5/5 A Truly Exeptional Collection Arrives on Blu-ray in STYLE!!!
  by Kevin Pepper (Elkmont, AL USA)
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.

5/5 Planet of the Apes Blu-ray set ROCKS!
  by John L. Kinser (Anderson, Indiana United States)
I have bought every Planet of the Apes release in the past on VHS and every DVD release. I have to say that this new Blu-ray transfer has let me experience all 5 Apes films like I have never seen them before.
Being that the original is 40 years old now, I had my doubts on how good it would look transfered into HD. My doubts were put to rest when the movie started. It looks stunning! As I previewed the rest of the films, the picture quaility does not falter any! I know many look at this as a way for FOX to re-issue the same DVD in a different box, but this is not the case here!
Yet, I do have a few gripes with this set. First is the package. The DVD's are held on by rubber bumbs. They are almost impossible to remove and put back on. Also, the DVD art work stinks! It does not have any of the original art work of the actors or the movies. Instead, FOX used members from APEMANIA and put them on the DVD's as art work. Now I appreciate APEMANIA and what they do to keep the origianl Planet of the Apes makeup and style alive and take nothing from them. But they do not belong on DVD covers of movies that they are not in.
Most of the special features are from the previous release but each DVD has new mini features as well. Both versions of Battle for the Planet of the Apes and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes are included on this set. Both versions are transfered into HD Blu-ray.
All in all, this is a must have DVD Blu-ray release and I can not be more than pleased with the quaility. I only wish FOX would have issued the Apes TV series on Blu-ray with this set also. Since they didn't we can only hope that the TV series will get the Blu-ray treatment also.


4/5 Fox invites you to go "Ape" again--longer cut of "Conquest" included
  by Wayne Klein (My Little Blue Window, USA)
Fox once again invites fans to go "ape" with the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray edition of all five of the films in the "Planet of the Apes" series. The good news is that we get exceptionally good looking transfers for all five films AND we get the extended "International cut" of "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" with its original more downbeat ending. Audio sounds quite good but keep in mind that this these films were shot and released anywhere from 40 to 33 years ago so they aren't going to sound like "Transformers".

It looks like almost all the extras from the previously released DVD boxed set released about a year and half ago EXCEPT the live action TV series and animated TV series (both of which should have been included to make this definitive even if they were in standard definition). These were included with the DVD limited edition set. We also get new featurettes on each film and its production featuring the authors of PLANET OF THE APES REVISITED book among others. Additionally, we get a couple of vintage featurettes on the production of the films, stills galleries, isolated music tracks and an excellent commentary track on "Planet of the Apes" featuring a variety of the original cast (most of whom have passed away)and crew. Sadly, the three people that would have been most important to hear on the commentary track passed away quite some time ago--director Franklin J. Schaffner, producer Arthur Jacobs and writers Rod Serling & Michael Wilson. Still, its an intelligent and informative commentary track.

The most annoying and unnecessary extra here is the introduction by a poorly rendered CGI of "the Lawgiver" character that John Huston played in the fifth film "Battle for the Planet of the Apes". It's not that it's necessarily a BAD extra just that it is unnecessary. It is an example of a good idea at the time that clearly no one really had any idea as to how to use it effectively.

We also get a deluxe hardcover book which has plenty of terrific looking photos (some of which have never appeared in print before)and text giving us background on the production of the films. Additionally, the cardboard fold outs of the "box" have timeline for the films, where they fit and what occurs in each. ALthough the book is nice and the packaging makes good use of all the extra cardboard, fans will probably find this a bit cumersome to store with their other DVDs or Blu-rays. Additionally, the films are held in place in the set with little pieces of clear rubber that will eventually fail allowing the discs to float around inside and become damaged. Again, this is an example of a idea that seemed good on the surface but was poor in execution. I would have preferred to have one Blu-ray holder like we saw with "Blade Runner". This box could easily have been redesigned to hold that AND the book making better use of the extra space of this boxed set.

Overall, this is quite a nice set--the images are sharp and crisp for the films. The book is an excellent glimpse behind-the-scenes and the timeline welcome. Just the packaging for the films themselves is lacking and the box a bit too big and cumbersome.

In "Planet of the Apes" astronaut Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his crew arrive on a planet where apes are the dominant species and man is a mute animal. He befriends Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (Roddy McDowell)two chimpanzees who help prevent Dr. Ziaus (Maurice Evans) from carving up Taylor to protect their society. Five stars.

"Beneath the Planet of the Apes" has a different astronaut named Brent (James Franciscous) sent to discover what happened to Taylor and his crew. He and Taylor are caught in the middle of a war between apes and human mutants. Three stars-Working with a diminished budget Ted Post makes the best of his resources.

"Escape from the Planet of the Apes" focuses on Cornelius (McDowell), Zira (Hunter)and Dr. Milo (Sal Mineo)who travel back in time to 20th century Earth using Taylor's recovered spacecraft. They pose a threat to the future of humanity in the eyes of Dr. Hesslin (Eric Braedon). Four stars-Clever "fish-out-of-water" variation on the first film.

"Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" stars McDowell as Cornelius and Zira's son Ceasar who forments revolution. It seems a plague has wiped out cats and dogs. Humans have adopted domesticated apes into their homes as pets and servants. Four stars particularly for the "International Cut". A pity J. Lee Thompson didn't have a bigger budget to make this the epic it deserved to be.

"Battle for the Planet of the Apes" was the last film in the series (although there was a single season TV series that also starred McDowell as well as an animated TV series both of which are NOT part of this set). Caesar rules over a city where humans are second class citizens. When a conflict with the human survivors of his war occurs, Caesar must rally humans and apes alike to fight together for their survival. 2 stars-The weakest of the film series didn't was crippled by a weak screenplay by Joyce and John William Corrington ("The Omega Man")and a nearly non-existent budget (a little over $1 million--essentially almost making this essentially a TV movie in terms of its scope).


5/5 I feel like I'm 9 years old again!
  by D. Braun (Long Island,NY USA)
Planet of the Apes 40th Anniversary Collection [Blu-ray]This box set is awesome! If you love and appreciate these movies as I do-get this set!For my Ninth birthday I was given the choice of a new bike or go see the "Go Ape" marathon with some friends at the local cinema. I opted for the movies and haven't regretted that decision to this day. The unrated version of "Conquest" is better than the theatrical one.The new documentaries and interactive pressbooks are cool as well as the "bonusview" feature.Apes fans will not be disappointed!

5/5 Blu-Ray Box Set Design
  by Kenneth W. Chapman (Houston, TX)
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.