A retrospective on the Planet of the Apes franchise

A retrospective on the Planet of the Apes Franchise (contains spoilers for basically every film in the franchise…so be warned) I figured with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes coming out in less than a week and that I went ahead and binge watched every single Apes film in like three days, that’d it be a good time to make a nice retrospective/ode to the franchise and the films themselves. I find the Apes franchise to be a very interesting one for many reasons, it was a franchise before the “summer blockbuster” was really a thing, and it became something very Star Wars-like before Star Wars even

Read more »

Planet Of The Apes,

{[['']]}

Planet of the Apes '68 [Blu-ray]

20th Century Fox released the film previously on DVD by itself and in a box set with the rest of the Apes films plus a bonus DVD of extras. Now, for those who just want the first (and best) film of the series and all of the extras, Fox has released an excellent two-DVD special edition of Planet of the Apes to celebrate its 35th anniversary. The DVD's extras get off to a shaky start with the two lackluster audio commentaries. The first is by legendary composer, Jerry Goldsmith, and the second by actors Roddy McDowall, Natalie Trundy, Kim Hunter and make-up artist John Chambers. Both comment

Read more »

1968, Blu-Ray, DVD, Planet Of The Apes, Reviews, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}

Beneath the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]

Beneath the Planet of the Apes is the second movie in the series and my personal favorite. Probably the darkest of all five movies, the story begins with Taylor and Nova riding through the Forbidden Zone where the first one left off. Taylor mysteriously disappears, but Nova is able to find Brent, the only survivor of the crew sent to rescue Taylor. After seeing Ape City, Brent and Nova go into the Forbidden Zone where they find an underground city of mutants who worship an atomic bomb as their god. Meanwhile, the Apes are planning an attack on the Forbidden City. The story is very good and

Read more »

Planet Of The Apes, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}

Escape from the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]

Following the cataclysmic finale of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, there was only one logical direction for the series to go---> back to the future. The result is an illogically conceived and satirical prequel that will amuse and delight and ultimately devastate with its bleak Shakesperean tragedy. When Taylor's spacecraft unexpectedly splashes down in 1973 and is retrieved by a military envoy, the three astronauts that emerge from the capsule are not revealed to be Taylor, Landon and Dodge, but rather the astonishing simian ape-o-nauts Cornelius, Zira and Milo... the third of which is

Read more »

Planet Of The Apes, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]

This fourth entry in the Planet of The Apes is by far the most straightforward and violent in the series. The scenes of revolt by the apes are tame by todays standards but are still effective. especially considering the small budget director J.Lee Thompson had to work with. He makes the film look much bigger in scope than it really was. The story begins with Caesar,the son of Zira and Cornelius from The 3 earlier films and it was a great touch allowing Roddy McDowall to portray both father and son. He goes into a city with mentor Armando. The circus owner from the third film Escape From Th

Read more »

Planet Of The Apes, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}

Battle for the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]

Rarely does the restoration of deleted scenes added back into a film work to its benefit. The Extended Edition of Battle for the Planet of the Apes (available previously only as a Japanese laserdisc) is one of those rare exceptions. The fifth and final chapter in the Apes theatrical series is generally regarded as its weakest link. It had the lowest budget of all of the films in the series and it painfully shows and looks more like it's a made-for-TV movie. In fact, it feels almost like a pilot for the Planet of the Apes Television Series. The film begins in the year 2670 and is bookended

Read more »

Planet Of The Apes, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Escape from the Planet of the Apes is a 1971 science fiction film directed by Don Taylor and starring Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series. Reprising their roles as intelligent, English-speaking apes, McDowall and Hunter flee their world before it's destroyed, and travel back in time to present-day America. In L.A. they become the subjects of a relentless search by the fearful population, much like humans Charlton Heston and James Franciscus were targeted for experimentation and destructi

Read more »

Planet Of The Apes, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Battle for the Planet of the Apes is a 1973 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden, Lew Ayres, Paul Williams and John Huston. It is the fifth and final entry in the original Planet of the Apes series. In this Planet of the Apes film, a group of the surviving humans in a post-nuclear society, scarred and mutated by radiation, clash with the apes while the peace-loving ape leader, Ceasar must deal with an attempted coup by war mongering gorilla general Aldo. The story is told as a flashback with a wraparound s

Read more »

Planet Of The Apes, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}

Planet of the Apes - Primal Collection (All 8 Films) (Blu-Ray Box Set) 1968-2014

All eight films in the science-fiction franchise thus far. Including 'Planet of the Apes' (1968) 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' (1970) 'Escape from the Planet of the Apes' (1971) 'Conquest of the Planet of the Apes' (1972) 'Battle for the Planet of the Apes' (1973) 'Planet of the Apes' (2001) 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' (2011) 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' (2014)

Read more »

DVD, Planet Of The Apes, Sci-Fi,

{[['']]}