The Mysteries of the Giants

Mastodon in your Backyard

September 2001 •English

A documentary about the 1999 discovery of a Mastodon skeleton in a Hyde Park backyard.

The Concavenator Valley

September 2023 •Spanish

Three researchers work on a paleontological project focusing on two dinosaurs: one fictional, the one created by special effects genius Ray Harryhausen for the film The Valley of Gwangi (1969); the other real, the Concavenator corcovatus, whose remains were discovered in 2003 at the Las Hoyas site, in the province of Cuenca (Spain), very close to where the filming took place.

The Great Dyings: The Supercut

February 2024 •English

A supercut of the five part YouTube miniseries The Great Dyings. Content creator Angel of Death explores the five mass extinctions and the effects they had on life on Earth.

Dinozaury I

February 1963 •English

Polish educational cartoon about dinosaurs

Joachim Barrande – ztracená moře

September 2019 •Czech

Prehistoric Worlds

January 2020 •English

Five times, Earth has faced apocalyptic events that swept nearly all life from the face of the planet. What did these prehistoric creatures look like? What catastrophes caused their disappearance? And how did our distant ancestors survive and give rise to the world we know today?

Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs?

January 1992 •English

Cleaning up a weird scientist's messy study is a chore four kids decide to make short work of on a Saturday morning! The kids file animals into drawers according to their species, 'til they discover a replica of a dinosaur. They hesitate to dispense with the oldest creature on earth by filing it in the "EXTINCT" drawer! However, they soon find many surprises in store, including disagreement as to what creature actually is the oldest on earth, from four wisecracking and argumentative cockroaches eavesdropping from a shelf!

After Man

October 1989 •Japanese

A stop-motion adaptation of the 1981 novel by geologist Dougal Dixon of the same name, which explores the speculative paths of evolution of modern animals into the far future.

Ice Age Death Trap

February 2012 •English

In a race against developers in the Rocky Mountains, paleontologists uncover a unique fossil site packed with astonishingly well-preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons, and other giant extinct beasts. The discovery opens a highly focused window on the vanished world of the Ice Age in North America.

How To Clone A Woolly Mammoth

November 2014 •English

The Siberian discovery of the best-preserved woolly mammoth on record has teams of experts working around the globe, and around the clock, on some of the most ambitious projects in science. In Russia, paleontologists are conducting a historic autopsy on the 40,000-year-old beast to find out how it lived, and how it died. Meanwhile labs in South Korea and at Harvard University are using the latest advances in DNA manipulation in hopes of cloning the furry giant and introducing it to the modern world.

Out Of Europe

February 2020 •German

Looking at whether the history of early human evolution should be rewritten. For decades, most experts have been convinced that Africa is the cradle of mankind and many fossil finds from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa and Chad seemed to prove it.

How to Build a Dinosaur

September 2011 •English

Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago and we have hardly ever found a complete skeleton. So how do we turn a pile of broken bones into a dinosaur exhibit? Dr Alice Roberts finds out how the experts put skeletons back together, with muscles, accurate postures, and even - in some cases - the correct skin color. Here's a conundrum. Most dinosaur skeletons are incomplete, so how do you create museum exhibits that are realistic? As Dr Alice Roberts discovers, it's a practical question for those putting together an exhibition at LA County's Natural History Museum, who have to design dynamic, punter-pleasing displays that also reflect the latest thinking in paleontology circles.

Živé zkameněliny

January 1951 •Czech

T. Rex Autopsy

June 2015 •English

Imagine a biology lab filled by a 40-foot specimen, ready for dissection. The creature has skin like a crocodile, eyes the size of softballs and intestines large enough to fit your arm. T. rex Autopsy will go inside a full-size T. rex for the first time ever to reveal how the 65-million-year-old beast may have lived. Using cutting-edge special effects techniques, and in collaboration with esteemed veterinary surgeons, anatomists and paleontologists, T. rex Autopsy will build the world’s first full-size anatomically precise Tyrannosaurus rex, based on the very latest research and findings. The massive monster will be lifelike inside and out, giving scientists the chance to touch it, smell it, scan it, x-ray it and cut it open from head to toe.

The Real Jurassic Park

November 1993 •English

Could scientists recreate Hollywood's Jurassic Park using 100-million-year-old dinosaur DNA? Director Steven Spielberg, author Michael Crichton, actor Jeff Goldblum, and a host of scientific experts answer this compelling question in the award-winning Nova documentary, The Real Jurassic Park. Behind-the-scenes clips, interviews, and demonstrations with leading paleontologists investigate the viability of reviving the extinct species. All phases of logistics are addressed, including extracting prehistoric insect DNA, creating embryos for placement in host eggs, and more. The scientific analysis of the process leads to the examination of the ethics of recreating a vanished life form.

The Dinosaur Echo

September 2017 •English

The Dinosaur Echo is a documentary by Canadian filmmaker Brandy Yanchyk about the renaissance of paleontology in Canada today and what dinosaurs can teach us about climate change. The film introduces us to a new generation of paleontolgists who are making extraordinary dinosaur discoveries in Alberta and British Columbia in Canada.

Dinosaur Wars

January 2011 •English

Dinosaur Wars is the story of two talented scientists, O.C. Marsh and Edward Cope, whose once professional rivalry soured into a bitter personal feud. Together, Marsh and Cope were responsible for identifying more than 142 different species and for introducing dinosaurs into the American imagination, but their legacy would be forever marred by two decades of ruthless infighting, espionage, and sabotage.

Bigger Than T. Rex

November 2014 •English

A team of palaeontologists led by Nizar Ibrahim go in search of Spinosaurus, a giant meat eater believed to be even larger than Tyrannosaurus rex.

Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough

April 2022 •English

David Attenborough brings to life, in unprecedented detail, the last days of the dinosaurs. Palaeontologist Robert DePalma has made an incredible discovery in a prehistoric graveyard: fossilised creatures, astonishingly well preserved, that could help change our understanding of the last days of the dinosaurs. Evidence from his site records the day when an asteroid bigger than Mount Everest devastated our planet and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Based on brand new evidence, witness the catastrophic events of that day play out minute by minute.

Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur

January 2016 •English

David Attenborough tells the story of the discovery and reconstruction in Argentina of the world's largest-known dinosaur, a brand new species of titanosaur.