Dinosaur DatatDig
Dinosaur DataDig

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Mineo's guide to drawing dinosaurs
Mineo's guide to drawing dinosaurs
Want to create your own dinosaur masterpiece? Here's a free online lesson courtesy of Mineo Shiraishi.
Best scene in a dinosaur movie?
Updated: June 30, 2010
Additions/Comments:
 
The votes are in...
 
After two months the votes are in and somewhat surprisingly the nostalgia of classic dinosaur films took a rather distant second place to more recent films. The Jurassic Park movies took out the top two positions followed by Peter Jackson's King Kong adaptation and Disney's Dinosaur. The best rated older sequence is the attack of the Allosaurus juve in Ray Harryhausen's One Million Years B.C. Among the lowest number of votes was given to the village invasion by two Allosaurus from the BBC's 2001 adaptation of Conan Doyle's The Lost World. This is surprising as this is a superior scene in the best adaptation of this classic tale. While not without its faults, this telemovie by the team that gave us "Walking with Dinosaurs" deserves to more widely seen and appreciated.
 
The countdown:
 
14.
 
Fantasia
The Rite of Spring
from Fantasia (1940)
Disney's imaginative re-interpretation of the music to The Rite of Spring features a condensed version of the history of the Earth from the formation of the planet, to the first living creatures, to the age, reign, and extinction of the dinosaurs.
 
13.
 
The Lost World
Village Invasion
from The Lost World (2001)
In this, the best adaptation of Conan Doyle's The Lost World, captured ape men call twin allosaurs to the native village. Challenger and his expedition join the villagers in battling the giant invaders eventually killing them both with an elephant gun.
 
12.
 
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
Chasmosaur's Lair
from When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
In this short sequence three cavemen stumble upon a cave inhabited by a very aggressive Chasmosaurus which attacks and injures several of them.
 
11.
 
Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Streets of New York
from Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Ray Harryhausen's fictional, carnivorous and quadrupedal "Rhedosaurus" comes ashore at Manhattan in a bid to reach its ancient breeding grounds on Coney Island.
 
10.
 
Cesta do praveku
The Mesozoic Stretch
from Cesta do praveku (1955)
Having entered a cave four boys find themselves traveling back through prehistory on a "river of time". During the Mesozoic stretch of the river they encounter many forms of "middle life" including pterosaurs and a menagerie of dinosaurs.
 
9.
 
Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
The Streets of New York
from Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Ray Harryhausen's fictional, carnivorous and quadrupedal "Rhedosaurus" comes ashore at Manhattan in a bid to reach its ancient breeding grounds on Coney Island.
 
8.

King Kong 1933
Kong's Brawl with the T. rex
from King Kong (1933)
Kong has set Anne Darrow in a tree so he can deal with her rescuers on the log bridge. While away a Tyrannosaurus moves in to make a meal of her. Hearing her screams, Kong intervenes just in time and a knock-down-drag-out brawl ensues. Kong is eventually victorious, dispatching the rex by tearing apart its jaws.
 
7.
 
Valley of the Gwangi
The Roping
from The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
Having discovered their guns are loaded with blanks the cowboy invaders of the Forbidden Valley attempt to rope Harryhausen's "Allotyrannus".
 
6.
 
King Kong 2005
Anne Darrow escapes from Kong only to be threatened by a trio of Vastatosaurus rex. Kong leaps to her defense quickly dispatching one of the carnivores with a boulder to the head. Anne, Kong and the remaining rexes tumble over a cliff edge where they continue their brawl while suspended by vines. Anne falls to the cliff floor pursued by the final rex but Kong intervenes a final time, killing the reptile by ripping open its jaws as the original Kong had done.
 
5.

Jurassic Park: The Lost World
The Hunt
from The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
A large rival team to that sent by John Hammond and led by Peter Ludlow and big game hunter Roland Tembo has arrived on Isla Sorna. With a fleet of vehicles they begin capturing samples of many species.
 
4.
 
One Million Years B.C.
An Allosaurus Raids
from One Million Years B.C. (1966)
As Tumak of the Rock Tribe receives a lesson in fishing and fun a juvenile Allosaurus attacks the settlement of the Shell People. The tribe flees to their cave but in the panic, a small girl is left trapped up a tree. Tumak seizes a spear and rushes forward to defend her. Emboldened by this example, Loana runs out to snatch the child to safety and other men come to Tumak's aid, one of whom is killed before Tumak is finally able to spectacularly impale the meat eater atop a stake.
 
3.
 
Dinosaur
Carnotaurus Attacks
from Dinosaur (2000)
In a scene reminiscent of Phil Tippet's Prehistoric Beast, a young Parasaurolophus wanders from a multi-species herd into a forest and is pursued out again by a Carnotaurus of T. rex proportions. It rampages through the scattering herbivores before finally falling upon a hapless Pachyrhinosaurus.
 
2.
 
Jurassic Park III
River Cruise
from Jurassic Park III (2001)
In this short but majestic scene our heroes have escaped the Pteranodon aviary, and before the showdown with the Spinosaurus, pass through the dinosaur pastures of Isla Sorna.
 
And the winner is...
 
Jurassic Park
T. rex Escapes
from Jurassic Park (1993)
The security systems of Jurassic Park are shut down allowing the Tyrannosaurus to break through the deactivated electric fence surrounding its pen. The cowardly Gennaro flees from the car into a nearby toilet, while Tim and Lex accidentally attract the T. rex's attention with a flashlight and are attacked. Grant distracts the T. rex with a flare, but just as she is about to leave, Malcolm tries the same trick with less success, and in fleeing from the T. rex, attracts her attention and tells Grant to take the kids and run. Gennaro is devoured and Malcolm is severely injured and assumed killed, while the children and Grant only narrowly avoid being killed themselves.
 
Dinosaur Central: Best scenes in dinosaur movies