Planet of the Apes (1968)

A Truly Exeptional Collection Arrives on Blu-ray in STYLE!!!

I have loved this series ever since I was a young boy who saw the original movie on TV. When the TV series came out, I was glued to the set for every episode, and then the cartoon series became a part of my regular Saturday morning viewing. This is one of the few movie franchises that I loved growing up that has not lost any of its charm with me now as an adult. I first bought the Limited Edition Evolution collection on DVD a few years ago, and followed up with my purchase of the Ultimate Collection that came enclosed in a bust of Caesar. When I first heard of the arrival of this series on Blu-ray, I thought they would simply transport the DVD versions I already owned onto a Blu-ray platter. BOY was I wrong!!!!!

I will not go into the details of the story line for this series, since so many have already done a great job at that. What I will focus on is the Blu-ray 40th Anniversary Collection.

I had seen pictures of the collection, and was very excited to get my own copy, but I had never actually seen a copy of it in the stores. Because of that, I wasn't quite sure what to expect with regarding the quality of the set. I had just recently been MAJORLY disappointed with Fox's horrible Blu-ray box set of the Omen series (another favorite of mine). The packaging for that set was one of the worst I have ever seen on any format. But I digress....this is not a review of the Omen set. Let's start with the outer box. It is of very sturdy construction with the spaceship on the cover in textured relief. The box serves what appears to be a hard bound book. You slide that out of the cover, and it opens to reveal a detailed timeline of the entire Ape film series. Each gatefold of the timeline then opens to reveal the discs which are attached to the backboard with these clear rubber hubs. I will admit that the hubs proved to be frustrating at first, because I could not get the discs back onto the hubs to secure them before closing the package. While this is my only complaint about the entire set, I found that instead of trying to force the discs straight down onto the hubs, it works MUCH better to place the disc on the hub and then give it a gentle twist which easily secures it. While I have some reservations about the choice to use these rubber hubs to hold the discs, I have to admit that it really does look great when the package is all together. The only other thing included in the package is a book that chronicles the entire film series. But wait....this is no typical listing of special features with a brief synopsis of each film. This book is a substantial 200 page overview of this timeless series. The production value of this book is top notch!!! It is the best I have ever seen in a movie set. What makes this book truly special, is that it was produced exclusively for this Blu-ray collection. You may browse the book with it still attached to the package, or you can easily slide it out to look at it on its own. All of the packaging for this set is constructed from very sturdy cardboard and it all works together to serve as an excellent means of presenting the true star of the set, the 5 Blu-ray discs that comprise the film series.

If you have ever had doubts about jumping into the Blu-ray high def pool, this set serves as an example for what this format is capable of. The wealth of information on the first disc alone is truly staggering!!! Not only does it include all of the special features that were included on the 2-disc DVD, it also adds some fantastic special features that are unique to the Blu-ray format. One of those features is the ability to watch the feature long documentary as it was originally presented or you may choose to watch it in Interactive Mode where you are presented with extra text and video features. You also get the Science of the Apes Bonusview which is a picture-in-picture feature that can be viewed while watching the first film. One of the other cool features was the ability to actually read newspapers which served as props in the original movie. You first get to see the paper as seen in the movie, then you use your remote to choose which article you would like to read. Finally the entire text of the article is presented in an easy to read text format. This may not be for everyone, but as a longtime fan, I enjoyed it. I could go on and on with all the special features of the 1st disc, but you can get that information elsewhere. While the first film does deservedly get the royal treatment with special features, Fox did not simply slap the previous DVD version of the other 4 films on a new format, and throw them together. It is amazing that Fox took the time to present these other 4 Ape films in what I consider the best video and audio I've ever experienced them in. Each film also gets its own documentary, while not as extensive as the original, each one is more than just a puff piece of each film. As a longtime fan, I have been dying to see some nice extra features for the other films in the franchise. In addition to some nice extra features, you also get the opportunity to watch "Conquest" and "Battle" in either the original theatrical version, or an expanded version. While there was an extended version of "Conquest" in the Ultimate Collection DVD set, this is the first time we have been given the opportunity to see the extended version of "Battle". It has been mentioned in previous releases, but it was thrilling for me to finally get to see it.

