The Art of Films: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes & Rise of the Planet of the Apes

As I kid, I remember watching Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston on TV and like Star Wars, Star Trek and Buck Rogers made an sci-fi impression on me. And then I got all excited in 2001, with Tim Burton’s vision of Planet of the Apes and that was hot mess of suck, kind of like X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Now after many years, 20th Century FOX has gotten the re-boot Planet of the Apes franchise in the right direction. To celebrate, Titan Books publishes The Art of the Films: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes & Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

This beautifully bound hardcover large-size art book is more than just a behind-the-scene glimpse of these two films. The art book is split into 2 big chapters with the first chapter focusing on the first film Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the second chapter focusing on the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Entertainment journalists Matt Hurwitz, Sharon Gosling and Adam Newell take us into the world of the apes. Now if you watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes already, you know how spectacular the visual effects and CGI was in the film. There is commentary on the world building and set piece designs for both films. The book jams together lots of drawings, paintings, behind-the-scenes and on-set film photos. Director Matt Reeves also contributes to the Foreward of this book and commenting the film’s story as metaphors and parallels to real-life geopolitics.

Again if you watched the Dawn, then if you agree with me, that Andy Serkis who plays Caesar deserves an Oscar nomination. I never imagined motion-capture would get this good, but the attention to detail and realism is spot on. The chapter on motion-capture was very informative read and lots of great photos of humans playing apes. If you’re an aspiring visual effects/CGI artist this will be an ideal reference book on your library. But also if you enjoy movies and fan of the Planet of the Apes franchise, this is wonderful book to buy.