On February 3, 2004, just five days shy of this classic's 36th anniversary, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will release on DVD the 35th Anniversary Edition of "Planet of the Apes" (1968). This edition will FINALLY present the film in 16x9 anamorphic widescreen, and hopefully with an improved stereo mix. It will also include a lot of extras, though many have been available on DVD elsewhere for some time, but what is really pleasing is that a Jerry Goldsmith commentary on his score will also be included. Goldsmith's score is a motion picture landmark and has never been out of print on LP, cassette, and CD. It's a dream come true to finally get some Goldsmith commentary on it. The DVD will also feature some twenty minutes of behind-the-scenes footage that the late actor Roddy McDowall, also an avid photographer, shot with a 16mm movie camera during production. All too brief snippets of it were used in the 1998 AMC documentary "Behind the Planet of the Apes." This should be fascinating to APES fans, but of course the enduring elements of a movie that has proved to be a timeless motion picture SF masterpiece will be the main attraction.
Review of Planet of the Apes
