Rating: 
Summary: Masterpiece Serling!
Review: In case you didn't know Rod Serling, the creator And writer of the The original television series "the twilight zone" wrote the original "planet of the apes". You can also tell by the climax ending with the statue of liberty. If you don't think so check out some of his tz episodes such as "Its a good life" "the monsters are due on maple street" "The invaders" "A stop at willoughby" "the mask" and the "eye of the beholder". Such brilliance can't be explained. I recently saw tim burton's version and it was ok except i like ending a whole lot better than the rest of the film, but it will never come close to the original.
Rating:
Summary: Cheese at its finest hour
Review: Monkeys with machine guns, sweaty men in loin cloths, nuclear radiation victims that worship an atom bomb! Does it get any better? Well when compared to other science fiction yes, but this is probably the greatest thing to come out of the 60s next to Black Sabbath. I really love this series, its addictive. When all films are watched together its a never ending time warp ring of death and mayhem. Planet of the Apes, 4 stars. Great classic, Moses and some fellow astronaughts crash on a desert planet and walk around and have deep conversations about humanity when they discover a little plant, then some cavemen. Then everyones killed but Ben Hur and some great fun happens. Its a very good movie, the satire and humor is ok if a bit stale (but it was the 60s) but its still a fun movie poking a stick at things like the flabby belly of christianity. The ending is great and Ben Heston's great overacting is awesome! Its a little slow and dated but well worth it and its a million years better than Tim Burton's hunk of crap he put out this year. Super widescreen and great transfer. Beneath TPOTA, 5 stars. This is my favorite, its pure cheesiness and its not ashamed of it. In fact why I love these movies so much is because they are absurd and corny but they take themselves so seriously. Here there are FIREWALLS (!), a GORILLA ARMY OUT ON THE KILL (!), a CIVILIZATION OF NUCLEAR BURN VICTIMS WITH TELEPATHY THAT WORSHIP A DOOMSDAY BOMB (!), the monkey dung will soon hit the fans and everyones gonna get a taste! One reason this being my favorites is because of the ending, everyone gets killed, THEN the earth explodes. Classic cheese sci-fi, excellent picture, blah blah. Escape, 4 stars, now the series starts its decline. This is the corniest, cheesiest, and most fun apes film. I mean, man this movie is CHEESY. How come no one takes note the apes on the spaceship (that was magicly found 50 miles from the ape city underwater , reconstructed, filled up with no yet invented fuel, shot into space with no training or knowing how it works and by some twist of fate go back in time 20000000000 years and land unhurt all in one afternoon, wow, those monkeys are smarter than they act, brent's ship was fried to a crisp so shut up!)are bigger than normal chimps? Eventually the apes become famous and get treated like rich people then they are hunted and killed which is funnier than any of the jokes in the movie. Corny beyond belief, the end scenes of death will keep you from smashing your TV to pieces. Conquest, 3 stars. NO! NOOOOOOOO! Cheesy torture chamber scene! AAAAHH! Now its the future and apes are really big and Zira and Cornelius's son is real big and can talk and he's tortured and he collects ginzu knives then they go out and smash everyone to pieces and the planet of the apes is born! HO HO HO. Um, well its worth watching atleast. The little lighter note thing thrown in at the end is dumb. Battle, 1. Yeah its bad, bad. Just terrible! Even worse they thought they could pull a fast one on us and cut out a scene before releasing this DVD to make it look like the future was changed and everyone lived happily ever after. Anyone who grew up watching these films on TV, like me, and most of you know that the remaining humans start worshipping the BOMB. The earth is doomed to explode and the cycle start again, and again, and again, and again, and again.... The last disc is a making of that came on AMC that mostly deals in the making of the first film with old farts laughing every two seconds about unfunny stuff. One thing that comes to light is that if the studio had not rushed Beneath, it could have been one of the biggest films ever. If they waited a year the budget could have been bigger, the stars they couldn't get, like Orsen Welles, and barely Charleton Hur would have came on, the script would have been better quality. All that stuff. Instead they just HAD to have a sequel at that moment we got an inspired truly awesome masterpiece of cheese cinema. That caused a deadly effect on the other sequels and it was slowly ground down into brady bunch quality films, then a cruddy TV show and a cartoon. This boxset is awesome, the series is great cheese cinema, its must have like the Man With No Name trilogy, this is a great boxset. Buy it now and never ever ever see the stupid remake.
