The Planet of the Apes movies posed a question nobody in their right mind had ever asked themselves before: what would a world be like if primates ran the joint and we were their prey? Now, after having watched the original plus all of its sequels back-to-back, I find it difficult to remember Earth as it really is, sans articulate chimps and armed gorillas. Not that I miss them; to be frank, one Planet of the Apes suffices, and four more of them is enough to drive even the most ardent film cultist bananas.
Nevertheless, pre-order figures for Fox's new Planet of the Apes: The Evolution DVD box set indicate a big seller, and the package is worth owning for completist's sake. Below, a disc-by-disc evaluation. As you'll see, although I'm sick of simians, I'm not quite prepared to say start the evolution without me. (Note: Planet of the Apes is the only one availble for sale both individually and as part of the collection.)
PLANET OF THE APES
***1/2 (out of four)
As audiences grow more sophisticated (read: jaded), so does special effects technology. Yet cinematic science fiction, which often depends on visceral illusion, seems to have stopped experimenting around the time of Alien, allowing for obvious exceptions. Planet of the Apes was born in the post-"Twilight Zone"/pre-Star Wars era, when imagination of the cerebral sort was not only encouraged but reigned.
A typically chiselled (as in, wooden Indian) Charlton Heston stars in this bizarre update of Inherit the Wind as Taylor, one of three astronauts stranded on an inhabitable planet after their spaceship crashes--two thousand years past their date of departure. Eventually, talking, decidedly hostile apes, who presume the visitors are like all other humans (i.e., unintelligent cave dwellers), capture the group. Although Taylor wins the trust of married apes Cornelius and Zira (Roddy McDowall and Kim
Hunter, respectively), his ability to speak strikes fear in the orangutan lders, for his very existence contradicts their creationist teachings.
Ironically, or perhaps not at all, Rod Serling contributed to the screenplay, which concludes with a signature cosmic twist that is unfortunately spoiled on the DVD's cover art! (Serling's rational voice is sorrily missed in the Paul Dehn-scripted continuations.) Director Franklin J. Schaffner has a vivid sense of the landscape, and, in that "Twilight Zone" tradition, plays the action straight. (However, he still manages to have some fun with visual puns, such as a play on the iconic "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" pose.) Whatever plot holes abound (such as the fact that the spacemen grow beards in suspended animation yet their fingernails remain the same length) are further redeemed by Jerry Goldsmith's inventive score.
Owners of standard televisions will be dazzled by the quality of Planet of the Apes' THX-approved, 2.35:1 letterbox transfer, whose trés 1999 lack of anamorphic enhancement unfortunately leaves 16x9 viewers in the lurch. Perhaps the biggest improvement over previous editions is in the area of colour: finally gone are the pinkish flesh tones and sickly-looking sand. Black level and shadow detail elicit awe. Celluloid grain is minimal.
Apply this video assessment to every film save Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes, which are slightly fuzzier, darker, and murkier despite bearing the same THX stamp of approval. The bonus DVD, a full-frame, two-hour documentary, exhibits occasional motion artifacts, nothing seriously detrimental. As far as sound is concerned, only Planet of the Apes has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 (though standard Dolby Surround is the default track), and the overall effect is higher fidelity and stereo presence for the music. Artificial surround mixes accompany numbers two, four, five, plus the doc; Escape from the Planet of the Apes retains its mono origins and sounds crisper than any of the others!
Each disc includes fun, funky animated menus, trailers for the entire franchise and DVD-ROM web links. Planet and Beneath additionally feature photo galleries of production stills.
BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES
** (out of four)
The team sent to rescue Taylor and co. also crash-lands on the monkey planet, and its lone survivor (James Franciscus, a downsized Charlton Heston), in avoiding capture, encounters an underground society of telepathic mutants who worship a nuclear bomb.
The wildly unpredictable Beneath successfully expands on its predecessor by revealing a domestic side to the planet of the apes (endearing couple Cornelius and Zira lounge about their house), and its first half courageously, if impudently, comments on the Vietnam struggle of the time. But TV-style direction (courtesy of boob tube veteran Ted Post) and indiscriminate editing hamper a potentially poignant tale.
ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES
*** (out of four)
Arguably the most dated franchise entry (in terms of production values), Don Taylor's Escape soars regardless, thanks to fine performances, the touching couplehood of Cornelius and Zira (McDowall, returning to the role after his absence in Beneath, and Hunter disappear into the make-up more than ever before), and a thought-provoking climax that carries genuine tragic weight.
Whaddya know, another downed spacecraft! Cornelius and Zira exit Taylor's repaired vessel only to find themselves in present day America. Initially the toast of champagne society, the media quickly turns on them when details of Taylor's fate surface through interrogations. A shady Washington official (Eric Braeden) moves to sacrifice Zira's child upon birth, arguing the Hitler clause (as in, knowing what you know, would you murder Hitler in his youth?), a predication that masks inter-species racism--er, specism?
CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
** (out of four)
Like Escape before it, Conquest is pregnant with ideas--none of which make any sense, unfortunately, even with our suspension of disbelief at full tilt. Furthermore, an African-American slavery parallel is potentially offensive.
It is the police-state of 1991 (!): dogs and cats have been wiped out, and apes are poised to replace them. Rounded up in an oppressive training facility, they stage a revolt, led by Caesar (McDowall again), the charismatic son of Cornelius and Zira. How is it the primates have developed human traits long before a nuclear future enabled that? Beats me. Ricardo Montalban has a wonderful, typically quote-worthy cameo, and the film gets points for delivering on its violent promise.
BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
*1/2 (out of four)
The events of Conquest have moved Caesar to seclude his people in a remote village. When his human allies alert him to videotapes of his parents that are gathering dust in a government vault, Caesar decides to seek them out, stirring a lion's den of trouble. Meanwhile, a belligerent gorilla causes problems at home.
A silly second effort from J. Lee Thompson that could have been strengthened by bringing the series to some kind of logical conclusion. Only its strangely ambiguous closing shot is memorable.
BEHIND THE PLANET OF THE APES
*** (out of four)
A delightful two-hour American Movie Classics retrospective hosted by, who else, the late Roddy McDowall. While the extensive plot rehashing of all five films proves somewhat redundant to owners of the box set, anecdotes from surviving cast and crew frequently enthral. (Get this: at lunch hour on the set of Planet of the Apes, the orangutan players would eat only with the orangutan players, and so on!) And watching candid footage of the actors struggling to smoke cigarettes while wearing their prosthetic pieces is endlessly amusing. Film historian Eric Greene provides solid political analysis throughout.
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