies of his closest living relatives to unravel his intriguing life. Find out the real reason why Big Al earned the reputation as the dinosaur who lived fast and died young.

EP1 The Ballad of Big Al

Dec. 25,2000

8.1 | en | Documentary | More Info

Released: 2000-12-25 | Released Producted By: BBC , Discovery Channel Country: Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p008ctjr

Synopsis

Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Kenneth Branagh

Director

Kate Bartlett

Producted By

BBC , Discovery Channel

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Trailers

Cast

Kenneth Branagh

as Narrator

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Reviews

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "The Ballad of Big Al" is a 29-minute short film from 2000, so this one will soon have its 20th anniversary. It is an add-on for the television show "Walking with Dinosaurs" from one year earlier and Kenneth Branagh is once again the narrator, at least if you listen to the English version. The focus here is on the ill-fated life of a young allosaurus, so if you see the running time of under half an hour here, you may already guess correctly that it was cut short. Also with basically almost everything in here being fiction about the life of a dinosaur, I also would not really call it a documentary. The fact that they made a connection between a skeleton they found recently and a fictitious character is not enough to say it is a documentary. The name Big Al says it all already. This does not mean it's a weak or even bad film though. I mean 2 Emmy wins and a rating above 8 may be a bit on the exaggerated side, but it was an entertaining half hour with a nicely written fictitious plot. We also learn a bit about what life back then must have been like, so the film also delivers on an educational level. Overall, I give it a thumbs-up and it is certainly worth checking out, almost a must see if you got an above-average interest in dinosaurs.

EugeneandSasha This is without doubt one of the very best documentaries have ever seen. The Ballad of Big Al is a follow-up or extra episode for Walking With Dinosaurs. It describes the life of a particularly big Allosaurus, called Big Al, from the point where it hatches to it's death.The amazing CGI seen in Walking With Dinosaurs was even better in The Ballad of Big Al. This documentary is missing absolutely nothing. It has breath-taking scenes as well as suspenseful and terrifying moments. I found myself often at the edge of my seat.The story was well thought out and directed very nicely. The music and sound effects were top notch. Overall there are no real flaws in this documentary. There are absolutely no boring parts.If you have the slightest interest in dinosaurs this documentary will definitely greatly satisfy you.My Rating: 9.8/10

Christian Baer (Gullytrotter) The Ballad of Big Al is really the follow-up that greatly increases the class of "Walking with Dinosaurs".Big Al MUST be seen in combination with the second part of the special (The Science of Big Al). This way you at last get an idea of what clues we have on Dinosaurs and how the clues have been put together to get an idea of how the Dinosaurs might have lived.Using the clues found within the skeleton of an Allosaurus (Big Al), the team has put together something like "This is your life", Big Al. Big Al is born, grows up, hunts and dies. Although the story is (of course) only speculation, it is very interesting and put together with a lot of love. Unlike the series (Walking with Dinosaurs), the Ballad of Big Al really tells the viewer that this is only an assumption of Big Al's life while also letting the viewer in on many of the key reasons for this assumption.All in all this is a great follow-up. It's just too bad that "Walking with Dinosaurs" didn't have more of Big Al and the qualities of the follow-up.

Jonah Falcon This sequel of sorts does the original series proud, with Kenneth Branagh as narrator. As with _Walking With Dinosaurs (1999) (TV)_, the dinos are mostly CGI, with the use of puppetry for close ups.The advancement of Tim Haines' skill is obvious, with freer moving cameras, highlighted by Al's Fifth Year, in which a pack of allosaurs break up a diplodicus herd to get at a sick member. It's truly exciting, with a rousing score by Ben Bartlett, and excellent motion camerawork. The discovery of Big Al, the "star" of the show, in 1999 couldn't have come at a better time, coinciding with the debut of _Walking With Dinosaurs (1999) (TV)_ in the U.K. - a follow-up was an obvious choice, especially since Allosaurs made their presence felt in the chapter "Time of the Titans" as well as "Spirits of the Ice Forest". This also gave viewers a chance to see more of Brachiosaurus, which only made a brief cameo in the original series, as well as some dinos not seen, like Apatosaurus. Later in 2001 will see the debut of Walking with Prehistoric Creatures, and with the high video and aural quality of the Allosaurus special, it's warmly welcomed.The DVD features an excellent documentary on the discovery of Big Al, and at a retail price of $19.99, getting both Allosaurus and the documentary is a real steal.