Planet Of The Apes: The Legacy Collection DVD Box Set Review

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Title: Planet Of The Apes: The Legacy Collection

Films Included: “Planet Of The Apes”, “Beneath The Planet Of The Apes”, “Escape From The Planet Of The Apes”, “Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes”, “Battle For The Planet Of The Apes: Extended Edition”, “Behind The Planet Of The Apes”

Region: One

Genre: Science Fiction

Stars: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, Linda Harrison, James Francisicus, Paul Richards, James Gregory, Jeff Corey, Natalie Trundy, Thomas Gomez, Bradford Dillman, William Windom, Sal Mineo, Ricardo Montalban, Don Murray, Claude Atkins, Severn Darden, Lew Ayres, Paul Williams, and John Huston

Writers: Michael Wilson, Rod Serling, Paul Dehn, Mort Abrahams, John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington

Based On The Novel And Characters Created By Pierre Boulle

Directors: Franklin J. Schaffner, Leonard Rosemann, Don Taylor, and J. Lee Thompson

Behind The Planet Of The Apes Writers: Brian Anthony, David Comtois, and Kevin Burns

Behind The Planet Of The Apes Director: David Comtois

Behind The Planet Of The Apes Executive Producer: Kevin Burns

Feature lengths: 112 minutes, 94 minutes, 97 minutes, 96 minutes, 96 minutes, 120 minutes

Extras: Audio Commentary With Composer Jerry Goldsmith, Audio Commentary With Actors Roddy McDowall, Natalie Trundy, Kim Hunter, and Makeup Artist John Chambers, Text Commentary By Eric Greene (Author Of “Planet Of The Apes As American Myth”), Photo Gallery, Trailers, TV Spot, Video Game Trailer

Languages: English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, English Dolby Surround Sound, French Language Dolby Surround Sound, Spanish Language Monaural Sound, and French Language Monaural Sound,

Subtitles: English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Six Amaray Keep Cases Within A Cardboard Slipcase

Chapter Stops: 28/24/27/21/28/22

Sound: DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Surround Sound, and Monaural Sound

Year of Theatrical Releases: 1968/1970/1971/1972/1973/DVD Release: 2006

Behind The Planet Of The Apes Year Of Television Broadcast: 1998/DVD Release: 2006

Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox

Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

MPAA Ratings Respectively: G/G/G/PG/Not Rated/Not Rated

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

1968 must have been a great year for science fiction fans. The Original "Star Trek" Television Series was still airing first run episodes on NBC, Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" was elevating the genre to new heights of respect for what had previously been considered B filmmaking and 1950s' Cold War paranoia fables, and then there was 20th Century Fox’s release "Planet Of The Apes." While some people might have missed "Star Trek" during it's original broadcast run and others might have found “2001” to be boring or too ambiguous in it's storytelling technique, "Planet Of The Apes" appealed to a broader audience because of the mutual attention paid to the storytelling and the sense of irony and political and social satire demonstrated in this fable of sorts. The film offered an entire world of action, sets, and makeup effects that were state of the art for their time. "Planet Of The Apes" was awarded an honorary Academy Award® for this achievement as well as a few other nominations in various categories.

I was born the year "Planet Of The Apes" was released and have vague memories of the original television premiere that appeared on CBS in the 1970s though I remember more the edited down versions that would broadcast when ABC would present "Apes Week" on the "4:30 Movie” (Gosh have things changed). For me I think the "Planet Of The Apes Quintology" was sort of like the "Star Wars" before "Star Wars" in terms of merchandising and spin-offs. There was a short-lived TV series, a Saturday morning cartoon, and tons of "Planet Of The Apes" dolls, play-sets, comic books, and whatnot as well as a 2001 remake.

Four astronauts on a six-month deep space mission commanded by George Taylor (Charlton Heston) are in cryogenic sleep. At the time Taylor and his crew left Earth it was July 14, 1972 on the ships chronometer, while according to Doctor Hasslein's theory of time it was already the year 2673 back on Earth. This can be viewed as an extrapolation on Einstein's Theory Of Relativity and the times I have mentioned here will play some importance in the story arc in the third film, "Escape From The Planet Of The Apes," where we actually get to see Doctor Hasslein's character, and in the prologue to the final film, "Battle For The Planet Of The Apes."

