DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "Planet of the Apes 35th Anniversary Edition" (screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Norm]

The Cover art photos are from all the different Planet of Apes movies!

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Can anyone clarify if the music has been "brought up" in comparison to the older mix? What I mean is that on the old version, the soundtrack sounded buried more in the background a lot, while the horses and rifles and other sound effects were more prominent.

 

[Dane Marvin]

On the topic of Ian's "spoiler" warning about the screenshots: no sale. It is only because you have seen the film that you know what the heck is going on in those pictures.

I haven't seen the film since I was a young child and had little memory of it (except for the ending, unfortunately). I stared at the screenshots blankly -- actually, I was smiling because they look great. But I did buy and watch it last night. And here's what I think:

Onto the bonus features!

 

[BarryS]

I bought this today along with Alien (2 for $30 at Best Buy). I'm very, very excited about it as I've resisted the temptation to buy the old POTA DVD for the past couple of years, hoping for a better release in the future. I took a look at it and it looks great for such an old film. Supplements look good too. Kudos to Fox on a job well done. My only complaint is that they released a seperate pan and scan DVD. That was completely uneccessary in my opinion. It will only cause people who don't realize there are 2 releases to pick up the wrong one by mistake. Shame shame... Planet of the Apes is a 35-year-old science fiction movie. Who in the world would want a pan and scan version of it?

 

[MarkHarrison]

I wouldn't swear to it, but it seems that I read a review recently where they mentioned that the voices were louder than the music. Mine is in the mail, so I'm not sure at this point.

 

[michael deakin]

Hi.
Can someone tell me if this version contains the 110 mins "Roddy mcdowall" interview.
mike.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

For whoever was asking, the Planet of the Apes musical starring Troy McClure appeared in the 7th season. The episode was called "A Fish Called Selma."

 

[Mark Zimmer]

No, the McDowall interview is only on the Image Behind the Planet of the Apes set, so if you get both that and this, you will have a ton of duplicated material, but so it goes for being a completist.

 

[Matt_H]

isn't the mcdowell interview the commentary?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

No. The commentary is a VERY spotty affair that fills about 38 minutes of the film. It's McDowall and others...

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I just watched my new release of PLANET OF THE APES:SE last night. It was really great. So when can we expect:

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES:SE

 

[Paul_Scott]

watched mine a couple days ago.
VERY happy with this release.
Thanks FOX, you did a fine job on this release.


now i just wish i could say the same about the Rogers & Hammerstein films in the not too distant future.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Bought mine on Friday, and am very happy with it; it had the insert, and the back page wasn't glued on. Don't need a Beneath the Planet of the Apes SE, but I would be happy with a new anamorphic transfer at a nice low price.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Ditto - nice disc. Didn't realize the back insert wasn't glued on and accidentally ripped it removing the shrink wrap!

 

[Rory*M]

PLANET OF THE APES has been my favorite film since I first saw it in 1968 when I was eight. This DVD edition is the best the movie has looked and sounded since it was released on home video. The extras are mostly recycled from previous DVDs, but it's nice to have them as part of a package dedicated to just the classic original. The commentary tracks are a half-assed effort on the part of Fox, where there has always semed to be no one working there with a passion for these films, the five film series. The Jerry Goldsmith commentary is interesting (Goldsmith is the last surviving filmmaker on this movie), but it should have been part of an isolated score track. It's also frustrating that Goldsmith doesn't seem to want to go into more depth on how the score was written. The other commentary track is made up of old interviews and is so sparse it should have just been fitted in with the dead spots on the Goldsmith commentary. However, the text commentary is very good and should be turned on while listening to the other tracks. Of the extas, only the Roddy McDowall's Home Movies are new, but for fans they are facinating and make this DVD a buying must. The still galleries are a huge disappointment in their brevity and I suspect that Fox simply doesn't want to release what must be thousands of images in their archives probably because they'll need them as a feature on future reissues on upgraded media in HD. The other thing that makes this a must buy is the 16X9 transfer. This is a classic, iconic Sci-Fi film and belongs in every film buff collector's library. The movie looks as good as I believe it can for its age, and even Goldsmith comments often on how amazed he is that the film looks as fresh as the day it was released. As for the sound, well this is a little involved. 35mm movies from this era of 20th Century-Fox that were released in stereo were done as four-channel stereo (right, left, center and mono surround). They were released with four magnetic tracks along the sprocket holes, along with a mono opitical track beside the image frames for theatres that didn't have the projectors with magnetic audio playback -- which was most theatres in those days. As such, the proper modern DVD playback for these movies is 4.0 DD. Check out other Fox films on DVD to hear these, the original THE FLY, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH and THE SAND PEBBLES. You'll notice they have directional dialogue. Now PLANET OF THE APES doesn't have this directional dialogue and is in 5.1 DD and DTS. This is because back in 1968 very few "4-Track MagOptical" prints were prepared for APES and it seems none have survived. What we have now is a reconstruction of the original stereo using the master stereo session recordings of the score and the mono dialogue and sound effects tracks. Fox has attempted this twice in the past with mixed results. This latest DVD release, with the soundtrack mastered in DTS, is their best effort yet. The film still doesn't have the dirctional dialogue it should, but the stereo separation of both the music and the sound effects is better than on the previous DVD. I'm generally pleased with it. As for the packaging on this release, most of the photos on the covers are from the first sequel, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, and the picture of Roddy McDowall on the front cover is from the third sequel, CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES! Well, at least Fox isn't spoiling the famous final shot of APES by putting that on the cover -- as they stupidly did with the previous release.

 

[dpippel]

Maybe not, but an image from the final scene is there in all it's glory as the backdrop to the Special Features menu on Disc 1. D'OH Fox!!

 

[Sean Hardiman]

So what's the deal with the number "14" and "Collector's Edition" on the spine? It doesn't match up with the Fox Studio Classics sequencing; anyone have any ideas? Searches of the forum also yielded nothing.

Ideas?

 

[Britton]

Fox is numbering their 2-disc sets. It's a competely different "collection" than the Studio Classics line. For example, the individual releases of the new Alien discs were numbers 10-13.

 

[Sean Hardiman]

Thanks for the information - do you (or anyone else) know what the first nine were? I bought the Alien Quadrilogy, so I have 10-13 (no numbering though).

 

[Britton]

I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but here's a post that has a partial list. Fight Club is one of the movies that is also part of the "collection"

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...83#post1907183