Behind the Planet of the Apes

This is a Documentary hosted by Roddy McDowall (Cornelius/Caesar/Galen) giving a history and behind the scenes glimpse of the making of the Planet of the Apes franchise, complete from the first 1968 film up to the cartoon series. There are some interesting little tidbits that may not be common knowledge to some POTA fans. I could list them, but that would spoil some of the surprises this documentary has to offer. It does not include anything about the new POTA movie with Mark Wahlberg, but that may have been made after this documentary. We learn about the adversities the original POTA makers encountered in the beginning. As well as the details of the original production such as budgets, original plot details that were later scrapped, and original casting.

I would not recommend watching this until you have seen all 5 POTA movies, as they give out the endings of each one. Enjoy!

I am no fan of "The making of....whatever" as it invariably tells you nothing and more likely than not, totally wrecks the film itself once you have seen the out-takes or "How they did...."

This is an extremely well put together and interesting look at the original "Apes" series, more so now, having the late Roddy McDowall as narrator. (Roddy you may remember played Caesar!)

Might have been an idea if Tim Burton had watched this before embarking on his pointless re-hash with Mark Wahlberg!

This has to be the best movie franchise documentary I've seen in many years.

When I rented this DVD from the library yesterday, I thought it was only about the making of 'THE ORIGINAL' 1968 "Planet of the Apes" movie...but, it's much, much more than that.

This brings you through the ORIGINAL 1968 "Planet of the Apes" movie, but, also through the entire "Planet of the Apes" movie trilogy -

1. "Planet of the Apes" (1968);

2. "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (1970);

3. "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" (1971);

4. "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes: (1972);

and,

5. "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1973);

The documentary also focuses on the live-action television series -

"Planet of the Apes" (1974);

and, the animated television series -

"Return to the Planet of the Apes" (1975)...

as well as the merchandising of the toys and accessories children my age once had but later sold for pennies in a 1980-1990 tag sale and is now worth a small fortune on eBay!?!?

If "Star Trek" fans are called 'Trekkies,' it's only fair that "Planet of the Apes" fans are called 'Apeies!?!?' I suppose I'm both! :)

This is a MONUMENTAL DOCUMENTARY that highlights one of the greatest movie franchises of all time! Whether you're familiar with and like "The Planet of the Apes" in any way, shape, or, form; or, you're a newcomer who's interested in seeing what it's all about...this documentary is exactly for you! :)

This is a pretty good making-of documentary, insofar as it includes a lot of clips and a pretty good feeling for how and why everything was done. The thing about it that made me laugh, however, was how much they overstated the value of the series. While I will admit that the many sequels may have set an unfortunate precedent, I feel the films themselves weren't quite as important as the writers of this documentary would have us believe.

A labor of love and a fine example of what a well done documentary should look like. AT LEAST watch the original 68' version first; watching the sequels before or after has its pros and cons (the insight of knowing the diminishing budgets of each successive sequel may increase an appreciation for them...even if you're not a POTA fan).

Some facts are condensed (and distorted) that was necessary for the sake of running time (POTA didn't get the green light till after the box office returns for 'Fantastic Voyage' proved favorable enough to convince Richard Zanuck to take a gamble on a then big budget for a sci fi outing). And the million dollar monkey masks budget was closer to half a million...but a million dollars is better publicity.

NOTE: The DVD versions have about 3 1/2 minutes more footage than the VHS & AMC broadcast versions...most notable is the religious comparisons of the ape and mutant cultures from 'Beneath...' and more summations from cast and crew toward the end.

An intelligent and well researched documentary that's filled to the brim. And thankfully, no mention of the 2001 remake as this was produced in 1998.