One of the wonderful things about this series is that while the continuity is not one hundred percent perfect, some reasonable explanation can be made up to cover some of the inconsistencies between the five films and all of them have interweaving components that hold the story together as well as serve as a foreshadowing of things to come in this circular loop of a series.

Anyway, Taylor’s ship crash-lands within a gulf at the edge of a desert in the Earth year 3978 A.D. All but the female explorer survive the crash and find themselves marooned on this unknown world. After crossing the desert for days they finally come across an oasis where they see humans in a primitive state feeding off of the fruit of trees until the Apes arrive to capture some specimens for veterinary experiments and scientific research among other uses. The cynical Taylor is trapped and injured. Unable to speak due to his injuries, he is dismissed as an animal mimicking the creatures that have it caged, but Dr. Zira (Kim Hunter) and her Anthropologist/Archeologist Fiancé, Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) find something intriguing in Taylor. This discovery has also frightened the Minister of Science and Defender of the Faith, Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans). Things grow more perilous when Taylor demonstrates the ability to speak and Cornelius and Zira are threatened with charges of heresy for even considering this human can be anything other than a mutant. Risking their lives, Cornelius and Zira manage to smuggle Taylor and his newfound native female companion, Nova, (Linda Harrison) out of Ape City and into the Forbidden Zone where Taylor's legacy awaits him.

Director Frank Schaffner (Patton) presents the film with a sense of respect for the material working from a clever and ironic script penned by Michael Wilson and "Twilight Zone" Creator and Writer Rod Serling based on the novel "Monkey Planet" by Pierre Boulle. Charlton Heston lends a great sense of dramatic intensity to his character, which is far more pessimistic than roles he had been best known for in other films like “Ben-Hur” and “The Ten Commandments.”

Finally all five “Planet Of The Apes” films are available on DVD-Video with anamorphic widescreen (2.25:1) transfers, four of which are THX certified complete with the THX optimizer for picture and sound calibration. Despite what the packaging states, “Planet Of The Apes” is not THX certified though it does feature the extra value features found on the first disc of the 35^th Anniversary Widescreen Collector’s Set released in 2004 and a DTS Soundtrack option.

The DVD has the English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack as well as the English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track that appeared on the original DVD release from 2000. A French Dolby Surround Soundtrack and a Spanish Language Two-Channel Monaural Surround Soundtrack are also provided along with English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles. While not as full as I would have liked, I do think the DTS Soundtrack is an admirable effort on behalf of Fox to truly make the movie presentation on disc one more exciting for home theater enthusiasts in addition to the anamorphic widescreen presentation. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is more or less the same quality as the original DVD release. An audio commentary featuring composer Jerry Goldsmith is included along with a commentary of mixed comments featuring Actors Roddy McDowall, Natalie Trundy, Kim Hunter, and Makeup Artist John Chambers. Finally there is a text commentary by Eric Greene, Author Of “Planet Of The Apes As American Myth.” The commentaries are a bit of disappointment because in particular the Actor/Makeup Artist Commentary as well as the text commentary frequently pauses where nothing is said and or no text comments appear. The other four films now have 5.1 Surround Soundtracks for the first time as well as French and Spanish Language Monaural Soundtracks. The picture quality of all of the films are a vast improvement over the original 2000 letterboxed releases, but I think the most noticeable improvements are on the four sequels because while “Planet Of The Apes” has been available in anamorphic widescreen for two years now, the other films were only available in letterboxed transfers that were a part of the Limited Edition “Planet Of The Apes: The Evolution” DVD set that was released in 2000 as well. While none of the 5.1 Surround Soundtracks for the four sequels are quite dynamic, they are definitely superior to anything I’ve heard related to those movies on DVD in the past.

