What do you think?
Rate this book
Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: The Art of the Films
The perfect companion for Planets of the Apes fans tying in with the release of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, revealing the production photography and concept art behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published June 17, 2014
5 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 2, 2023
Stunning collection of images and details around the making of the modern Apes films. Great recollections of the on-set delivery of the technology and innovations too.
October 22, 2014
So... I was incredibly pumped after the film. It features some greatest computer-animated characters of all time, one of the most intriguing conflicted relationships on screen as well as beautiful visuals and a straightforward but gripping storyline. Imagine someone yelling "Apes do Not Want WAR!" at class out of nowhere, and keep on sharing stills of the film on every social media I laid hands on. (I know, I know.) Unfortunately, it was CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED, all thanks to some trolls on iMDB picking on mistakes irrelevant to the story.
Excuse me, where was I? Oh yes, the book.
This is officially my first ever art book on a film, so I won't be able to do any comparing work, just my personal opinion.
I myself favored Dawn over Rise, which makes sense that the former took 70% of the 170++ pages. The book offers TONS of behind-the-scene footage, as well as some visually stunning artwork, featuring the concept of the locations and character designs that are eye-catching and vivid.
The paper quality are of top rate, being glossy papers instead of the normal ones on every page including the non-illustration ones (but almost every page is illustrated), which explains the slightly high price for a less than 200-page collection. The texts offer quite some detailed description and the vision of the film making, with interviews of almost every key crew.
As I said, Dawn is what urged me to buy the book, not Rise, so I can't help feeling disappointed by the lack of stills from the movie. Yes, yes, there are a lot of gorgeous drawings occupying the whole sheet, but the visuals and independent shots in the movie are so well-made and inspiring, I expected to see more of them in the second-half part of the book. There is quite an abundant of screenshots in the Rise section, I suspect it is rushed to be published before the film's post-production is complete. What a shame.
Note that DO NOT READ THIS BOOK BEFORE THE FILM . I don't understand your definition of Spoilers, but this book covered almost every major and minor events in the story, so you'll only be expecting the visuals and the acting if you bought this before watching it. No surprises (at all) on your part.
All in all this is one gorgeous art book, but keep in mind it serves not as a reliving experience, but as a discovery to dig deep on one of the best blockbusters in 2014.
Excuse me, where was I? Oh yes, the book.
This is officially my first ever art book on a film, so I won't be able to do any comparing work, just my personal opinion.
I myself favored Dawn over Rise, which makes sense that the former took 70% of the 170++ pages. The book offers TONS of behind-the-scene footage, as well as some visually stunning artwork, featuring the concept of the locations and character designs that are eye-catching and vivid.
The paper quality are of top rate, being glossy papers instead of the normal ones on every page including the non-illustration ones (but almost every page is illustrated), which explains the slightly high price for a less than 200-page collection. The texts offer quite some detailed description and the vision of the film making, with interviews of almost every key crew.
As I said, Dawn is what urged me to buy the book, not Rise, so I can't help feeling disappointed by the lack of stills from the movie. Yes, yes, there are a lot of gorgeous drawings occupying the whole sheet, but the visuals and independent shots in the movie are so well-made and inspiring, I expected to see more of them in the second-half part of the book. There is quite an abundant of screenshots in the Rise section, I suspect it is rushed to be published before the film's post-production is complete. What a shame.
Note that DO NOT READ THIS BOOK BEFORE THE FILM . I don't understand your definition of Spoilers, but this book covered almost every major and minor events in the story, so you'll only be expecting the visuals and the acting if you bought this before watching it. No surprises (at all) on your part.
All in all this is one gorgeous art book, but keep in mind it serves not as a reliving experience, but as a discovery to dig deep on one of the best blockbusters in 2014.
June 16, 2019
You can't keep a good ape down. After the successful relaunch of Planet of the Apes with 2011's Rise, Fox produced a sequel (Dawn) and spawned a number of tie-ins in other mediums, including comics, novels, and art books. One such example is The Art of the Films, published by Titan Books. The oversized hardcover offers some in-depth insights into the production of both movies and is a dream come true for any hardcore PotA fan.
You can read James' full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read James' full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
January 20, 2020
A quality, coffee table-sized 'Art of...' hardback detailing the first two films of the new - and mostly excellent - Planet of the Apes series, this is rammed with fascinating little details about the films' production, the technology they used and, as a big fan of concept art, some stunning one-and-two-page spreads of the artwork that helped bring the script to life.
Well-produced (there's the odd typo and sometimes the captions are sometimes a bit off) and going into the actors' (especially Andy Serkis' Caesar and Toby Kebbell's Koba) thoughts on their performances more than I'd expected, this is a hugely enjoyable look at the making of two thoughtful, innovative films.
Well-produced (there's the odd typo and sometimes the captions are sometimes a bit off) and going into the actors' (especially Andy Serkis' Caesar and Toby Kebbell's Koba) thoughts on their performances more than I'd expected, this is a hugely enjoyable look at the making of two thoughtful, innovative films.
Currently reading
December 18, 2014 THE PLANET OF THE APES
REVIEW;
The planet of the apes was a good book about an ape that was taking out of the lab because of experiments was being done and the scientist had made peace with the ape and grew a connection with the ape. To sum it up, a very powerful film falling just short of being a masterpiece. However, the only flaw in the film is that the film could have been just a bit longer! I am really hoping for a director's cut because there should have been a few more character development scenes between father and son, boyfriend and girlfriend, and even Ape and Human. I felt the movie was paced a bit too quickly but nevertheless, still contains very fleshed out characters driven by excellent performances throughout, from Lithgow, to Franco, to Cox and especially by Andy Serkis.
