|
Rating:  -
They used to have "Planet Of The Apes" week on channel 7 out of Detroit and like any other kid I ran home from school everyday to watch them.I absolutely love the Planet of the Apes evolution boxed set.You get all five Planet of the Apes movies plus a sixth bonus disc containing all the wonderful special features.It's all here except the superior picture and 5.1 digitally remastered sound found in the legacy set.The picture and sound are a definite improvement over the television images but still don't compare to the legacy set.I don't understand why 20th Century Fox Studios didn't take the time to remaster all the movies at the same time.They've always had the ability to do it,because the legacy set is proof of that.How many times can a studio release the same titles over and over.Now 20th Century Fox has released "The Planet Of The Apes" ultimate collection with deluxe ape head packaging consisting of all the movies,tv series,animated series and Tim Burtons version.After considering the cost of the new ultimate collection the evolution set is great value for any planet of the apes fan.But if ultimate picture and sound are what you're after,hold out and purchase the legacy set.I hope this review was helpful.
Rating:  -
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 with John Houston as the revered ape Lawgiver reading from the sacred scrolls like a bedtime storyteller, "In the beginning, God created beast and man so that they could live in harmony and share dominion over this world..." From here the story is told in flashback and the viewer is left scratching their heads by the befuddling logic. Events not clearly explained are left to the viewer to make assumptions or draw conclusions about the contradictory order of events. It must be assumed that a nuclear war had devasted the Earth immediately after the ape uprising in Conquest and somehow only a decade afterward the ape society had unbelievably evolved their verbal powers of speech and intelligence. These facts are inconsistent with Cornelius' explanation of the apes' evolution in Escape in which he explains that the plague that destroyed all cats and dogs occurred some 200 years later than it did in Conquest and that Aldo was the first ape to utter human speech when he said the word "No" which was spoken by Lisa in Conquest, and that Aldo led the revolt against the humans which was led by Caesar. We can only conclude that the incongruent events in Conquest and Battle are the events of an alternate timeline forged by the creation of the temporal paradox from Cornelius and Zira's arrival in Escape. The apes also adorn costumes similar to the fashions of the ape society from the first film which had evolved over several thousand years but again this is only a decade after their revolt against the humans (one explanation could be that since this story is told as a flashback to ape and human children we are seeing it as depicted by their imaginations as a point of reference). Caesar has a son named Cornelius which might initially confuse the uninitiated viewer into mistaking this to be the young Cornelius from the first film which lived several thousand years into the future until it is made obviously clear late in the film that it is not the same Cornelius (I actually spent a better part of the film pondering how Caesar could paradoxically be both the son and the father of Cornelius). Also, MacDonald in this film is not the same MacDonald who was the Governor's Adjutant in Conquest but rather his brother which is confusing since Caesar appeared to have found a human sympathizer and ally in the MacDonald from Conquest and the only reasonable explanation for the deliberate change of character is that MacDonald is played by a different actor this time, but if you aren't paying close attention, you are likely to miss that inference. Ape City is located in a very lush and hospitable forest area within miles of the inhospitable desert wasteland of the annihilated Forbidden City. Automobiles such as jeeps and school buses still work somehow and were not rendered inopperable by the EMP of the atomic detonation. Radioactive half-life apparently only affects the surviving humans living within the irradiated remains of the Forbidden City (again, this takes place a mere decade after the war) and the apes can somehow sustain bombardments of high levels of radioactive fallout for a few hours while they search its archives for a videotape of Cornelius and Zira which also amazingly happened to not be vaporized or magnetically degaussed by the atomic blast. The mutated humans all wear skull caps for the purpose of (take your pick): A.) protecting their craniums from high radiation levels B.) to hide the fact that their hair has completely fallen out due to radioactive fallout C.) to enhance telepathic reception of their now-suddenly mutated telekinetic minds or D.) All of the above.
The newly restored scenes with the human mutants and the Alpha-Omega bomb at least help to make some sense of the rather weak narrative and gaps of logic and provide some continuity to the rest of the series. In the first scene, Governor Kolp unveils the Alpha-Omega bomb and instructs his assistant Alma to use it to annihilate Ape City should he not return from battle which is exactly what happens in the final scene where we see Mendez and Alma playing a game of checkers when Sargeant York returns and declares the defeat of their army and waves his arms in the air signalling an explosion just before he collapses. Alma says "Then I know what I must do." Mendez says "But wait for Kolp's signal," Alma's response is "I have just received it." Mendez, implores her not to carry out Kolp's original instructions making the arguement that its destructive power should be protected and even venerated and that they should become its guardians because it was one of their ancestors that made them what they are. This scene is significant because it shows the mutants beginning to hone their developing telepathic powers and it establishes the fundamental doctrine of their quasi-religious sect that will worship the Alpha-Omega bomb in future generations. It almost feels more like a direct prequel to Beneath now. Why this subplot was excised is almost as baffling as the film's logic but one reason perhaps is the fact that the film ended with a more optimistic outlook suggesting that the timeline of events were changed when Caesar united the apes and the humans and that the crisis of Beneath may have been averted but it is left open for the audience to decide from the ambiguous tear of the weeping statue of Caesar suggesting that perhaps the fateful events of the future cannot be avoided after all.
