Planet Of The Apes is HERE! Photos Enclosed!

No Monkey head?! I can't wait for a reviewer to say something about the head in the form of "Get your filthy eyes off me, you **** dirty ape."

Thanks for the pictures, Ron.

They just can't stop the spoilers, can they?

-Lyle J.P.

I'm very glad to have them all, but man oh man do I think the cover art is poor (again).

I notice that the menu for BATTLE says "Extended Edition" (praise the Lawgiver!), but there doesn't seem to be any mention on the cover. As long as the longer cut is really there, though, I'm a happy chimp.

Doesn't this collection also feature the animated series as well as the tv series?

Was hoping to see the head.

The ape faces from the top 3 covers look like Tim Burton apes to me, and not the classic ape make-up.

Why couldn't they just use the original poster art? At the very least, I would have liked to see the different individual styles of lettering for each sequel, instead of (for example):

conquest of the
PLANET OF THE APES

I don't get the idea of featuring a chimpanzee on the cover of BENEATH, when it's the least "chimp-friendly" sequel of the lot. Furthermore, those eyes belong to Roddy McDowall, but BENEATH is the only film in which he doesn't appear!!

I know it's a lot of typical "People are never satisfied" whining, but just making an honest obervation. I'm actually very excited about buying these in anamorphic on the 28th, along with the extended cut for BATTLE!

And I agree about the original PLANET -- while at least Fox abandoned the revealing spoiler from the cover, they still felt the need to include it somewhere else in the packaging (with the frowning chimpanzee Caesar looking down on the Statue of Liberty, even though Caesar was NOT featured in the first movie!!)..

Fox, I would have gladly offered my services as a consultant, and for credit only; No Fee!

So with this set you don't get the T. Burton Remake in the set? Nice! I'm in for this set. I just can't see having the giant Head in my living room and beyond that my wife was NOT having that thing stare at her all the time, lol...

Ron obviously got the Legacy Collection - smart move. Thanks for posting all the photos Ron.

Has to be said the cover art is not good. I genuinely do not see ANY reason why key poster art isn't/cannot be used for dvd covers. In UK/R2 land maybe as posters tend to be of the landscape quad design but in the US with portrait one sheets? It's a no brainer. At least they have correct photos

Going by the menu for Planet (which is superb - someone at Fox had the right idea) it's the same disc as disc 1 of the 35th Anniversary SE.

Now here's the question: no 2-disc for Planet, it's a bonus disc which appears to be a single disc version of the Behind docu. I'm only going on specs on Rewind (which are comprehensive) but if it is the first disc of the Behind docu then not everything that was on the 35th Anniversary Edition 2-disc SE of Planet will be here...

I picked up my copies last week. They are much better than the previous releases. All are enhanced for 16x9 TV's.

How's everyone getting this early?

So I guess there's no disc 2 for POTA unless it's the Behind The Scenes disc.

The color coding is pretty bad.

That's what I'd like to know.

How do the transfers compare to earlier editions?

I realize that uniform covers are necessary for sales but the least they could have done was include original poster art as an insert, the way Anchor Bay does.

I wonder where Leroy lives but you can easily find dvds early in NYC which is in the vicinity of where Ron lives.

I'll be curious to hear a review on the new 5.1 audio mixes. Is an original mono track also provided?

Well I thought Ron's might have been a screener, but others reported having it so that's why I asked.

I agree with all these comments, especially the last one. I realize they need to make the packaging more "appealing" to potential new customers. Unfortunately, they end up not being representative of the actual films -- or the era of origin. These new designs definitely make the movies look they're from Tim Burton's ape universe.

It's obvious the studios don't want the DVDs to appear as "old" or "dated". But the films themselves are old. They may be able to modernize the packaging, but the films themselves will always be "retro". It just doesn't seem right to dress them up as something they're not. That's why I love Warner's recent classic offerings -- they are using the films' original art. They do not seem "dated" at all. In fact they have a very classy, elegant "retro" appeal. (BTW -- I thought "retro" was back in.)

