Director/Writer: Todd Douglas Miller
Cast: Neal Larson, Peter Larson, Susan Hendrickson, Bob Farrar, Terry Wentz
Running Time: 95 minutes
Certificate: PG
Synopsis: When paleontologist Peter Larson and his team from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research made the world’s greatest dinosaur discovery in 1990, they knew it was the find of a lifetime; the largest, most complete T. rex ever found. But during a ten-year battle with the U.S. government, powerful museums, Native American tribes, and competing paleontologists, they found themselves not only fighting to keep their dinosaur but fighting for their freedom as well.
As humans we’re endlessly fascinated with the past and what came before us; it’s seemingly in our nature. Those particularly interested will dedicate their lives to researching and investigating as a means to try and understand – people like Peter Larson and his colleagues. During the 1980s and 1990s his team of palaeontologists carried out archaeological digs searching for the fossils of dinosaurs, finding thousands of bone fragments of various T-Rex skeletons.
Then, in 1990, they stumbled upon the greatest discovery of their career – a largely intact fossilised T-Rex skeleton in the Badlands of South Dakota. Affectionately named Sue, after Susan Hendrickson, a member of the team who made the initial discovery, months of care and precision were taken to extract Sue from the cliff-side that had been her home for millions of years in order to take her to a museum where she could be displayed for millions to see.
What should have then been another huge restoration project to ready the bones for public viewing was halted mid-way through when the FBI turned up at the Black Hills Institute where the paleontologists worked and seized Sue citing the illegal sale of goods from land in Government Trust. There then followed was a ten-year legal battle with enough technicalities and jargon to confuse the best of us, such was the complexity of the case brought against Larson and his colleagues.
Far from being a dry and detached look at the American justice system in all its glory, the coverage of the battles the team faced is compelling, emotional and heart-wrenching. The levels of personal investment all the team had reached and the affection for Sue is captured vividly in Miller’s telling and is inspiring to watch. Whilst angry at the injustice of what was happening, members of the team helped the FBI package up Sue to be taken into storage to ensure no damage occurred and lead palaeontologist Peter Larson would visit where she was being stored and talk to her from outside a window. This protective and bittersweet tonality lifts DINOSAUR 13 to a film worthy of its’ nomination for the Grand Jury Prize for Documentaries at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
If you’ve any interest in dinosaurs, a massive JURASSIC PARK fan, or just love a fascinating and compelling story told with passion, look out for the hugely impressive DINOSAUR 13.
[usr=4] DINOSAUR 13 is released in UK cinemas this Friday, August 15th. For a full list of screenings click here