Rating: 
Summary: These monkeys are out of the barrel!
Review: When I was a kid, "Planet of the Apes" merchandise flooded the stores. Action figures, puzzles, guns, masks; we had it all. Unfortunately, we had to rely on the scheduling whims of network executives in order to watch the actual films that spawned this kitschy bonanza. The Age of Cable, VHS and DVD has dawned, and now we have the movies to enjoy whenever we want to time travel to a world where apes dominate. It's a decidedly downbeat and pessimistic world, but one that continues to fascinate. And this DVD set contains the entire 5-film series, so you can watch the devolution from highly-original concept into low-budget mediocrity. Fortunately, though, the "Planet of the Apes" franchise was almost always entertaining, even as inspiration ran low. Let's look at the films in order, shall we? Set controls for the year 3978... or 3955, depending on the movie. Planet of the Apes: The original, which over the years, has picked up some only marginally justified camp baggage. Charlton Heston plays a misanthropic astronaut who, ironically, becomes humanity's sole defender. Maurice Evans persecutes him as orangutan Dr. Zaius (who knows more about ape history than he lets on), and Roddy McDowall (soon to become synonymous with playing chimps on-screen) and Kim Hunter (and Oscar winner for "A Streetcar Named Desire"!) portray Cornelius and Zira, his chimpanzee defenders. With the lovely, fur-bikinied Linda Harrison as Nova, Heston's mute main squeeze. A genuinely thought-provoking and thrilling classic, despite a few heavy-handed attempts at humor. Worthy of special note is Jerry Goldsmith's dynamic, percussive score. Beneath the Planet of the Apes: The bizarre, somewhat inferior, sequel, which suffers from a lower budget (witness the really poor ape masks on the extras, and a few gorilla soldiers in flimsy outfits). James Franciscus crashes to earth to find Heston, and instead finds Ms. Harrison and the apes. Everyone's back from the first except McDowall (this is the only ape film he missed). As a special bonus, James Gregory ("The Manchurian Candidate") plays a war-hungry gorilla general with gusto. Features some interesting vistas of a bombed-out New York, and a memorable mutant unmasking scene. A veritable camp-fest, and a lot of psychedelic fun. Escape from the Planet of the Apes: An inversion of the original concept, and quite a bit closer to Pierre Boulle's original novel. McDowall returns, and with Kim Hunter and Sal Mineo ("Rebel Without a Cause"), journeys back to the present day United States, only to run afoul of a sinister government scientist. Vivacious performances by McDowall and Hunter salvage it somewhat. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes: A more violent entry in the series, but tame by today's standards. McDowall plays his own character's son, a chimp named Caesar who is destined to overthrow humanity. And that's pretty much what he does. Ricardo Montalban performs admirably, but the series was beginning to fray with lower and lower budgets. The final visuals will chill you, though. Battle for the Planet of the Apes: The final film. McDowall attempts to divine the future, but invites the wrath of disenfranchised humans. A miniscule budget (evidenced mainly in the final, underwhelming battle scenes) devastates this one, although the script's not too bad. Claude Akins makes a fine villainous gorilla, diminutive singer/songwriter Paul Williams has some memorable lines as a wise orangutan, and director John Huston portrays the legendary Lawgiver in the framing sequences. Award yourself a banana if you can spot "Animal House" director John Landis as one of the humans. The complete DVD set includes a 2-hour documentary, hosted by Roddy McDowall himself. It's fun for the serious "Apes" fan. It features a lot of trivia, and talking head interviews with the major players, including Heston, make up artist John Chambers, and producer Richard Zanuck.
