Planet of the Apes - The Evolution

Amazon.com

The five films in the Planet of the Apes series are enjoyable as pure entertainment and yet substantial enough to inspire academic studies like Planet of the Apes as American Myth: Race, Politics, and Popular Culture.

Loosely adapted from the novel by French author Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes was released at the height of racial and political unrest in America, adding resonance to its story of a NASA astronaut (Charlton Heston) stranded on a planet where superior apes dominate inferior human slaves. The film's final image--in which a horrified Heston realizes the fate of humankind--remains one of the most indelible in all of science fiction cinema.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) continues the original's distant future scenario, pitting militant apes against mutant humans dwelling in the subterranean ruins of New York City. Its phenomenal success spawned Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), in which simian scientists Cornelius and Zira (Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter, reprising their roles from Planet) travel backward in time, setting the stage for the ape supremacy of the first two films. McDowall returned in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) as Caesar, the son of Cornelius, leading an ape revolution that bridges the historical gap of the previous films. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) ended the five-film cycle with McDowall again playing the chimpanzee leader Caesar, defeating gorillas and human mutants to establish the hierarchy introduced in the original film.

The Apes films present a classic what-if scenario that hasn't lost a bit of its potency. As if to prove its cultural endurance, the cycle returned to its origins with director Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes--one of the most eagerly awaited films of 2001. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

NEVER SAY "NO" TO AN APE! HAPPY 699TH BIRTHDAY CAESAR!.......2007-08-02

This is the fifth and last installment in the POTA's series or at least in the movie theater series. I must say this again....I am a big fan of the series and I have watched them in my home theater with the new transfers now. This film isn't bad, but a bigger budget could have helped. If you are going to watch these movies, please throw out all sense of reality! I hate when people pick apart things they feel are unbelievable in movies. We're talking about "talking apes" here! I will however have to question basic continuity in these films. Every installment has continuity problems that will split your brain in two just trying to make sense of it! I will give you one example ..... this film takes place in 2670 and the last picture was in 1991.....lets do some math here. That would make Caesar 699 years old Considering he was 20 years old in "Conquest" I guess the Caesar in this picture is his great, great, great, great grand son?? If that is true how is the Governor's aid's brother still alive? They don't really explain this. I am not trying to tear these films apart,but there are loads of little tidbits of information through out the series like this. As long as you are watching the films with the right mind set, this is a good film that just should have been better. The DVD transfer is very good and the extended edition helps a bit. My rating for the series is 1) POTA by a mile! 2) Escape from POTA 3) Beneath the POTA 4) Conquest for POTA 5) Battle for The POTA. The sequels are so close it really is a toss up with them.

In peace and harmony .......2007-07-10

Yes exactly as the film starts and finishes with an equal society of both humans and apes and making it the best installment of the 5 films and even better than the tv series of which follows during the following year.

good but..........2006-09-27

okay just one problem (i know it's a movie) how did the apes all learn to talk from the 4th movie too this one???? anyone???

Worst series ever!.......2006-06-18

For starters why would a person be smoking a cigar in a spaceship?!! Unlogical! The only good one was number 1 (number 2 was ok) but it just went downhill from there! I didn't even want to watch number 5. Now you know a series isn't good when you don't want to watch the final one. I wasn't even interested in the bonus disc. Now that's not a good sign. So if you want a good series of movies, watch The Matrix, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Lord of the Rings and theres tons more. Just don't waste your time on this series.

GREAT SET .....BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.......2006-05-30

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.

Average customer rating:

Planet of the Apes: Evolution
Starring: Planet of the Apes Collection
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Planet of the Apes (2001) / Planet of the Apes - The Evolution (Complete Film Series) / Planet of the Apes - The Complete TV Series

Average customer rating:

Planet of the Apes (2001) / Planet of the Apes - The Evolution (Complete Film Series) / Planet of the Apes - The Complete TV Series
Starring: Mark Wahlberg , Tim Roth , Helena Bonham Carter , Michael Clarke Duncan , and Paul Giamatti
Director: Tim Burton , Franklin J. Schaffner , and Ted Post
Manufacturer: Twentieth Century Fox Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000067NNH
Release Date: 2002-05-28

DVD:

DVD

DVD