Battle is definitely the worst of the five apes films but compared to most low-budget sci-fi shlock I've seen, it's really not as bad as it's made out to be, but judged against the superior standard set precedent by the first film it is a quite a disappointment. In addition to the restored scenes, there are few highlights that make the film worth at least a viewing if you have enjoyed watching the other films in this series at all. Of particular interest are the sets of the melted down post-apocalyptic Forbidden City that are just visually interesting to look at, even if the obvious matte paintings were composited into the background. It gives the film a future-coda feel in a way that evokes images of James Cameron's The Terminator but pre-dates it over a decade. If nothing else, Battle (and the rest of the Apes saga) was at least influential in inspiring other science fiction films in the genre and was the template for subsequent franchises and was more than influential to George Lucas and his Star Wars mega-merchandising empire that would follow only a few years later and the Planet of the Apes series would forever be buried under its apocalypse and reside in the realm of Saturday afternoon and late-night television broadcasts.
Rating:  -
For this installment we do go both forwards & backwards & then forwards & backwards & again & again through time.Yes I was taken away more immediately by the 2nd time that I saw "Battle" than I was the first & this even made Planet of the apes: The Forbidden Zone at Malibu Graphics their best publication courtesy of me for the little or not known peace time of the humans & apes of which this film had both begun and ended with & then as a result the people at Malibu Graphics were just as annoyed by me as they were glad to have me there for them.They invited comment & Critique & got from me more than what they bargained for as a result and along with this for not doing their own homework.but still check out the zpota website for damn the continuity all to Hell.As it agree's with someone's response of what continuity?Also please check out the IMBd sites for this movie as others too.
Rating: -
This version of Battle for the Planet of the Apes is the uncut version that contains the scenes of the Alpha Omega bomb. These scenes make a clear connection between the mutants in Beneath and the ones in this film. Of course, Mendez is still there in the chopped version, but many might not connect him with the Mendez dynasty alluded to in the second film. These scenes make a huge difference in this film. I'd say they elevate the film from 3 to 4 stars.
The most obvious way to differentiate the two versions is the cover. The cut version has Virgil, an orangutan on it. This version has a picture of a very angry chimp or gorilla. In the cut version, you see Virgil from the chest up, the latter only has a face above the logo and a few film clips below it. While I'd really only recommend this to apes fans, I'd say anyone who's truly devoted to this series must own it.
Rating: -
any kid worth his salt growing up in the 70's watched as on friday nights cbs ran the planet of the apes movies, i know because i was one of them, and because they were rated high on the t.v. charts.
"planet of the apes" (1968) began the whole saga as taylor(charlton heston) crashes his spaceship on a desert planet some 2 to 3000 years into the future. after a sureal trek through a desert they find plant life and water,and human life . the humans are caveman in type and don't talk. taylor and his friends are just thinking about what to do next when an unearthly hunt call sends the humans running and the bigest suprise of all,
apes on horse back and with guns are hunting the humans. once seen the hunt will never be forgotten. as his friends are killed taylor is hurt and we learn that the apes rule this world. this is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made , as taylor fights for his life and a reason for a planet ruled by apes. in the end he finds his reason in one of the greatest endings ever put on film , and if you haven't seen it i'm sure you have heard of it.
"beneath the planet of the apes " takes place just after the first films ends and adds another spaceman brent to the mix as he is sent to find out what happened to taylor, not as good as the first but still fun and action packed. and it looks like the end of the series.
"escape from the planet of the apes" shifted the time line to modren day(read 1973) and put the apes in the forground as the ones we care about. a fun almost remake in reverse of the first it ends very downbeat but paves the way for the next in the series.
" conquest of the planet of the apes" takes place in the future(the 1980's) as a plague has killed all dogs and cats on earth and people have taken apes as pets,buthave found they make better slaves than pets.enter the son of the apes in "escape" as he leads a revolt and takes over the earth. this one is pg instead of g because of the dark nature of this one shot trip into a dark event. maybe the best of the whole series.
"battle for the planet of the apes" the last in the series and the least of the films follows the apes after the revolt and sees their last fight against the humans that want to control them.
" behind the planet of the apes " tells the story of the making of all the movies and anything else you could want to know about the movies and is hosted by the late roddy mcdowell and is just great.
this is the best collection of any movie serise i have seen. if you love this series you need this set. you'll go ape for it. (haha)
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Join the Nielsen//NetRatings Research Panel and you could win a new car, a dream vacation, a dream home makeover or $50,000 Cash!
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Original Superhero & other designs for t-shirts, bumper
stickers, prints, mugs, and other cool merchandise. |
|