Many people trash on those of us who complain when the studios neglect the original key art for their DVD packaging. Obviously, it's the film that is of primary importance. But as a lover and collector of all things film, I feel it's very important to include the films' original artwork somewhere in their DVD release. I hear people say "I'd rather have a quality transfer and great extras than original cover art." I didn't realize that it was an either/or situation. There's no reason we can't have both. In fact, original art included in the packaging design is just "icing on the cake" (again, see WB releases.)

It's a shame that the work of the artists who designed the classic images goes unappreciated. They made their contributions to the films -- just as every other craftsman did. It's a very important part of a film's marketing -- as that single image has to "sell" the film. (Of course, many of these images have probably doomed a film on occasion).

I wish the studios would either use these newer, "market friendly" designs as a slip-cover over original art; or include a card insert featuring the original art -- as Anchor Bay occasionally does. Or even print two-sided insert sheets -- so the consumer can decide which to display. Any of these options would be easy to implement. Just look at all the waste already included in most DVDs (cardboard sleeve, ads, coupons, etc.) Including an insert for the orginal poster wouldn't be that difficult.

On that note, here are some sample covers, with an image for the outer box, for the "classic" POTA collection:

Hey Fox -- for over 25 years, why have you NEVER used original art for ANY video release of POTA?

(I had to cheat a bit with BTPOTA by combining a few images from different sources. The original had too small images, and was very small text-heavy.)

It appears that you're correct --

That menu screen unmistakeably comes from the first disc in the "35th Anniversary" set, and I don't necessarily see Fox forking over the gelt to totally re-author the "Legacy" DVD and reincorporate the content from Disc 2 for this new collection.

Looks like the studio apparently decided that the standalone Behind AMC doco-disc was plenty for this version, and those who're wanting all the additional supplements from the "35th Anni" edition are gonna have to throw down for that one, as well. Of course, I could be wrong.

As a diehard fan, it wasn't easy to resist the "Ultimate Collection with the Ape Head", but I'm pretty sure this is what I'm going to do after all is said and done. I'll get THE LEGACY COLLECTION since I mainly want to re-buy the original five films in anamorphic (and the uncut BATTLE --- THANKS, Fox! ) and I have the older TV Series Set already, plus the silly Tim Burton film (since I'm a completist).

The only reason I'd consider buying the ULTIMATE COLLECTION would be to get the cartoons, but since they're being released separately too, I'll get them that way. Besides, I already have a huge Dr. Zaius mask on a wig stand in my room!

What a joke. I hope the same mistake wasn't made in the 14-disc set.

This is sure getting complicated! What's an ape fan to do?! Is there a complete list of features exclusive to a particular release, so a collector will know which discs to keep -- or needs to acquire?

So far, I can think of the following:

BATTLE FOR THE POTA (old release) = original theatrical cut
POTA (35th Anniversary 2-disc) = some extras (see Ron's post ^)
BEHIND THE POTA (Image 2-disc documentary) = several extras
POTA: THE SERIES (in "head" set) = a few extras
RETURN TO THE POTA (animated series) = exclusive to "head" set...at least for now
BATTLE FOR THE POTA (new release) = extended cut


Are there any corrections or additions to the list?

I was thinking the same thing...but there may be a method to their madness. The studios may be intentionally leaving certain features off these (and other) releases. They never really want us to have it "all" in one release. They need to leave the door open for yet another release down the line. They are also aware that if a new version fully trumps a prior release, there will undoubtedly be a flood of used discs hitting the market. The studios loathe the used disc market, since they feel it competes with their new product. By keeping a few features, however small, exclusive to a prior release, they know some collectors will not let their discs loose on the used market -- thereby (potentially) increasing the market for their new versions.

As hardcore collectors, it's frustrating because we feel compelled to have everything that has ever been released for our favorite films. Even if it means owning multiple versions of the same film -- just to have a trailer, stills file, featurette, etc. But what's an obsessed collector to do?

This is pretty confusing. I can say that it appears the "Behind" documentary disc in the new "Legacy" set is identical in appearance (in terms of the artwork) to the older bare-bones version included in the "Evolution" set. It looks like it has a new menu design, though.

What I'd like to know is this: Let's assume the "Behind" doc in the new "Legacy" set is pretty much bare-bones and does not include the bonus material found on the 35th Anniversary 2-disc version of POTA. Then, can any Apes aficionado that has all of these discs tell me how much material is on the second disc of the 35th Anniversary POTA set that is not on Image's 2-disc "Behind" set?

