Rex Appeal (BBC 4 at 9pm)

Part of the BBC’s dinosaur season, “Rex Appeal” is an hour long programme that examines how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals have been depicted in the cinema.  Director John MacLaverty provides a fun and informative insight into the history of dinosaurs in the movies, part of the BBC’s season of dinosaur programmes.

Dinosaurs in Cinematic History

The enduring appeal of dinosaurs in cinema, beginning with the cartoon Apatosaurus in the 1914 animation Gertie. The creatures have not only been used to reflect contemporary anxieties, including how Jurassic Park’s fears of DNA manipulation mirrored arguments about genetically modified crops, but have featured prominently in the development of special effects, from Willis O’Brien’s work on King Kong to the advent of CGI in the 1990s.

A Dinosaur Model Inspired by Cinematic Dinosaurs

A Vintage Dinosaur Model from Rebor

The Rebor 1:35 Vintage Palaeoart Tyrannosaurus rex “Mesozoic Rhapsody” Valley. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Rebor Vintage Dinosaur Models

The theropod dinosaur shown in the photograph above is from the Rebor range of prehistoric animals.  To view this range: Prehistoric Animal Models and Rebor Replicas.

Look out for a few familiar friends behind the various talking heads, as supplied by Everything Dinosaur.  This programme will be repeated on BBC 4 three times over the next few days or so.  What with the third episode of “Planet Dinosaur” being shown tonight (Last Killers), with a film to follow called “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” there is a feast of Dinosauria on our screens tonight.