Stars: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

Summary: This collection features the five PLANET OF THE APES movies, beginning with the 1968 original (starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, and Kim Hunter), in which a group of astronauts find themselves stranded on a world where apes evolved from humans, only to learn the shocking surprise about humanity's future. Also includes BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, ESCAPE FROM PLANET OF THE APES, CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, and BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES.

This collection features the five PLANET OF THE APES movies, beginning with the 1968 original (starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, and Kim Hunter), in which a group of astronauts find themselves stranded on a world where apes evolved from humans, only to learn the shocking surprise about humanity's future.
BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, the second installment in the PLANET OF THE APES series, finds another astronaut (James Franciscus) following in his predecessor's time-wandering footsteps to the planet ruled by highly evolved apes. There he encounters a group of nuclear holocaust survivors living in Grand Central Station and worshipping the very atomic warhead that destroyed their world.
ESCAPE FROM PLANET OF THE APES, the third chapter in the series, finds ape heroes Cornelius (McDowall) and Zira (Hunter) in 1970s Los Angeles. They have traveled back in time, but soon find that they have enemies in the past as well as the present.
In CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, an intelligent ape (McDowall, playing the son of his other APES character, Cornelius) from the far future leads an army of simian servants in a revolt against their human masters. This fourth film features the most explosive subtext of any in the series, along with a sleek, futuristic production design.
The fifth and final episode, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, features a community of intelligent apes living in harmony with a group of humans after the collapse of human civilization. However, a band of mutants who reside beneath a destroyed city try to conquer those they perceive as enemies.

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The five films in the Planet of the Apesseries are enjoyable as pure entertainment and yet substantial enough to have inspired academic studies about the film's broader political themes. Loosely adapted from the novel by French author Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apeswas 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 realises 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 Apesfilms 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 Apesin 2001. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD:A glorious indulgence for diehard fans of the series, this handsomely packaged six-disc set contains all five original" Apes" movies, from the wonderful 1967 original to 1973's low-budget Battle. It all look as good as possible in widescreen anamorphic transfers, the first movie's starkly wonderful cinematography in particular is a treat to see on DVD. Planethas been remixed in vivid Dolby 5.1, highlighting the bold sound design and JerryGoldsmith's masterful avant-garde score. The others are good Dolby stereo, with the odd exception of Escape, which is mono. There are trailers on each disc, but no commentaries sadly. The sixth bonus disc consists of a relatively new two-hour documentary hosted by Roddy McDowall which takes us through the entire saga in detail, pointing out the series' daring social commentary and the increasing difficulties of working with progressively smaller budgets. Sensibly, the documentary spends about an hour on the first movie and then an hour discussing all the rest. Overall, this is a very attractive package. --Mark Walker

Aspect Ratio:	Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailers - Original Theatrical Trailers (All Five Movies), Photo Gallery, Biographies - 1. Cast, TV Spots
Year:	1968
Release Date:	October 8, 2001
Runtime:	582 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	22371 D V D
Keywords:	Collection, Six, Planet, Apes, General, Wide, Screen, Fiction, Science, Horror, Discs, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Science Fiction