FloorMat116

djsmokingjam said:

Ehhhhhhhh, I think you’re overstating Mike’s participation in that whole project based on those videos; it’s really much more Massari who is trying to rally him into using the LP campaign as a springboard to getting restorations underway, but Mike is pretty stubborn and resistant to getting help from others and not doing things all himself, including financing.

That does sound more like it. I can commend him on wanting to keep the project in his own hands; it’s his baby. But I really wish he would look into crowd-funding.

djsmokingjam said:

Mike isn’t the one selling the LP on eBay, that’s the composer John Massari.

Correct, but there is a video on Massari’s YouTube channel with Jittlov explaining the plan for LP sales and an eventual blu-ray.

djsmokingjam said:

Mike has the negatives and rights back to WOSAT but doesn’t want to license the rights out to another distributor and is sceptical about crowdfunding, last time I spoke to him about it (admittedly a while ago) - so I don’t know how a restoration or re-release will ever happen.

From what I’ve seen, Mike is relying on eBay sales of the LP soundtrack to fund a blu-ray release of the film. If you are still in contact, it might take some convincing.

For those curious, I have at long last found a library in RI that is offering access to the Alexander Street video database through July 15 as an educational resource during COVID-19 shutdowns.

Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet and tons of other titles are available to stream here.

The film is not perfect. An ideal edit would make use of both the Cretaceous Cut and the Prehistoric Planet narration. At the very least, the audio here would need to be paired with a replacement of this 720p video source with blu-ray footage. Perhaps I’ll take that on one day.

In the mean time, enjoy!

Bumping this. Are there any students or educators in the community who have access to Alexander Street streaming? I’m hoping to find someone who can get a capture of this superior version of the film.

Hi everyone! I’m looking to see if someone can help me out with this.

Walking with Dinosaurs (2013) ended up being a bit of a mess. The hastily-added voiceover was obnoxious, the present day bookend scenes were annoying, and some of the music choices were completely out of left field.

The Deluxe Edition blu-ray remedied the problem to an extent with the Cretaceous Cut, removing the voiceover and bookend scenes. However the music and editing issues were still present, including a weird and unnecessary “rewind” joke that only makes sense with the voices.

But a couple of years later, the film was re-released and continues to screen in select museums and zoos as Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet.

It’s an edited-down version of the 2013 film, omitting the voiceover and instead utilizing a BBC Earth documentary-style narration by Benedict Cumberbatch.

There’s no official home media release of this version, but it is viewable through an educational institution login to the Alexander Street video database online.

So all of that to ask - are there any students or educators here who are able to log in and get a decent capture of the film to share?

^…^ said:

I can chime in, as I have (almost?) all the HDTV recordings available…

Any chance of a Special Edition restoration using those sources?
Great post, by the way. I’d love to get my hands on some of those.

Perfect! Thanks for the update!