Cesar is by far the best animated character in the history of cinema. His facial expressions tell it all! You feel his rage, his fear, and his childlike innocence through his wonderfully animated eyes. Not only is the C.G.I. good, but the character is written very well in general. You will go through all of those emotions yourself as you witness his journey. All I can say is that I now know why I try to walk my dog without a leash as much as possible. This movie just confirmed it for me! Through the film, you will understand what Cesar is feeling and why. The invisible character of the film is humanity itself, and at times, feels like a study of human nature.
Plot wise, it is very well told. I thought there was nothing cheesy about the script, although not as intelligent as the original, but not dumb either. There is some science fiction in the film, and other than the experimental drug, there was some other surprising Science fiction plot elements in it too which might lead into the sequel; if there is one of course, and I think there will be.
For the skeptics who think the film would be cheesy seeing all the apes battle armed policemen then think again. I too, was a bit skeptical at first, wondering how the apes would defeat an entire police force, but when you watch the film your doubts would dissipate. Just remember the physical ability of apes and how powerful the apes are, and how much more powerful they would be if they had brains! The action was very good, but as good as it was, I'd trade it in for more plot development. There were a bit too many plot jumps in the last 30 minutes, but all in all, it was directed very, very well. Coupled with a good score, mellow at times, but highly dramatic which heightens the tension. Speaking of tension, there is a lot of it in this film. If you're an animal lover like I am, then be warned; You will be in tears 30 seconds into the opening scene.
I also wanted to mention the original film even though it's tough to compare the two. This is an origins story that actually makes the original better. The original was more about the plot than the characters and they each stand apart and alone with their own merits and flaws. It was nice to see a few homages to the old classic, and don't be surprised if you see a character from the original as well. I highly doubt this film will disappoint the fans of the original and TV series! It will have you climbing trees!
REVIEW;
The planet of the apes was a good book about an ape that was taking out of the lab because of experiments was being done and the scientist had made peace with the ape and grew a connection with the ape. To sum it up, a very powerful film falling just short of being a masterpiece. However, the only flaw in the film is that the film could have been just a bit longer! I am really hoping for a director's cut because there should have been a few more character development scenes between father and son, boyfriend and girlfriend, and even Ape and Human. I felt the movie was paced a bit too quickly but nevertheless, still contains very fleshed out characters driven by excellent performances throughout, from Lithgow, to Franco, to Cox and especially by Andy Serkis.
Cesar is by far the best animated character in the history of cinema. His facial expressions tell it all! You feel his rage, his fear, and his childlike innocence through his wonderfully animated eyes. Not only is the C.G.I. good, but the character is written very well in general. You will go through all of those emotions yourself as you witness his journey. All I can say is that I now know why I try to walk my dog without a leash as much as possible. This movie just confirmed it for me! Through the film, you will understand what Cesar is feeling and why. The invisible character of the film is humanity itself, and at times, feels like a study of human nature.
Plot wise, it is very well told. I thought there was nothing cheesy about the script, although not as intelligent as the original, but not dumb either. There is some science fiction in the film, and other than the experimental drug, there was some other surprising Science fiction plot elements in it too which might lead into the sequel; if there is one of course, and I think there will be.
For the skeptics who think the film would be cheesy seeing all the apes battle armed policemen then think again. I too, was a bit skeptical at first, wondering how the apes would defeat an entire police force, but when you watch the film your doubts would dissipate. Just remember the physical ability of apes and how powerful the apes are, and how much more powerful they would be if they had brains! The action was very good, but as good as it was, I'd trade it in for more plot development. There were a bit too many plot jumps in the last 30 minutes, but all in all, it was directed very, very well. Coupled with a good score, mellow at times, but highly dramatic which heightens the tension. Speaking of tension, there is a lot of it in this film. If you're an animal lover like I am, then be warned; You will be in tears 30 seconds into the opening scene.
I also wanted to mention the original film even though it's tough to compare the two. This is an origins story that actually makes the original better. The original was more about the plot than the characters and they each stand apart and alone with their own merits and flaws. It was nice to see a few homages to the old classic, and don't be surprised if you see a character from the original as well. I highly doubt this film will disappoint the fans of the original and TV series! It will have you climbing trees!
June 2, 2015
Another one of the artwork collections I was lucky enough to pick up for a fraction of the original price and even though this would not have been the first title I would have gone looking for it is amazing.
The book covers off both Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and you can tell that no expense has been spared in the production of this book. The print and binding all exude quality which is what you would come to expect but what really caught my eye was the sheer volume of concept art and production images this book contains.
Some "art of.." books just contain stills (all be it very high quality stills) from the film, almost like someone has paused their Blu-Ray and taken a picture but not this book. No there are loads of concept images from the various scenes in the two films including some deleted scenes. Even the photographs are unique to this book, some posed with cast and crew others taken during the production of the films.
This book is a delight for both the fans of the films and for those who just appreciate the creativity and work that went in to them. I guess at this point I should admit that I was raised on the original Planet of the Apes films and these two films help answer that impossible question - how did we get in this situation to start with.
The book covers off both Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and you can tell that no expense has been spared in the production of this book. The print and binding all exude quality which is what you would come to expect but what really caught my eye was the sheer volume of concept art and production images this book contains.
Some "art of.." books just contain stills (all be it very high quality stills) from the film, almost like someone has paused their Blu-Ray and taken a picture but not this book. No there are loads of concept images from the various scenes in the two films including some deleted scenes. Even the photographs are unique to this book, some posed with cast and crew others taken during the production of the films.
This book is a delight for both the fans of the films and for those who just appreciate the creativity and work that went in to them. I guess at this point I should admit that I was raised on the original Planet of the Apes films and these two films help answer that impossible question - how did we get in this situation to start with.
September 15, 2014
Love the movie, especially the special effects, so it was really interesting to see all the work that went into making the film.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews