Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13293 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-08
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The original Planet of the Apes is that rarity of the genre: a science fiction film that has dated not one bit: its intelligent script, frightening costuming, and savagely effective conclusion (which needs no big-budget special effects to augment its impact) remain both potent and relevant. When Colonel George Taylor (the fabulous Charlton Heston) crash lands his spacecraft on what seems to be an unfamiliar planet, he is captured and held prisoner by a dominant race of rational, articulate apes. However, the ape community is riven with internal dissension, centred in no small part on its policy toward humans, who, on this planet, are treated as mindless animals. Befriended and ultimately assisted by the more liberal simians, Taylor escapes--only to find a more terrifying obstacle confronting his return home. Heavy-handed object lessons abound--the ubiquity of generational warfare, the inflexibility of dogma, the cruelty of prejudice--and the didactic finger prints of The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling are very much in evidence here. But director Franklin Schaffner has a dark, pop-apocalyptic sci-fi vision all of his own, helped along by Jerry Goldsmith's terrifyingly avant-garde score. And time has not dulled the monumental emotional imp act of the film's climactic payoff shot. --Miles Bethany, Amazon.com

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 anamorphic 16:9
Sound: 5.1 Surround
Photo Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailers
Language: English
Subtitles: Hard of hearing English, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Hebrew, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish

Synopsis
Complex sociological themes run through this science-fiction classic about three astronauts marooned on a planet where highly intelligent apes rule and humans are slaves.The astronauts suddenly find themselves part of a devalued species, trapped and imprisoned by the simians. But one, the defiant Taylor (Charlton Heston), manages to break out and, aided by a pair of compassionate chimps, makes his escape to an uninhabited section of land. However, during the trek he makes a very unsettling discovery about the planet.
The film, based on the novel by Pierre Boulle with a screenplay co-written by Rod Serling, led to four sequels, a TV series, and remake in 2001 by Tim Burton. "Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!"

Customer Reviews

A good collection, but not as good as it could have been
Franklin J. Schaffner's original Planet of the Apes is in a class of its own - superb, serious filmmaking with an incredibly strong script which manages to encompass everything from the creationist/evolutionist debate to the Hollywood blacklist (all five films feature heavy presences from blacklist victims both in front of and behind the cameras). And John Chambers' make-up is still quite miraculous, convincingly simian while still retaining much of the identity of the players underneath the masks. Unfortunately, the edition in this 6-disc boxed set misses the excellent extras from the later 2-disc DVD edition.

Unlike the Star Trek films, this is one franchise where the odd `numbered' films are better than the `evens.' Beneath the Planet of the Apes suffers heavily from the loss of writers Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, and perhaps more so from Schaffner's replacement with talented but often uninspired journeyman Ted Post. The first half hour is a rushed recap of the first film, with Charlton Heston-lite James Franciscus taking the lead to little effect. There are interesting jabs at Vietnam era America - peace protesting chimps, militaristic rabble rousing gorillas - and civil rights - Thomas Gomez's prayer is actually a KKK blessing - but it lacks the wit, character or detail of its predecessor. Heston's insistence on no more sequels (or so he thought) also adds a somewhat needlessly nihilistic ending.

Much better by far is Escape From the Planet of the Apes, which is when Paul Dehn really took over the series by proxy and created the mythology which would see it through to the short-lived TV series. Roddy McDowall may get top billing, but it's actually Kim Hunter who easily dominates the film, and it's a wonderfully imaginative and witty inversion of the original. Funky score by Jerry Goldsmith too, a million miles from his savage primitive work on the original but still recognizably the same musical universe.

The quality drops again with Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Despite some interesting plays on slavery and race relations - the final carnage is based closely on the Watts riots - it's mildly uninvolving, not helped by a poor DVD transfer that makes the scenes shot in Century City even duller than they were meant to be. Don Murray's hysterical overacting doesn't help - at times the film cuts away from him to inanimate objects as if embarrassed to linger on his performance.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes is easily the least ambitious, toning down the violence for what the producers admitted was just `a kid's film.' Yet on its own terms its extremely well made, often dryly amusing and particularly well shot, with J. Lee Thompson showing a good eye for the Scope frame that's almost completely absent in Conquest. It's a shame that Dehn's much, much darker take - in which Caesar's attempts to build a world where apes and men can live in peace leads to his murder and the birth of the hardline regime of the original film - was abandoned, but it's a surprisingly enjoyable movie in a cowboys and Indians, or rather, apes and mutants kind of way. And where else can you see John Landis playing horsey for a young ape? Unfortunately, the version in this boxed set is quite heavily cut - for the uncut version you need to pick up the 2006 DVD reissue on NTSC.

Aside from the poor Conquest, the 2.35:1 widescreen transfers are good but not outstanding, with extras limited to the excellent two-hour documentary Behind the Planet of the Apes and the original trailers for the films.

It's a madhouse!!! A madhouse!!!
Don't be put off by Burton's dire 're-imagining' - this is a top quality film. It's worth buying for the crash sequence and the shots of the stranded ship in the lake alone - stunning.

Charlton Heston hams it all up superbly, and the film as a whole just succeeds on so many levels. The melodramatic scripting adds to the experience if you don't take it too seriously, and the whole thing adds up to a fantastic film, which is superior to any of the sequels and remakes, although it is rather overshadowed by the glorious Simpsons musical version, 'Stop the Planet of the Apes, I want to get off!'.

Unfortunately the DVD has virtually no extras, but the beautiful widescreen print is so worth your money.

The greatest Sci-Fi saga ever made.
It is a blessing that the Planet of the Apes films have finally come to DVD, and all the more satisfying that they have been released as a whole boxset. Now all five films can be watched one after the other with a clear picture and improved sound quality.

PLANET OF THE APES is teh pinnacle of the whole series. While being the best of the series, it is also (in my opinion) one of the greates sci-fi tales ever told, and far more advanced than any other sci-fi film of the time. Charlton Heston is flawless as Taylor, and is performance his at all times convincing. For anyone who has yet to see this film (and for anyone who hasn't seen the spolier front cover of the DVD) the ending is a shocker - far better than the ending in the Tim Burton remake.

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES is an excellent sequal, with a perfect cast to boot. The story is more direct in the politiacl, social and moral issues that were raised in the first, but still allows for a thoroughly entertaining film. Again, another great ending is included.

ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES is a welcome variation from the previous two films, this time allowing us to watch a film where it is the apes in an alien world instead of the humans. It's interesting to see how the roles of the two species have been reversed. I thought that the ending in this film was perfect and very realistic.

I felt that CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES was a bit of a let down. Comparing it to the first three films, the story seems to be rushed, without enough emphasis on the uprising of the apes. But after you get past the rushed story of the first half of the film, the second half more than makes up for it. Again, a spectacular ending created by Ceaser's riveting speech.

The last of the series, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, was again inferior to the first three, and in my opinion the worst of the five films. The film is entertaining though, although I felt that the ending was a bit of a letdown, directly contrasting with the morbid endings of the first four films.

Included is an extra disk with a two hour documentary, hosted by Roddy McDowell. This is excellently compiled and is very informative, giving the viewer fascinating insights into the whole creation process.

A definite classic series, one that must be bought.