Rating: 
Summary: Awesome package
Review: Excellent movies, excellent extras - it's a sci-fi classic and you really can't get much better. If you wanna drive your family crazy with a planet of the apes marathon - now you have the discs!
Rating: 
Summary: Just buy the original
Review: First something positive. I am a huge Rod Serling fan, and even if I do dislike Charlton Heston as a human being, I love Planet of the Apes. That is to say that I love the original one. It was very well written with Serling and blacklisted screenwriter Micheal Wilson on the bill. The messages and ideas swirl through out questioning the existence of God, playing up the conflict of science vs. religion, looking at the treatment of animals, examining control and censorship and in the end leaving us with a very memorable message about mankind. The acting is great, and it is quite simply a very solid well done film. There should have never been another. Hollywood execs like sticking with a sure thing, so if a movie does good, the answer is to make a sequel. If the sequel does good, then make another. Anyway they should have stopped with the original. The second one was alright. The message about the human race destroying the planet was good even if it was a little heavy handed. There's just no reason for it to have been made. Everything they did in that movie could have been done and has been done better else where(Dr. Strangelove off the top of my head). That would be the last nice thing I could say about the series. The third one ranks up there with one of the worst movies I have ever seen. They took Rod Serling's original concept and butchered it to no end with a need for a clever twist that stopped being clever after the first one. The monkeys come back to(gasp!)modern times, and they are treated like animals. This would have made a bad made for TV movie. Along side of some terrible acting and trite dialogue they give one of the worst explainations possible for how the monkeys evolved. This aggrivated me about as much as George Lucas scientifically explaining the force in Episode I. It made a great story and a great allegory in the first one. There is no need to analyze how the monkeys got that way. For one they try and do this with a logical argument when no logical argument could support it. For two they precede in giving the most ridiculous explaination I could conceive of. How does that explain how the humans devolved? I am certainly not a realist, and am in fact a hug fan of absurdism. The first one wasn't realistic and it still is a great film. My problem was with inserting an explaination at all and then upon doing it treating a horribly written one as if it was intellectual discourse. Anyway I really wanted to rant about that, because it really bugged me. I came here to see that everyone treated all five films as if they were cinematic gold. I wanted to write a review for anyone out there who has intelligence and is wondering weather or not to buy this set. Perhaps you liked the first one and you assume by all the good reviews the others must be as good. The second one is adequate, the third is horrible and the last two are not even worth the time to pick them apart. The writing and acting take a sudden noise dive into Ed Wood territory. And I don't mean funny Ed Wood like Plan 9, more like Glen or Glenda, terrible and boring. This set gets two stars because the first one is an amazing film which I would recommend to anyone. Rent the second one to see if you like it before buying it, and don't waste any amount of money on the rest. I am certain TNT will replay those movies at some point. But I am afraid that there will be no way to get those six hours of your life back.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's go Ape! But, not too much...
Review: This is a review which attempts to compare the original movies to the latest one and to the TV series.
Compared to the latest and "tragic" attempt at rehashing an old classic, "The Evolution" is a collector's masterpiece.
While one may praise make-up artists' efforts in the latest installment of "Planet of the Apes", which is logically far superior than the "appliances" they had to work with, back in the sixties and the seventies, one may not find Pierre Boulle's original novel anywhere.
I gave only four stars, just because one can feel that the producers, not the cast and not even the crews, played the economic card. This is especially evident, starting with "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" and on to "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" which closely resembles a TV movie.
Pity, because the entire franchise would have been worth a much bigger effort.
Even though I may understand, for various strategical reasons, the choice of having "The Planet of the Apes" as a post nuclear holocaust backward society, in the the original 1968 movie, I still am wondering why the same choice was made by Tim Burton in his remake.
After all, Pierre Boulle's Apes' Planet, was far more advanced than human society on the Earth, the astronauts had left behind.
This was meant to show that, no matter what man could destroy, other, probably more developed and advanced species (not necessarily Apes, but I guess this was a more poignant metaphor), could rebuild and by far, better than humans ever could.
This is why, although in the 1968 version, as I already mentioned before, I could still conceive the post-nuclear theme, which was far more in the minds of people involved in the Cold War, than just a more generalized critique against human kind, in the new version I simply cannot accept it.
Lack of imagination? Probably. Lack of means? Not at all.
As the Star Wars franchise has shown, Cities and environments can be recreated through CGI technology at much lower costs than ever before.
So why then not opt for the Pierre Boulle's original novel? Your guess is as good as mine.
Anyway, the classic "Planet of the Apes" is far better and original in contents and storyline and has the advantage of an excellent cast, one could only dream for nowadays.
Even the music, of all five movies, reflected a much higher level at inventiveness and freshness.
These restored versions, bring back the original flair they possessed when they appeared in movie theatres everywhere.
Images are sharp and clear, colors are vivid.
The sound is another matter. While every effort was made to restore "Planet of the Apes" in its most minute detail, including its sound, with an excellent Digital Dolby 5.1 remix, not so happened with the other four movies.