I seem to recall when reading reviews of the 35th Anniversary POTA 2-disc set that most of the extras on the second disc were already found on Image's 2-disc "Behind" set. The only thing I can tell by looking at the lists above is that perhaps the on-set home movie footage is exclusive to the 35th Anniversary set.

I'm in the strange position of owning the old non-anamorphic "Evolution" set and the 2-disc Image release of the "Behind" documentary with the bonus footage, but not the 35th Anniversary set. I always held off on the 35th Anniversary set because I didn't yet need the anamorphic transfer, and most of the extras seemed to be repeated from Image's release. (I believe the Image set also has an exclusive in the form of a very long uncut Roddy McDowall interview). But now, I have a nice new 50-inch Panasonic plasma, so I'd like the Apes movies in anamorphic widescreen.

I considered the 14-disc ape head, but that would basically mean spending that much money for anamorphic transfers of the movies and the animated series (I already have the TV series set, and have no interest in owning the remake). Considering the anamorphic transfers can be had in boxed set form on Amazon for instance for $35, and the Ape head set is about $125, that would mean for me paying $90 for the ape head packaging and the animated series. The ape head is even less enticing for me because it appears that the discs will not be housed in keep cases or any sort of individual cases, but some sort of turn-page style of digipak.

I think I'll be happy with the new "Legacy" set (and the old "Evolution" set for the "original" cut of "Battle"), the original TV series set, the Image "Behind" set, and, when it's released, the animated series on its own. I'm still a bit wary of whether Fox will actually give the animated series a standalone release. It was originally indicated that it would be released on its own at the same time as the ape head and "Legacy" set, but then they indicated that they didn't have time to prepare a standalone release in time to get it out on the same day. I just hope they still will give it a standalone release, and in a relatively short amount of time.

Bottom line question I have is this: Assuming the bonus disc in the new "Legacy" set is just a barebones "Behind" documentary (perhaps the bonus disc from the old "Evolution" set just thrown in the new "Legacy" set), what specifically am I missing from the 35th Anniversary POTA set if I already own the Image 2-disc "Behind" set?

For completists, you'll need practically every release out there to have it all it seems. You need the old evoloution set to have the theatrical version of "BATTLE", you need the 2-disc "Behind" from Image for the extended Roddy interview, you need the 35th anniversary of POTA for the extras Ron mentioned are left off the new legacy set (but these extras will be in the head???), you need the older tv-series release if you want that in a keepcase, but you'll also need the head for the cartoon and also because apparently they have extras (tv spots?) on the tv-series discs that weren't on the original release of the tv-series? I can't remember and don't want to re-read all of these threads, but is Fox also re-releasing the tv-series separately in new packaging - the new discs with the extras? Or are they just keeping the old set in print (sounds more likely, but who knows). I thought I knew what I was talking about until I started typing all of this. Geez, this is really convoluted.

I was wondering about that, too. The case used for the series is rather obsolete. It seems to make sense that they'd re-release it in the now-standard slim cases. It could be reconfigured to hold all four discs in two double-slim cases -- quite a space saver. They'd probably lower the price, too. I'd bet it'll be re-released if/when the animated series is released for individual sale.

Heck, I'd even double dip of both series were combined in a single set. They could call it Planet of the Apes: The Complete Television Adventures.

Yup, thought as much. Good thing I bought the "35th Anniversary" back when it came out a couple years ago, and have got the "Legacy" set on order right now. Like Joe K., can't wait to finally get that extended cut of Battle on DVD at long, long last (never got the Japanese laser or R2 release, or taped it off Fox Movie Channel, for that matter).


Meh...I plan on eBay-ing my old set first chance I get. The extended Battle cut renders the bowdlerized theatrical version utterly superfluous.


From what I remember reading on The Digital Bits (or in the old closed Apes Legacy thread), I think Fox is still planning to release the animated series...eventually. Probably during a future window following the mega-box set's initial release, similar to the Alien Quadrilogy situation.

Well... I was all set for the head on this, but I'll just stick with the Legacy movies and the cartoon sets - though when is the cartoon set set to appear?