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PLANET OF THE APES
PLANET OF THE APES is available on DVD individually for $24.98 or part of The Evolution Box Set, which includes all five APES films for $89.98. |
This DVD review
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DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2001 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
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It's
a science fiction film! No, it's a social commentary! It's a science fiction
film! No, it's a social commentary! Well, wherever you stand on the above
argument, there is no denying that PLANET OF THE APES is a highly
entertaining motion picture that evolved into a cinematic phenomenon that
spawned four sequels.
Based
upon the novel by Pierre Boulle, PLANET OF THE APES tells the story
of astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston), who is on an interstellar
mission in a spaceship that is moving close to the speed of light. Awaken
from suspended animation, Taylor's ship crash lands into a body of water
on an unknown planet. However, before abandoning ship, Taylor is able
to check the chronometer to discover that more than two thousand years
have passed since he and his fellow astronauts left Earth. After crossing
a vast desert, the surviving astronauts come upon a lush jungle populated
with primitive humans. However, the astronauts soon discover that they
haven't landed in the Garden of Eden, when they encounter the planet's
dominant species.
On
this world, apes are intelligent and human beings are savage animals that
are hunted or used in medical experiments. After being shot in the throat
during a hunt for human specimens, Taylor finds that without his ability
to speak, he has no way of differentiating himself from the mute primitives
that surround him. Although he finally makes contact with two sympathetic
chimpanzee scientists, Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (Roddy McDowall),
Taylor's status as a man doesn't bode well for his continued existence.
Finally, when he regains his ability to speak, Taylor becomes a danger
to the ape's religious and scientific beliefs and finds himself persecuted
by Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans), who wants to eradicate every trace of his
existence. The surprise ending of PLANET OF THE APES will come
as no surprise to anyone who looks at the DVD release's cover art. Still,
PLANET OF THE APES is one of the most intelligent science fiction
films of the 1960s, plus the film making community as a whole benefited
from the groundbreaking prosthetic makeup worn by the actors portraying
apes.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made PLANET OF THE APES available
on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has NOT been enhanced
for 16:9 playback. This sadly is the biggest flaw in the presentation
of PLANET OF THE APES. On a 4:3 display, PLANET OF THE APES
looks quite good- displaying a sharp, well-defined image. Colors are rendered
with better saturation than I've ever seen on television broadcasts of
the film, although not quite at the level one generally sees on a new
film originating on modern film stock. Still, the flesh tones appear pretty
natural and there are no problems with chromatic distortion or smearing.
Blacks are accurate, although shadow detail is below the modern standard.
However, the picture does have good depth. The film element used for this
transfer is free from major blemishes, with noticeable grain being the
biggest flaw. Digital compression artifacts remain out of sight during
the presentation.
For
this release, PLANET OF THE APES has been re-mixed into Dolby Digital
5.1. This re-mix doesn't come close to what one generally finds in a new
film, but it does keep PLANET OF THE APES from sounding flat and
non-dimensional. Jerry Goldsmith's incredible score benefits most from
the re-mix, but fidelity is still somewhat limited, which makes the track
sound pretty edgy at higher volume levels. Dialogue reproduction is crisp,
with excellent intelligibility. English and French 2.0 surround soundtracks
are also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and Spanish subtitles. Animation
and sound enhance the interactive menus, which provide access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, as well as theatrical trailers for
all the PLANET OF THE APES movies.
PLANET
OF THE APES is a great movie and an okay DVD. Had the presentation
included the 16:9 enhancement, I would have given it a wholehearted recommendation.
Hopefully, Fox will re-issue PLANET OF THE APES at some point in
the future with the anamorphic enhancement.