Again, "Escape from the Planet of the Apes", is the most dubious example, being the only one that doesn't even sport a Dolby Surround Mono mix, but just a polished Mono one.
I can only assume that the only original copy remaining is available like that. In which case, I think it was wise not to digitally attempt at "fussing" with the sound, as it was the case with other movies and in which it totally failed.
But, should a "stereo" copy emerge, I would suggest to use that one to re-release this movie. Yet, I suspect that this particular movie was plagued by the same financial restrictions as the others, probably more and might therefore have had a "mono" treatment.
But the other ones, like "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" and "Battle..." could have deserved the attention that their forerunner had.
All in all, all five movies are more entertaining and well-made than the latest concoction by Tim Burton.
If you truly want to be astonished and thrilled by a science fiction movie series, than I would suggest to stick to the originals.
They had creativity, imagination, solid stories and excellent acting, all combined into a firework of surprises beyond which today's "remakes" pale miserably away.
A note about the complete "Planet of the Apes" TV series. If you are really enjoying retro-spectacles, especially '70s style, then you may be well served.
But, be warned, the series, having suffered the same financial restrictions as their movie counterparts, lack luster and are even dull in comparison.
There is no more development of the characters (besides, the original ones, have long disappeared and been replaced by others) and the plots, except for two episodes out of fourteen, are always the same. The main conducting theme is "Escaping the the Planet of the Apes" and while it may be fun to watch for a couple of episodes, it starts to become weary and boresome at the third one.
The transfer was made, by just transferring the filmed material to DVD. No sound remix, no video cleansing. Evident scratches may be noticed almost in every episode. The sound is pure Monoraural seventies' TV style. No luster here.
If you are a true "Planet of the Apes" fan, stick to "Planet of the Apes - The Evolution" DVD collection. It's the only valid choice and the only one worth the money.
Included in the Evolution collection, is also the 2-hour documentary "Behind the Planet of the Apes" hosted by Roddy McDowall (who played the chimps Cornelius and Caesar in the movies and Galen in the TV series), which I truly recommend for its deep insight in the work behind such an immense effort and for its social studies' aspect, reflecting the mind-frame of society in those years.
This collection is the only true gift one can make to a die-hard fan of "Planet of the Apes". All the rest would be wasted money and time.
Rating: 
Summary: NO Fullscreen Available on Disks
Review: With as much space that's available, this disk is lacking a FullScreen option for those who don't want to watch in widescreen. Disappointing as the reason for a large tv is to view the entire screen.
Rating:
Summary: Quite A Saga
Review: The Story: An astronaut, played by Charlton Heston, crash-lands his ship on a planet run by intelligent, articulate gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. Humans are there, but are slaves and treated as contemptible, untrustworthy, stupid animals -- by most. Some of the apes think this is wrong, and that is only one point of dissension amongst the apes. There is also dogmatic repression of certain ideas, jealousy and conflict between the simian species, and generational conflict. The sequels to the first film show how a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs as the chimpanzees first try to escape from the future back to the past, then try to fix the future, and eventually create the very society they wanted to escape (the one found by Charlton Heston in the first film of the series).Commentary: This is not fine art, and I think some nostalgic hyperbole and exaggeration have seeped into some of the reviews here. What the "Planet of the Apes" series is, is fine, though-provoking entertainment, plain old fun to watch, and occasionally stunning. Charlton Heston started the series with a bang by playing his part perfectly, and was the ultimate thorn in the simian side. While none of the sequels, in my opinion, quite lived up to the first movie, they created quite a saga when viewed as an ongoing story. Points of interest: The first film of this collection, "Planet of the Apes", gave us two entries into Filmdom's Hall of Fame: a contender for most memorable line is Charlton Houston's first words to the apes -- "Get your stinking hands off me, you damn dirty ape!" Also in the Hall of Fame is the story-wrenching, thought-provoking ending for the first film, which I will not give away. None of the sequels delivered quite as much as the first movie, but did well at the box office and are still around and doing well as rentals.
Rating:
Summary: Rewriting History.
Review: BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES is the fifth movie in the PLANET OF THE APES series. It's a decent movie, but could have been much better with a bigger budget. The movie takes place several years after the ape revolt and after mankind has almost destroyed itself by nuking cities around the world. Caesar has established an ape city several miles outside of what was once New York City. In Ape City, apes and men coexist but not as equals. Men are subservient to apes and Caesar says it will stay that way until he can trust the "race of man", not just a few individual humans. The climax of the film occurs when mutants attack Ape City in an attempt to restablish human supremacy. The movie itself is an average 1970s film. The movie illustrates how the apes were just as destructive as humans. However, this latest edition of BATTLE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES tries to rewrite the Apes mythos by leaving out a crucial scene. This version of the film leaves out the scene where the remaining mutants begin worshiping the Doomsday Bomb that destroys the world at the end of BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES. This version of the movie ends with a scene of The Lawgiver teaching to a group of ape and human children leaving the viewer believing that history had been changed, when in actuallity it had not. Overall, an average movie, but the weakest of the APES movies.