BOTTOM LINE: I will concede that the sound on these discs cannot compare to those of such blockbusters as Transformers or Iron Man, but if you are an Ape fan and have been looking for a definitive collection of the franchise, then I wholeheartedly recommend that you get this collection on Blu-ray. These films have never looked and sounded better, and I am thrilled with all of the extra features that are available for each film. This is hands down the greatest Blu-ray collection yet created, and I think it will stand the test of time as other studios follow suit. Even with the little complaint about the rubber hubs holding the discs, I have no reservations in recommending this to any Ape fan who has recently jumped into the Blu-ray pool of high definition movie viewing. November 28, 2008

Planet OF The Apes (Bluray) 4 Stars for some misses.

First off, I should mention, I am a Big Fan of the series and fans never seem to have any imput on putting together what they might want in a boxset, but I guess they would get it right the first time and the studios could never reissue it over and over..

Packageing: It is nice that this series was issued on BluRay, but with big disapointments. How can anyone be so stupid to create such a great box set and house the DVD's so poorly, I had to return the box set twice. Every disc was scartched or had some sort of cosmedic flaw on each disc. After returning it twice I finally decided to send the discs back to fox and have them send me them seperate in the Bluray cases. At least I get to keep the box and book and also have the disc stored seperatley. I would of rather had an upright box with the book and cases seperatley. I also wondered why they did not include the 2001 movie and the 2 TV series, also remastered in Bluray form. I myself would've enjoyed having the TV Series remastered. The current bluray edition of the 2001 is bare boned. Now since I bought the Ape head edition a few years back, now I have to sell it for a loss and rebuy the TV series seperatley. Movie Studios always find a way to screw you, when they issue and reissue DVD's over and over.

The Remastering: Picture/Sound: When first buying this I was quite delighed to find the directors cut of Conquest. And now having both Battle and Conquest in there extended form along with the theatrical versions is a +, I am sure there is deleted scenes that could've gone back into Planet and the other sequels, but my guess is Fox is waiting for the 45th or 50th ANVV. I Noticed with the picture an automatic sharpness difference right off the bat, less grain and less imperfections IE dirty prints or scartches on the negatives during the transfers. The colors look well balanced and fresh and warm. My only compliant is durng the background throught all movies there is still grainy and fuzzy. I thought fox would've cleaned that up as well. But overall the movies are as sharp as they ever have been and with the age of these movies and the prints. Not to bad, I do not think fox would've spent 1000 of hours restoring the picture frame by frame like what was done by lucas for Star Wars and Raiders. I Can only imagine how good those will look on Bluray. Hopefully "JAWS" will get the same treatment as those did. Anyway back to POTA. The DTS sound is great, I do not know why people should be suprised by the sound, these are not modern action flicks with the technology of the 90' or later and we know fox keeped decreasing the budget for each movie. I think the dialogue sounds very good through the center channel, there is not much use of the sub, but that is to be expected due to the age of theses films. If nothing else it is an improvemet from the previous issue. And looks pretty dam good. I hope one day fox will also issue the cut footage from the (Live Action) TV series to put that series to bed, and maybe remaster the picure.

Bonus Features: Some nice documentries for all films narrated by James Brolin with some interesting tidbits on all films regarding scripts and changes to the stories and how they evolved. Some of the same features from previous editons and some for the diehards. All in all,a nice package with a great book. As always Fans wishing for more or something different. If you have a Bluray player/HD TV it is worth the upgrade for this series. If anyone wants to talk ape shot me an e-mail, I am also selling my 14 disc set for 60.00 so if your interested let me know @ mikesppie@yahoo.com lets talk... Mike Sippie November 28, 2008

Cases Please?

