Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Show business in general, and the movie industry in particular, can be a cruel mistress, with seemingly no rational explanation for what appeals to either the ticket buying populace or those curmudgeonly critic types. Simply contrasting two now iconic 1968 science fiction films is a salient case in point. If various online sources are to be believed, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes opened either on the same April day, or within a day or two of each other, but the films’ ambitions and ultimate fates really couldn’t be more different. Kubrick’s brainy and seemingly opaque opus was greeted with a mixture of consternation and even derision, at least initially, making decent if not outrageously huge money on its original roadshow release (and then going on to huge receipts as its cult reputation grew and subsequent rereleases followed). Planet of the Apes had no similar high falutin’ goals, and as my colleague Casey Broadwater mentioned in his Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the original pentalogy were really gussied up B movies for all intents and purposes, though the first film’s screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling did have a certain intellectual acuity mixed in with somewhat sillier elements. The first film nonetheless received much more consistently positive reviews than Kubrick’s film did, and while its ultimate box office haul was dwarfed by 2001: A Space Odyssey’s performance, at the time Planet of the Apes was considered “the” science fiction success story of 1968. Planet of the Apes’ perhaps unexpected connection with the ticket buying populace was a much needed bright spot for 20th Century Fox, then in the midst of severe reeling from a number of either extraordinarily expense films which at least recouped some of their money at the boxoffice (Cleopatra ), or extraordinarily expenseve films which more or less tanked at the box office (Doctor Dolittle, Star!, the latter of which wouldn’t appear until a few months after 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes had both debuted). That in turn may have helped grease the wheels for the large number of follow up properties to the first film which appeared, not to mention a relatively short lived television series, and then in 2001 Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake, one which ironically met with the same sort of bifurcated critical response that 2001: A Space Odyssey initially had. The film nonetheless raked in several hundred million dollars, but it still wasn’t until a decade or so later when screewriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver and director Rupert Wyatt went back to the drawing board and came up with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which has now led to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the highly anticipated War for the Planet of the Apes, suggesting this franchise is going to be going strong for the foreseeable future. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is now revisiting Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 4K UHD in what is an obvious marketing tie in to the upcoming Apes theatrical release.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.35:1. As Casey noted in his Rise of the Planet of the Apes Blu- ray review, perhaps surprisingly given the number of digital special effects prevalent throughout this entry, Rise was shot on film and finished at a 2K DI. The 4K UHD version shows noticeable but relatively subtle upticks in fine detail, though I have to say not always to the benefit of some of the CGI. Perhaps a little unexpectedly, I found young Caesar especially to look at least a bit more "animated" (as in "fake" and cartoonish) looking than in the 1080p Blu-ray version. That said, when the camera focuses on humans and exploits close-ups, fine detail is often very commendable, revealing elements like the almost minute stubble on John Lithgow's face. The long dark sequences with the various species caged in the jail like environment also show at least marginally increased shadow detail. The fog enshrouded scene late in the film on the Golden Gate Bridge also shows a kind of interesting new precision, as well as a slightly different cast to some of the grays. Despite a large number of pretty aggressive pans, I experienced little to no judder. While the fine grain field really encounters no serious issues, there is a slight tendency for a yellowish quality to intrude in it, albeit slightly, at times.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 4K UHD disc features the same DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track assessed by Casey in his Rise of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray review, and I am reproducing his score for the audio here. Some may find it disappointing that Fox didn't upgrade the audio to either Dolby Atmos or DTS:X for this release.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Only the two commentary tracks detailed by Casey in his Rise of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray review are ported over to the 4K UHD disc as supplements. As usual, this package also comes with a 1080p Blu-ray disc which contains all of the supplements Casey lists in his review. Additionally, this comes with a paper insert containing a code which allows streaming of a sneak preview for the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes successfully rescued this franchise from what was seen by some as the failure of Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, and with the success of this film and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, there's little doubt that there will probably be at least two more films after the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes, to make a whole "new, improved" pentalogy for fans to enjoy. The 4K upgrade probably isn't mind blowing, but it's noticeable, though it's probably going to disappoint some consumers that Fox didn't upgrade the audio to Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, and that only the commentaries have been ported over to the 4K UHD disc.