Rating:
Summary: A SCIENCE-FICTION CLASSIC
Review: No more no less. Although the complete history lacks the special effects available in this new Century, it is the very first pioneer of SF movie series. A first film totally outstanding for its time, a surprising sequel and 3 interesting chapters which attempt to close the circle. I doubt any remakings bring this history to a better rating, except, perhaps, for the special effects. A Classic is a Classic, remakings have never became classics.
Rating: 
Summary: Missing scenes in 'Battle' are unforgivable...
Review: A brilliant series that is captured perfectly on DVD. However, there is one flaw: there are two scenes that appeared in the original 'director's cut' of Battle for the Planet of the Apes that were left off the DVD: 1. before the mutants leave to attack ape city, Governor Kolp shows Mendez and Alma the doomsday bomb, and instructs them to launch it at Ape City if he should not return. 2. at the end of the film, Mendez and Alma decide to not launch the bomb. instead, they worship it - with Mendez as the leader. These two scenes nicely round out the entire series, but were only shown in the TV version. Why Fox didn't include them in the film, or at least as special features, is beyond me. It's unforgivable. That's why the series is only getting 3 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Ape will sometimes kill entire series...
Review: Claude Akins makes for a tough gorilla, and Roddy McDowall manages to keep his dignity as king chimp Caesar, but by the time this fifth film rolled around, the "Apes" series sorely lacked inspiration. My question is this: if the previous movies were financially successful enough to warrant yet another sequel, why keep slashing the budget? Evidently because of the law of diminishing returns, which begs yet another question: Why not stop while you're ahead? Okay, on with the review. Bad gorilla Aldo (Akins) wants to take over Ape City (a shabby collection of treehouses). King Caesar wants to find out what his parents (Cornelius and Zira from the first 3 flicks) told the government way back in the third movie. And loony mutant human Kolp (Severn Darden) wants to kill all the apes and retake the planet. Ape kills ape, mutants attack in a flimsy little battle almost as well-choreographed as some of the better episodes of "The A-Team," and there's a domestic tragedy; seems Caesar's boy isn't going to be able to take over when his pappy dies. Features a surprisingly effective Paul Williams (yes, the little fella who wrote the songs for "The Muppet Movie) as an intellectual orangutan. For some reason, Lew Ayres (Paul Baumer in the classic 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front") also plays an orangutan. And if that weren't enough (and it is), the late, great director John Huston cameos as... another orangutan. Director John Landis ("Animal House") is in it, too. As a human.
Rating:
Summary: Planet of the Apes-Best Movies in the Galaxy!!!!
Review: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO EARTH IN THE YEAR 2700? FIND OUT!!! WATCH THIS!!!
Rating:
Summary: Go Ape all over again!
Review: It's hard for me to talk POTA without invoking lots of misty-eyed nostalgia for my misspent youth. The Apes movies were my first taste of sci-fi/fantasy, and have informed more of my likes and dislikes than I care to admit. Let me just say that the six disc boxed set (all five movies plus a new documentary disc) is worth every penny of admission money. The films sparkle on DVD (non-anamorphic, but you can't have everything), and Fox has gone to lots of trouble to make the menus and special features eye-catching and fun. Of course, the highlight is the original film, with its fantastic script, sets and make-up. Here's a movie that bears repeated watching; with the exception of some of Heston's musings and sermonizing on life and the state of man (most definitely Rod Serling's contribution to the script), this one is as fresh today as it was in 1969. BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, the second film in the series, is almost as much fun as the first. Much - but not all - of the social commentary has been jettisoned in favor of action and chase scenes, and the makeup takes a few steps backwards, but this one is still a sentimental favorite. You've just gotta love those radiation-burned mutants, militaristic gorillas, and a series-ending finale that somehow didn't end the series. ESCAPE, the third feature, feels the most dated, but that's to be expected, given the setting. McDowell and Hunter give their best ape performances here. If you can get past the annoying made-for-TV soundtrack (even though it was a theatrical release), you're well on your way to enjoying this film. The fourth film, CONQUEST, ties up loose ends and brings the whole series full circle. I can't say it's a great film, but it is essential to the Ape mythos. Most fans consider BATTLE to be the lightweight of the series, but it still has much to recommend it. Here's a fast-paced action film made with the kids in mind, but hard-core APES fans will find it worth a view. The documentary disc is a great behind-the-scenes look at all things APE, with special emphasis on pre-production and production of the original film. McDowell's closing question, as he muses on the future of the APES film franchise, has been answered affirmatively: Tim Burton's version of POTA is swinging our way this summer. If it's half as good as the original, it should be very good indeed. Apes on DVD? Pricey, but worth it. Now if we can only get the live-action and animated series released as a tie-in to this summer's remake, I'd be one happy chimp indeed.
