Blu-Ray Review:
Planet of the Apes
By Jason Gillard
*Screen shots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
I had never seen the original Planet of the Apes. I actually saw the Tim Burton version first. So I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to see the original 1968 version. For those of you who don't know, the plot goes something like this. George Taylor is the captain of a deep space exploration vessel. He is preparing to enter cyro sleep for the long voyage home. They have been away from earth for 700 years. The ship crash lands on a mysterious planet. The weird thing about this planet is that it is ruled by talking apes and humans are mute and are hunted like dogs. Charleton Heston plays George Taylor and is actually really good in this film. The masks that they used for the apes were pretty good considering this was 1968. Sure the mouth does not move properly but the design of them is quite unique. The filmmakers have done a great job making the world and its inhabitants believable. I found myself really enjoying this film and wondering to myself why it had taken me this long to see it. This is a great piece of science fiction and it also makes you think about the world we live in, and that it's not so different than the one inhabited by the apes. Do yourself a favor, especially if you're a fan of science fiction and have not seen this movie, I suggest you do.
8 out of 10
Video
This is the 40th anniversary of the film and Fox has done an outstanding job with the picture. The movie looks like it was shot yesterday and everything on screen looks fantastic. The colours jump off the screen and the detail is amazing. Black levels are also good. I did notice a few stray specs and pops on the transfer but nothing that can make this transfer anything but spectacular. Like I mentioned the Ape makeup looks fantastic even though we are seeing this at a much higher resolution than ever before. The jungle scenes leap off the screen with their lush greens. The dessert and rocky scenes look fantastic as well. Overall, this is the best this film has ever looked and is another reason why Blu-ray rocks.
9.5 out of 10
Audio
For the audio we are treated to a DTS 5.1 Master Audio track, plus they have also included the original mono track for the purists out there. The 5.1 track is relatively good, but there are certain areas where the sound is a little loud and shrill for my tastes and had me reaching for the volume control. This is definitely a center heavy track with not a lot happening in the surround channels. I think they did a good job of upgrading the sound while not adding in some cheesy forced surround sound effects. As long as your not expecting a hugely enveloping sound track, then you will be pleased with what they have done here.
8 out of 10
Extras
Here is what you get in the way of extras:
Audio Commentary with Composer Jerry Goldsmith
Audio Commentary with Actors Roddy McDowall, Natalie Trundy, Kim Hunter, Makeup Artist John Chambers
Behind the Scenes Featurettes
Documentary - Behind The Planet of The Apes
"Pierre Boulle: The Man Behind the Apes"
"Roddy McDowall Home Movies"
"PLANET OF THE APES 1967 NATO Presentation"
"PLANET OF THE APES Featurette (1968)"
Trailers
Interactive Game - Science of The Apes Trivia Challenge
Text Commentary by Eric Greene, Author of "Planet of the Apes as American Myth"
Biographies - Planet of the Apes Timeline
Concept Art: Original Sketches by Costume Designer Morton Haack
Photo Gallery
There is a lot of extras on this single disc release. My favorite extra has to be the documentary "Behind the Planet of the Apes" which details everything from the start of the production to the end. It's a long documentary but one that is well produced. I also thought it was interesting to watch the original Planet of the Apes featurette from 1968. The text commentary would have been good, but it runs so quickly it's hard to keep up. The interactive games are again useless in my opinion, these types of bonus features never turn out to be fun. I also liked Evolution of the Apes which takes a look at the in-depth history of what was to become the first science fiction film franchise. There is a lot of material here and they have definitely done a great job with this release. There should be something here for everyone, whether you are a huge fan or not.
9 out of 10
Overall
This is a great release of a great movie. There is an outstanding transfer decent audio and more extras than you could ever want. This is an easy recommendation from me and one that I will definitely watch time and time again.
9 out of 10
Highly Recommended.
The Planet of the Apes Blu-ray is available now from Amazon.com