Rating:
Summary: Stick with the classics! Go ape!
Review: Forget the trashy remakes, stick with the ORIGINAL CLASSIC "Planet of the Apes" series.
1. Planet of the Apes...the movie that started it all. Charlton Heston is one of 3 astronauts marooned on a strange planet in which apes rule. You'll never forget the shock ending--EVER!
2. Beneath the Planet of the Apes...Continues where the previous movie leaves off. This time we see genetically superior humans and their "god"...THE DOOMDAY BOMB!
3. Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Cornelius & Zira time travel back to the 20th century..only to be hunted down like criminals.
4. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes...the story of Ceasar...the son of Cornelius & Zira...fighting to free his simian brothers from slavery.
5. Battle of the Planet of the Apes...perhaps the weakest of the "Apes" movies...starring Paul Williams as Virgil...it goes downhill from there. Yet another battle between apes & humans.YAWN!
Rating:
Summary: Hard Core Science Fiction
Review: The original Planet of the Apes may be one of the most hard core science fiction movies ever made. The combination of originality, subject matter, direction, cinematography, and the time period in which it was filmed creates a world both horrifying and captivating. The recent remake misses the mark in every aspect from completely rushing through any pre-action build up, to allowing the "hero" to return to his own time. That was the entire point of the original. The original, of course, is a must-have for any sci-fi/DVD collector. The latter, a complete waste of money.
Rating:
Summary: Our Planet is going to the Apes
Review: I am a big fan of these movies. When i was little my parents had me watch them and i guess it just grew on me. I had never saw all of the movies in a row before until i bought this set. Its a great set to have now that the new Planet of the Apes is out. I had to go back to the beginning of this series to understand again what all happened to mankind and the apes. It's great for the whole family.
Rating: 
Summary: "Planet of the Apes Film Series"
Review: Planet of the Apes (G) 5/5
Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison.
Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner.
Synopsis: A space shuttle crash lands on a Planet where apes rule, and man is hunted.
Special Features: Photo Gallery, Trailers.
Review: Absolute classic about a ship which travels through space and crashes on a backwards world where apes rule mute humans. Charlton Heston wanders through this world trying to find answers to how this world came to be, and falls in love with Nova (Harrison) a beautiful native. Most of this film is Taylor (Heston) on trial and arguments of evolution. Although I don't believe in evolution I can see the art in this original scripted film. The ending is one of the most vivid ever filmed. Heston and the monkeys all are fantastic. Schaffner's directing is dead on, and the ape costumes are excellent. As for the DVD? It contains embarrassingly little for such a classic. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (G) 3/5
James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, Charlton Heston.
Directed by: Ted Post.
Synopsis: A space shuttle sent looking for the last space shuttle crash lands on the very same planet ruled by Apes.
Special Features: Photo Gallery, Trailers.
Review: This sequel covers much the same ground as the first. It is entertaining on its own, and a worthy sequel. This one has a rescue team looking for Taylor land with one survivor. Deadly mutants roam the wasteland where this survivor heads followed by the apes. The actors all do well, and the directing is solid with some atmosphere. As for the DVD? There is nothing worth writing home about. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (G) 2/5
Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Sal Mineo, Ricardo Montalban.
Directed by: Don Taylor.
Synopsis: Talking apes land on earth and comment on modern day society.
Special Features: Trailers.
Review: Those famous apes travel to Earth when the Planet of the Apes is destroyed. They then travel about making shameless social commentaries to excuse the lack of a plot until finally the earthlings realize they will be the end of humanity and try to kill them. It features solid acting, but point and shoot directing. This runs more like a TV show than a film. As for the DVD? This is once again a disappointing DVD. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (PG) 1/5
Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban, Natalie Trundy, Hari Rhodes.
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson.
Synopsis: The apes rise up against the oppression of man.
Special Features: Trailers.
Review: In this utterly pointless sequel apes rise up against humans. This film is one hour and a half that seems like three. The battle scenes are pathetic, and the directing lame. The actors fare alright despite the mess of a script. As for the DVD? It is again worthless. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (G) 3/5
Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden, Lew Ayres. Directed by: J. Lee Thompson.
Synopsis: Apes and humans battle mutants for control of the planet.
Special Features: Trailers, Game Trailer, Web Site.
Review: Well this sequel is the third best in the apes series. It features apes researching their history thus causing mutants to get mad and come after them in an all out battle. The actors are all good, but the directing could have been a lot better so could the script for that matter. As for the DVD? We get nothing again. Behind the Planet of the Apes (NR) N/A
Special Features Bonus Disc
Directed by: Probably a monkey!
Synopsis: This is a bonus disc about the Planet of the Apes series. It's a 2 hour Apes documentary.
Special Features: Trailers, TV Spot.
Review: Bonus insert disc to make up for the lack of special features on all the individual discs.
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