Rating:
Summary: FUN AND THOUGHT PROVOKING
Review: In a lot of ways the planet of the apes series is a lot like the old "Star Trek" TV series, some of them are well written, thought provoking, but also, sometimes cheesey and low budget. PLANET OF THE APES The first movie, and probably the best, features Charlton Heston (in all of his scenery-chewing glory) as a (1970's!) astronaut on an interstellar mission to do something or other who crash lands on a mysterious planet inhabited by mute humans and talking, dominant apes. Taylor is captured by the apes and when it is learned that he can speak, he challenges the whole social order of the ape society. The apes inhabit a Flintstone-esque city and are divided into three different castes, the Orangutangs, who are the politicans and keepers of the faith, and seemingly the caste in absolute control, the Gorillas, whoa re the workers and the soldiers, and who seem to occupy the lowest position, and the Chimpanzees, who are the scientists and intellectuals. The movie features a lot of veiled and not-so-veiled political and social commentary. It's a fun and well-written movie. BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES This and the last movie are probably the weakest chapters. In this second installment, ANOTHER astronaut crashes on the the planet looking for Charton Heston's character. The problem with this movie is that it is both too similar, and way too different from the first movie. There are sequences in this movie involving some mutants that are Mystery Science Theater 2000 worthy. It has some interesting (if not at all subtle) commentary on war and militarism. The ending is quite a surprise and does not set itself up for a sequel. ESCAPE FROM PLANET OF THE APES This may be the best of the five. "Escape" is very different from all the other movies, for the most part, it is much lighter in tone and more fun and witty. It has some of the same feel that "Star Trek IV" had. This one finds the two chimpanzees, Vera and Cornelius on Earth in a refurbished spacecraft and their subsequent adventures in Los Angeles before a paranoid government worker senses their offspring will dominate the Earth. In this installment, the two chimpanzees played by Roddy McDowell and Linda Hunt take center stage with their absolutely charming performances. The end is a downer though. CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES This is the darkest and most overtly political chapter featuring Roddy McDowell as the son of Vera and Cornelius, who leads a revolt among the ape slaves in a futuristic Earth. This is both a sequel and a prequel to the original movie as it shows how the apes came into power to begin with. Once you get past the improbable premise-ape slaves anyone? and the "futuristic" design of the film, this one is the most socially relevant and the most contemporary of all of them. The imagery is straight from the Twentieth Century, rioting, police brutality, torture, war, revolution. And it seems that the revolutionary tone and the violence were toned down from the original cut of the move. BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES This is the worst of the five. It's seriously dumbed down and made innoculous from the previos entry. Something about apes and mutants and humans. It would have been better if they had taken a cue from the previous movie and fleshed out the backstory a little, for example explain how the social order in the original film came to be, or how the humans became mute savages. They should have had more fun with the idea of a prequel. Anyway, this set also come with a great documentary that touches upon all the movies and features interviews with the cast, make-up tests, and everything. This is a great set.
Rating:
Summary: Great Set way worth the $$$ for any fan
Review: even though the first is the best there all good to see the "behind the planet of the apes" is a GREAT documentery
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