The Ballad of Big Al (2000)

Just perfect...

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Big Al Ballad is basically an extra episode of the Walking with Dinosaurs mini-series and it focuses on the life time of an Allosaur named Al, the originality in the name just kills me!! Anyway it is a great time revisiting the Late Jurassic and seen in a sense from the point of view of a predator, how was this environment. I love this documentary , because it feels like a 30 short movie with dinosaurs as the main characters and the fact that they made Al just an animal ,which it was and we still rooted for him ,is a sign of how well-made is this episode. Keep in mind that this, about 30 minutes long episode, makes you feel emotions for a creature ,which is dead for about a hundred forty five million year and there are directors today who can not achieve that with trained humans for the job! In the end just add it in your dinosaur documentary collection and show it to your kids.

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

I was honestly touched by this show, really. Both parts of it, how they entirely made the show in part 2, and the show itself in part 1.Big Al is an amazing insight into the life of this creature, and what amazes me even more, was that I felt for the creature. I felt as though I was watching its life, and when Al died, I honestly felt bad for how it all ended for him.I thought it was greatly done, just all in all. visually stunning, extremely informative, and it really does tell a story, a story that seems real.For making me actually care about this, and for just such beautifully work (scientifically and story-line, which is also technically science :P) I give Big Al a 10/10.And I'd like to say. Rest in Peace Big Al.

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.