War for the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]
DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:
A well realized final chapter in the Apes saga. Great 3D conversion. If you have seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 3D. & were turned off by the process…that film actually was filmed in native 3D..however the 3D aspect fell victim to a poorly realized compromise that had more to do with a ridicuous requirement for shallow stereo imaging by the now defunct SKY-TV 3D network & a 3D technology company that jumped in bed with them.(perhaps for a quick profit) & then attempted to enforce it. That methodology almost destroyed the 3D market (look at Stalingrad & an insipid absolutely un-necessary reconversion of the 3D 50’s classic Creature from the Black Lagoon among other examples) Hopefully future 3D projects won’t suffer the same fate & resulting artistic & visual damage. A number of 3D conversions in the past year, for the most part, look good & many of these 3D converted features were not only created with 3D in mind but also use advanced technology to make it all work better starting with principal photography leading to the conversion process. And native 3D..in the right hands…and utilizing the talented 3D professionals to do just that ..are readily available to filmakers who want to get it right from the get go…hopefully with 3D blu ray releases to follow from whatever region that still offers them in 2018 & beyond.
– Jim Krisvoy
Possibly the best of the new trilogy of Apes films, “War” focuses on how the world in “Planet of the Apes” came to be remaking and revisiting those background elements (and, perhaps, setting up a new series of films including a GOOD remake of “Planet of the Apes”).
Caesar finds himself at war with the last vestige of humanity. Led by a ruthless military man (Woody Harrelson in an outstanding and menacing performance), uses captured apes to build a wall to help save what’s left of humanity. He and his team attack Caesar’s group killing his wife and taking his son forcing Caesar on a quest to find his son and take revenge against the humans. Along the way, Caesar and his followers discover a mute human child named Nova and adopt her as part of her group.
Featuring some of the most of sophisticated motion capture to date with effective performances equally as adept and powerful as the ones by Harrelson and those on his team.
The transfer for the Blu-ray looks marvelous. The 4K, however, is sublime even if it is sourced from the finished 2K presentation of the film. Detail is stronger along with depth and the Atmos upgrade over the 5.1 mix also adds to the sonics but only if your system is designed for it. The standard 5.1 mix sounds excellent as well.
We get twenty minutes of deleted scenes (with optional commentary), a commentary track from director Matt Reeves on the main feature film (only the commentary appears on the $K presentation) along with a featurette entitled “Apes: The Meaning of It All” and “The Apes Saga: An Homage” which delves into the underlying themes in the new triology as well as the original “Apes” films. There are a number of additional special features included on the Blu-ray including an EKP with good interviews entitled” Waging War for the Planet of the Apes”, “Music for Apes” focusing on the score by Michael Giacchino. Rounding things out we get three concept galleries, “All About Caesar” gives us background and footage on the motion capture and CGI used throughout the film.
Subtitles are available in English.
I’m surprised that this saga didn’t do well at the box office as the film itself is excellent with terrific production values, performances (both motion capture and vocally for the Apes as well as the humans in the film) and direction.
– Wayne Klein
Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase
* Epic story that has some elements which are reminiscent of slavery in America during the 1600’s…this fact WILL slap you in the face when you see it…despite the racial overtones and similarities, these facts are unavoidable in an apocalyptic situation like this and is totally understandable and makes for a “damn” good movie!
The Premise: A tragic side effect of scientific experimentation to create intelligent apes leads to an (outbreak) of the “simian flu” which turns humans into primitive mutes. Humans and apes begin to clash over dominance, independence and control, with apes soon to emerge as the dominant species on earth.
My thoughts on this movie: This series is epic! Filled with bone crushing, blood spattering fights, makes for an intriguing movie, which demonstrates the brutality of an apocalyptic situation to include the oppressive nature of the human race over the apes similar to slavery during the 1600’s. Eventually the Apes triumph at the peril of the human race, with a very sad ending that actually made me cry…this movie is emotionally intense, but has some humor to help ease the pressure at times.
Additional Facts: We have now arrived at the “Charlton Heston” phase of the “Planet of the Apes”…there (may) possibly be a sequel.
The Facts:
1. Running Time: 2 hr. 10 min.
2. Widescreen HD.
3. Sound 7.1 DTS-HD (Excellent sound quality).
4. State of the Art high quality CGI effects.
5. Beautiful and stunning cinematography.
6. Epic story that has some segments that are reminiscent of slavery during 1600’s
7. No dry areas at ALL…full on action.
8. Lots of blood, gore and carnage.
9. Excellent character development.
10. Epic Battles.
11. Emotionally intense.
-Sam’s-Review
DVD Wholesale Main Features:
Actors: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary
Directors: Matt Reeves
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (DTS 5.1)
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Dubbed: French, Spanish
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: October 24, 2017
Run Time: 130 minutes
ASIN: B071GRTQTN
