Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Hits Blu-ray In December With Loads Of Extras
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The time for talking is past, and the time for war is coming. In the meantime, get your Blu-ray players ready so you can rewatch exactly how the world fell apart, now that Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has granted the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray/DVD a release date of December 2, with the Digital HD downloads available on November 11. So it’s in time for both Christmas and Thanksgiving, and we all know nothing says “holiday cheer” like a screaming simian riding a horse while holding a shotgun.
If you’re looking for special features, your obvious best bet is to go for the Blu-ray, which also comes in 3D. The DVD version seems to be pretty bare bones, with only “Andy Serkis: Rediscovering Caesar” and some image galleries on it. Granted, those are probably pretty good individually, but this movie had too much going on in it to deny yourself the rest of this behind-the-scenes splendor.
The Blu-ray’s got director Matt Reeves’ feature commentary, along with commentary-optional deleted scenes. (If it’s not too much to ask for a deleted sequence involving an ape break-dancing squad, that will serve as my next eight birthday wishes.) And here’s a list of the featurettes, with subject matter ranging from casting to the effects to the locations.
- Andy Serkis: Rediscovering Caesar
- Journey to Dawn
- Humans and Apes: The Cast of Dawn
- The World of Dawn
- The Ape Community
- Move Like an Ape: An Artist’s Medium
- Weta and Dawn
- The Fight for a New Dawn
Given just how solid the ape CGI was in the film, I’m glad that aspect of the production is getting its due attention in the extras. Andy Serkis should have been on the commentary though. Take a look at the two covers for the sets below.
If you’re a collector and you have an ape-head-sized spot in your living room decor, you might want to opt for the “Planet of the Apes: Caesar’s Warrior Collection”, which comes with both this movie and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, along with a booklet and collectible cards. Plus, that ape head, yo. (Find it here.)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of the biggest hits of the year, having taken in $693 million worldwide during its summer theatrical run. We expect people will want to go on this adventure again at home, and you can on December 2. Or November 11, if you want to skip all the extras.