I love the films and the transfers, but the DVD mounts in the case are hard to use. I fear the discs will fall out at some point. I'd love it if the company would offer us a deal on additional slim cases to protect the DVDs. November 21, 2008

Blu-Ray Box Set Design

I'd advise buying the box set and never opening it. Keep it for its novelty and future worth as a collector's item. Then buy each each title on Blu-ray DVD separately and watch those.

The big bulky jacket opens like a binder. The front cover swings open to the left, and the back cover swings open to the right. Once it's opened, you are presented with a graphical timeline based on the movie plots of the Ape adventures. (I'm fairly certain Ape Maniacs assisted the writers of the timeline, since the actual makers of the films weren't all that concerned if every detail made sense).

The front cover swings open again, as does the back cover -- so that, once the binder is completely opened, it spreads four panels wide. On the first panel on the left, there is a description of the special features on each disk. Also on this first panel, the DVD of "Planet" is mounted.

On the second panel, the DVDs for "Beneath" and "Escape" are mounted.

The third panel is where the book mounted. The book can be removed from the binder by slipping its back cover out of the binder's sleeve behind it. The book is rather interesting and made remarkable, I think, by its several behind-the-scenes photos.

On the fourth panel, "Conquest" and "Battle" are mounted.

The binder is made of sturdy cardboard. As stated, the DVDs are mounted on the inside covers. The mounts are little, clear rubber disks that are glued to the cardboard. Prying the DVDs off of these mounts risks tearing the mounts off the cardboard. Putting a DVD disk back on the rubber mount takes a little effort because, if you do not push the DVD onto the mount completely, the DVD will fall out of the binder. Plus the mounts are clear. The only way to ensure that the rubber mount is through the small hole in the center of the disk is by "feel."

Aside from the flawed design of the DVD mounts, the binder is a neat idea. The entire binder has its own sturdy cardboard slip case for safe keeping, though it's taller than the typical Blu-ray plastic jacket.

Each Blu-ray DVD title can be viewed with the option to watch a short introduction by The Lawgiver. The segments are computer animated and poorly executed and add nothing but an amusing "extra" to the viewing experience.

The closed-captions are the most accurate on these disks than those from prior versions. One example they've fixed:

DR. ZAIUS: (Tied up on the beach in POTA) The Forbidden Zone was once a paradise. Your GREED made a desert of it, ages ago.

They finally changed the word from GREED to the correct BREED.

But they still haven't fixed another of Dr. Zaius' lines in the first movie, during the scene in which Dr. Zira presents Taylor's talents to Zaius in her lab:

DR. ZAIUS: Besides, man is a nuisance. He eats up his food supplies in the forest, then migrates to our green BELTS and ravages our crops.

They need to change the word from BELTS to WELCH. November 15, 2008

Blu-Ray quality review

This is a review of the quality of the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray. The video looks good for a film as aged as this, but is not even close to stunning. The high def transfer in some cases actually serves to accentuate problems you might not have noticed otherwise. I saw more than a few soft scenes where they looked unfocused. Grain was never too obtrusive, but the colors were uneven through a good portion of the film. Some scenes were rich and vivid, and others washed out. My biggest problem is the sound. They present the sound here as a DTS 5.1 mix, and a mono mix. I chose DTS and was sorely dissapointed. My subwoofer never kicked on. That means that there was never an instance when there was a frequency lower than about 85hz. This made for a very shallow sounding mix. Adding to that, the surround speakers never seemed to register anything, and you've got what sounded to me like a mono mix anyway. All of the sound seemed to come from my center channel. To me, digitally remastering a film soundtrack at this level means accentuating the lower registries by adding lower frequencies, and placing atmospheric and musical elements in the surround channels. If you don't plan on doing that, what's the use of calling it a DTS 5.1 mix? Anyway, this is by far the best transfer I've ever seen of the film, but don't be looking for anything more than a slightly better than average transfer, and a glorified mono track. November 12, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...