Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have loved this series ever since I was a young boy who saw the original movie on TV. When the TV series came out, I was glued to the set for every episode, and then the cartoon series became a part of my regular Saturday morning viewing. This is one of the few movie franchises that I loved growing up that has not lost any of its charm with me now as an adult. I first bought the Limited Edition Evolution collection on DVD a few years ago, and followed up with my purchase of the Ultimate Collection that came enclosed in a bust of Caesar. When I first heard of the arrival of this series on Blu-ray, I thought they would simply transport the DVD versions I already owned onto a Blu-ray platter. BOY was I wrong!!!!!
I will not go into the details of the story line for this series, since so many have already done a great job at that. What I will focus on is the Blu-ray 40th Anniversary Collection.
I had seen pictures of the collection, and was very excited to get my own copy, but I had never actually seen a copy of it in the stores. Because of that, I wasn't quite sure what to expect with regarding the quality of the set. I had just recently been MAJORLY disappointed with Fox's horrible Blu-ray box set of the Omen series (another favorite of mine). The packaging for that set was one of the worst I have ever seen on any format. But I digress....this is not a review of the Omen set. Let's start with the outer box. It is of very sturdy construction with the spaceship on the cover in textured relief. The box serves what appears to be a hard bound book. You slide that out of the cover, and it opens to reveal a detailed timeline of the entire Ape film series. Each gatefold of the timeline then opens to reveal the discs which are attached to the backboard with these clear rubber hubs. I will admit that the hubs proved to be frustrating at first, because I could not get the discs back onto the hubs to secure them before closing the package. While this is my only complaint about the entire set, I found that instead of trying to force the discs straight down onto the hubs, it works MUCH better to place the disc on the hub and then give it a gentle twist which easily secures it. While I have some reservations about the choice to use these rubber hubs to hold the discs, I have to admit that it really does look great when the package is all together. The only other thing included in the package is a book that chronicles the entire film series. But wait....this is no typical listing of special features with a brief synopsis of each film. This book is a substantial 200 page overview of this timeless series. The production value of this book is top notch!!! It is the best I have ever seen in a movie set. What makes this book truly special, is that it was produced exclusively for this Blu-ray collection. You may browse the book with it still attached to the package, or you can easily slide it out to look at it on its own. All of the packaging for this set is constructed from very sturdy cardboard and it all works together to serve as an excellent means of presenting the true star of the set, the 5 Blu-ray discs that comprise the film series.
If you have ever had doubts about jumping into the Blu-ray high def pool, this set serves as an example for what this format is capable of. The wealth of information on the first disc alone is truly staggering!!! Not only does it include all of the special features that were included on the 2-disc DVD, it also adds some fantastic special features that are unique to the Blu-ray format. One of those features is the ability to watch the feature long documentary as it was originally presented or you may choose to watch it in Interactive Mode where you are presented with extra text and video features. You also get the Science of the Apes Bonusview which is a picture-in-picture feature that can be viewed while watching the first film. One of the other cool features was the ability to actually read newspapers which served as props in the original movie. You first get to see the paper as seen in the movie, then you use your remote to choose which article you would like to read. Finally the entire text of the article is presented in an easy to read text format. This may not be for everyone, but as a longtime fan, I enjoyed it. I could go on and on with all the special features of the 1st disc, but you can get that information elsewhere. While the first film does deservedly get the royal treatment with special features, Fox did not simply slap the previous DVD version of the other 4 films on a new format, and throw them together. It is amazing that Fox took the time to present these other 4 Ape films in what I consider the best video and audio I've ever experienced them in. Each film also gets its own documentary, while not as extensive as the original, each one is more than just a puff piece of each film. As a longtime fan, I have been dying to see some nice extra features for the other films in the franchise. In addition to some nice extra features, you also get the opportunity to watch "Conquest" and "Battle" in either the original theatrical version, or an expanded version. While there was an extended version of "Conquest" in the Ultimate Collection DVD set, this is the first time we have been given the opportunity to see the extended version of "Battle". It has been mentioned in previous releases, but it was thrilling for me to finally get to see it.
BOTTOM LINE: I will concede that the sound on these discs cannot compare to those of such blockbusters as Transformers or Iron Man, but if you are an Ape fan and have been looking for a definitive collection of the franchise, then I wholeheartedly recommend that you get this collection on Blu-ray. These films have never looked and sounded better, and I am thrilled with all of the extra features that are available for each film. This is hands down the greatest Blu-ray collection yet created, and I think it will stand the test of time as other studios follow suit. Even with the little complaint about the rubber hubs holding the discs, I have no reservations in recommending this to any Ape fan who has recently jumped into the Blu-ray pool of high definition movie viewing.
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