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Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) More at IMDb Pro »

(1968-1973) “Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!” So growls astronaut Charlton Heston, who returns from a centuries-long space journey to land on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Franklin J. Schaffner directs Rod Serling's adaptation of the novel by Pierre Boulle and Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans and James Whitmore co-star under latex masks and fur body suits. Even the most diehard fans will admit that the series degrades as it continues, but that seems beside the point. After two films of humans in the ape world (which ends in an Earthly apocalypse), the series shoots a trio of apes back into the human world where they proceed (inadvertently) to begin the end of human domination of Earth. The first film stands out as a classic of late 1960s science fiction, a kick-ass adventure with a knock-out climax, and a brilliantly conceived vision of an alternate reality, while the last feature is cheap and rather obvious, but as a set it’s an essential slice of early seventies science fiction. Features five films, Planet Of The Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), and the feature length 1999 made-for-cable documentary Behind the Planet of the Apes, an informative overview of the entire series with emphasis on the original and features rare costume tests with Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius, who dropped out due to problems with the latex masks. 6 disc box set.

(1968-1973) “Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!” So growls astronaut Charlton Heston, who returns from a centuries-long space journey to land on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport in the essential Planet of the Apes. It was followed by four sequels and a TV series: After two films of humans in the ape world (which ends in an Earthly apocalypse in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, 1970), the series shoots a trio of apes back into the human world where they proceed (inadvertently) to begin the end of human domination of Earth as played out in the films Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). The 14-disc set also features the complete 1974 TV series spin-off Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall and James Naughton (14 episodes on 4 discs), the complete 1975 animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes (13 episodes on 2 discs), and Tim Burton's 2001 remake Planet of the Apes. Also features 2-discs of supplements, including the 2 hour documentary Behind the Planet of the Apes (1998) hosted by Roddy McDowall, a retrospective look at the original 1968 film and the series it spawned. And it all comes in an incredibly efficient digipack in an enormous conversation piece: a plastic life-size ape head bust (the set is hidden in a compartment in the back). Go ape! Limited to 10,000.