Each disc features the theatrical trailers for “Planet Of The Apes” (3:05), “Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (3:08), “Escape From The Planet Of The Apes” (3:01), “Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes” (2:06), “Battle For The Planet Of The Apes” (2:31), the 2001 re-imagined version directed by Tim Burton of “Planet Of The Apes” (2:11) and cross promo for the VHS releases in the 1990s (2:03). The “Behind The Planet Of The Apes” DVD is the same one that was included in the “Evolution” box set from 2000 and does not feature any of the extra value materials found on Image Entertainment’s 2-Disc Collector’s Edition that had been released in 2001. A short still gallery is included on the “Beneath The Planet Of The Apes” DVD too. The menus for the five-feature film discs are animated with motion transitions and easy to navigate. The new release of “Battle For The Planet Of The Apes” is the Extended Edition that was previously only shown on television and released on laserdisc as a Japanese import. Approximately ten minutes longer than the American theatrical cut, “Battle For The Planet Of The Apes: Extended Edition” makes up for some of film’s low budget flaws by providing a story that in many ways sets up the world Taylor and Brent will encounter nearly two thousand years later. In the past I have argued that in the “Planet Of The Apes” quintology everything that occurs is not a changing of the future, but the steps reenacted over and over again like a closed loop. I now see that this is not quite the case. Time has changed some factors due to Taylor’s arrival in the future and Cornelius and Zira’s arrival in Earth’s past. However much like the case of the “Terminator Trilogy” where we see that the attempt to change the future did not prevent judgment day from occurring, it merely postponed it and in the process set up a new alternate set of future events to possibly occur, there is no direct evidence that the changes that have occurred in the “Apes” timeline will end up any different especially considering that two thousand years is a long time. Even the closing scene with the lawgiver is set a mere 600 years after Caesar’s death and the meaning of the weeping statue is still open to interpretation. Contrary to what the insert states, the Extended Edition has 28 scene selections and not 24. It would have been a nice touch if both the theatrical and extended editions of “Battle For The Planet Of The Apes” was included on the disc through seamless branching since it would make comparison for viewers a lot easier.

"Behind The Planet Of The Apes" is the American Movie Classics and Fox co-production that gives the most detailed analysis and history of the "Planet Of The Apes" movies I have ever seen. From their initial development featuring rare screen test footage through all five-feature films, the television series, the cartoon series, and the comic books, Toys and other merchandise, just about every aspect of the "Planet Of The Apes" franchise is touched upon.

Hosted and narrated by Roddy McDowall, this documentary features recent videotaped interviews with some of the surviving cast and crew from the films and television series and gives fantastic insight into all of the ambition, allegory, and success this science fiction series has had. There are surprisingly clear behind the scenes film footage and just about every facet about the films is discussed in both an entertaining and interesting manner. To put it simply, this disc alone is not only the perfect way to wrap up box set; it makes buying it more worthwhile if you missed the opportunity to buy the previous releases in the past.

The menus are animated with various scenes from the films fading in and out and the box cover art for all five films shuffle about whenever a choice is made. The trailers for all five films are included as is a home video promotional trailer for the films, a TV spot for "Behind The Planet Of The Apes", and a trailer for the "Planet Of The Apes" Video Game.

The "Planet Of The Apes: The Ultimate DVD Collection" Is Also Available, But Sold Separately
You Can Click On The Icon Below To Purchase It!

The picture quality is good with a full frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1 just as it was broadcast on AMC and a clear English Dolby Surround Track with English Captions and Spanish Language Subtitle options included. All six discs come in their own keep cases within a cardboard slipcase and the five films can also be purchased separately. Super fans of the franchise will want to purchase the “Planet Of The Apes: The Ultimate DVD Collection” box set which features a bust of Caesar, the five films as well as the “Behind The Planet Of The Apes” documentary as a part of the 35^th Anniversary Edition of the first film, the 2001 Tim Burton remake, the complete 1974 TV series, and exclusively (for now anyway) the complete “Return To The Planet Of The Apes” animated series as well as a limited edition certificate of authenticity numbered to 10,000 in the States. “Planet Of The Apes: The Legacy Collection” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

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