Dinosaur 13 (2014)

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)Rating: 5/5 starsWho does a scientific discovery belong to: the scientists who found it, the general populace, or the government? This is the central question filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller explores in his engaging and beautifully shot new documentary, "Dinosaur 13". The film chronicles the 1990 discovery of Sue, a fossilized tyrannosaurus rex that - at 80% complete - is the greatest and most well-preserved T-rex discovered to date. Found by and named after Susan Hendrickson, a South Dakota based paleontologist, Sue was lovingly and laboriously removed from a cliff face by Hendrickson's colleague Peter Larson and the rest of their team from the Black Hills Institute - an private exhibit establishment, funded and run by a group of independent paleontologists. The institute purchased Sue from landowner Maurice Williams and brought her back to their lab with the hopes of cleaning and reassembling her, and then proudly displaying the skeleton in their South Dakota museum. Never could they have expected the FBI to contest the purchase, seize the fossil, and bring criminal charges against the institute and its individual employees.Cleverly assembled to tell a complex true story from a hugely engaging perspective, this documentary can't help but spark a sense of righteous rage in the audience. The film outlines a series of deeply unjust events involving a group of true believers who had their finest achievement stolen from them by greedy, lying neighbors and meddling politicians. Honestly, who knew paleontology was such a cut-throat business?It was the summer of 1990 in the Badlands of South Dakota when paleontologist Susan Hendrickson discovered the fossilized remains of a T-rex, the thirteenth discovered and by far the most complete specimen of such gargantuan fossil. None of the previous 12 were more than 40% complete. With her colleagues Peter and Neal Larson and Terry Wentz, Susan purchased the rights to Sue for a record US $5,000 from the landowner; then the team spent a year getting the fossil ready for exhibition at their local museum. But before they finished, the FBI raided their lab and confiscated Sue, and seven years of legal arguments followed. Even worse, the prosecutors drummed up unnecessary criminal charges against the paleontologists.Clearly all of this was about money. When Sue was ultimately auctioned off, she fetched a staggering US$7.6 million for the cash- grabbing landowner the cash-grabbing landowner and his lawyers. Meanwhile, the ragtag fossil-hunters had their lives completely derailed by legal action and even jail time. Director Todd Douglas Miller lets these people tell their story with quite a lot of detail, unveiling the plot chronologically through stills and home movies, plus some gorgeously shot new footage and re-enactments. Through it all, it's clear that these paleontologists were excavating for the love of it, and for the benefit of their small- town community. In fact, Peter felt so strongly about Sue that he kept watch over the container she was stored in for all those years - before being auctioned off - even talking to it."Dinosaur 13" is a David and Goliath tale of a small group of scientists thrust into the center of a national debate over proprietorship, as well as right versus wrong. Miller's film very clearly justifiably sides with the Institute and, most specifically, Peter Larson, who bore the brunt of the government's anger. The dedication and tenacity of these lowly scientists is seriously inspiring in the face of such overwhelming oppression. Yes, this amazing story resonates far beyond a tale about dinosaur bones: this is a vivid account of a small group of common people with minimal resources standing up to an unjust system and nefarious, duplicitous characters. And thankfully the filmmakers resist the urge to get flashy with animated versions of Sue rampaging through the landscape. Instead, they keep the focus on the people involved, highlighting the grassroots efforts to see justice prevail for Sue, as the small town rallies around their neighbors, and tries to exert pressure on the government to do the right thing. And seeing so much human compassion in the face of bold-faced greed and blatant abuse of power is remarkably inspiring."Dinosaur 13" is a compelling, curious, and thought-provoking documentary. It's hard not to feel for Larson and his team, and for the institute's South Dakota home town, which felt like it lost the dinosaur that was going to bring in tourism and put it on the map.

SPOILER Lets look at the facts - The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research is a private corporation, collecting and selling fossils. They even sold fossils to a Japanese Museum and were paid in cash. So this is a private business. - Peter Larson is a paleontologist so in theory he should know the legal framework in which he is working, it is obvious that you cannot dig anywhere, ignoring on which land you are. - They pay 5000$ to the owner of the land, no contract is signed,despite the fact that the owner looks untrustworthy and has apparently a bad reputation. - The dinosaur discovered is the biggest and best preserved ever, but this Institute or these paleontologists apparently don't inform the authorities. They want to keep it in their Institute and very likely make money out of it. I don't want to say that they are dishonest or even greedy as they seem passionate about paleontology but they seem very naive and unfortunately pay a heavy price for it, that they didn't see it coming is incomprehensible.It somehow looks like a speech for the defense of free enterprise,in the lines of: people should be allowed to do what they want without interference from the state, etc. But when you dig out something of that importance it is fortunately not possible.

This is a must watch for anyone interested in dinosaurs and perfect for college courses.This documentary is definitely a roller coaster not like other documentaries as you learn from the hero's, the villains and you learn about corrupt law.I went and seen sue in Chicago and this definitely wasn't the story they have on Sue, so I recommend to anyone who has seen this amazing T.Rex to watch this documentary and find out how Sue nearly didn't come to the public eye, and how much of a struggle the true owners went through trying to keep her were she belonged.I wish all the best to the Larson Family.

Spoiler ALERT!!! This movie is surprisingly stupid. The creator of this film is trying to show the government treading on a paleontologist discovery. But what I notice is 4 to 5 college educated people, who are not poor, educated people who also lived through the Reagan era of Reaganomics and free market capitalism ideals, decide to trust the land owner over digging up dinosaur bones on his land with $5000, no contract, and a hand shake. THAT WAS STUPID. Because when the landowner found out what was the real worth of "Sue" was he doubled back on the deal and tried to claim it as his own. The best part is that the landowner is on video agreeing to the terms and accepting a check for $5000. The landowner won the case and over 7 million dollars after auctioning "Sue'. I'm sure he had signed contracts when he auctioned her off too, not just a handshake. Final footnote, Native Americans also had a claim to "Sue" but of course the courts said they had no claim even though they had contracts with the Dept of Interior in South Dakota stating nothing will be sold off the land without the permission of the Sioux tribe people who lived there. This right was not recognized by the court. So this documentary in a nutshell is about a landowner on stolen land, stealing a dinosaur find from paleontologists, on stolen land, with the help of the National Guard but more importantly with the help of the biggest thieves ever, McDonalds and Disney. The moral of the story kids, is always get signed contracts not handshakes.