Apes kick green ogre's butt back to the swamp - Discuss!

[JohnMac]

This comparison is about the DVDs not the movies. Shrek was a disappointment after all the hype and its "11 hours" of extras. Planet of the Apes and Final Fantasy remind me why I love the DVD format so much.

I'll admit that I haven't had time yet to go through everything on the Planet of the Apes DVDs, but my first impressions are - what an amazing DVD. Great presentation, innovative advanced viewing mode, commentaries, extensive making of apes documentaries and featurettes section, multiple angle/audio features which I've lost count of, extended scenes, promotional section (with the HBO making of in the correct place).

This makes Shrek look like a standard release. The only other release that comes close to this in the past few weeks (in terms of advancing the format) was Final Fantasy. :)

[dms]

frankly all those evil spirits & co kick shrek into the swamp in terms of animation.

just watched 'em both again today ;-) shame about the pyscho writing the story for FF and shame about the donkey in shrek!

[utero]

yep I have to agree, I love Shrek the movie but the dvd is nowhere near the standards set by the pixar collectors edition releases and any other disney 2 disc editions for that matter. And although I'm not a huge fan of the apes re-make it does sound like a great dvd

[JohnMac]

Here is a breakdown of what the Special Features are on Planet of the Apes.

The first DVD has an Enhanced Viewing Mode which is a combination of two features we have seen used before but I don't think they have been used together. The first is the usual follow the appearing logo which will take you to behind the scenes/special effects vignettes and then return you to the film. The second is picture in picture commentary/behind the scenes which pops up and disappears on its own. This is similar to Walking With Dinosaurs picture in picture but here sometimes you get 2 or 3 windows popping up. The Enhanced Viewing Mode raises the bar that little bit higher.

There are two audio commentaries the first by Tim Burton (only listened to a bit but it is better than Sleepy Hollow) and the second by Danny Elfman with isolated score. Also on the first disc are Cast & Crew Profiles, More DVD-Rom content (including Script to Screen comparison), Nuon Features for those who have the hardware, THX video/Sound set-up mode.

The Second DVD is divided into six sections. The first section is The Making of the Apes and contains a lot of video material. I'd describe these features as Behind the Scenes/Making Of hybrids because they are usually a combination of fly on the wall/witnessing what is going on and interviews. After watching these I had so much more appreciation for the preparation and attention to detail in this film. The following features make up the Making of the Apes section (running times to the nearest minute). Simian Academy (24 Minutes), Face Like A Monkey (30 minutes), Ape Couture (6 minutes), Chimp Symphony, Op. 37 (10 minutes), On Location - Lake Powell (12 Minutes), Swinging From The Trees (9 minutes). Also in this section are Screen Tests which are broken down into Make-up Tests, Costume Tests, Group Tests, Stunt Test and Movement Tests. There's quite a lot here because usually there are four videos on screen at once and you can listen to each (audio track) by highlighting the play button near each window or use the audio button.

The second section is Multi-Angle Featurettes. There are 8 short multi-angle features. These are all behind the scenes from different angles as scenes are being shot. You can also select the different audio tracks (audio is mostly the same but useful to make out what different cast/crew are saying in-between takes). You can change Angles although not with the Angle button but by selecting the angles at the top right of the screen. You can also access Production Art, the Script for this scene and see the complete Scene In Film (at the bottom of the screen).

Section Three is Extended Scenes: there are 5 in all, which don't run very long and while it is good to have them here, given the film's running time it is obvious why these scenes were cut down.

For those who like to see in detail how a film is marketed Section 4 is for you. You get a 26 minute HBO Special hosted by Michael Clarke Duncan which features the usual array of interviews, movie clips and behind the scenes footage. Next up is a 3 minute Paul Oakenfold - Rule the Planet Remix music video. The Trailers section has a Teaser Trailer, Theatrical Trailer, 6 TV Spots and 2 additional Trailers for Dr. Dolittle 2 and Moulin Rouge. The Posters and Press Kit contains about 8 posters after which the press kit opens out before you advance through 50 screens of what could almost double for Production Notes. Completing the Promotional works is a promo for the soundtrack.

Section Five is DVD-Rom content and since I don't have a DVD-Rom drive I'll go on to Section Six which are the Galleries. This isn't your bog standard (if we put a few pictures in a gallery we can make the special features look more impressive) king of thing. This section is broken down into 15 sections, just one of which would have passed for a decent photo gallery.

This has turned into more of a Review, oh well.... :clap:

[RichB]

Impressive I'm sure, but you can't polish a turd! :D

[Davester]

I am drunk.

[GNJ1958]

Originally posted by RichB
Impressive I'm sure, but you can't polish a turd! :D

True but POTA is by no means a turd. Not the greatest film admittedly but there are far smellier turds out there that don't get even a wipedown let alone a polish.

[Cap'n Al]

It's really very simple: Shrek is an excellent film, Planet of the Apes an amusing and enjoyable one. The extras on Shrek are completely unexceptional, and the extras on POTA are utterly superb, once again setting a new benchmark for DVD releases of new films, and showing how Fox really do get this DVD lark.