Planet of the Apes sequels (1970-1973) audio collection

[jonno]

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

While you might expect the story for the lower-budget sequel, Beneath, to be a bit more straightforward, it has its own quite complicated history. True, the theatrical release was only ever mono, and again this original mix only survived until the earliest days of home video. However, it appears that a true stereo mix also exists for this film - I'll come back to that shortly.

Theatrical mono



As with the first film, the mono soundtrack heard on this instalment's theatrical release only stuck around as far as the very first VHS and laserdisc releases. For my BD-synced preservation, I've used the PAL CBS-Fox laser from 1983 (1013-70) - it's clear and detailed, unlike the equivalent 'mono' on the Blu-ray. Once again, this is the most authentic option.

Pre-release stereo



I need to skip ahead a bit release-wise now. While researching these tracks, I happened upon some forum posts from the sound engineer who mixed Beneath for the initial (2000) DVD release. He confirmed that there had most definitely been a 4-track mix made during this film's initial post production, and (unlike any that might have existed for the original film) these elements survived, in the form of 4-track 35mm mag. This master formed the basis for the Dolby Surround track on that 2000 DVD, making it the rare case of an original mix preserved in excellent quality - and it sounds terrific. Many thanks to @Stamper for helping source this one for my BD sync project!

Chace stereo

I don't currently own a laserdisc copy of this mid-80s mix, only VHS, so I haven't synced it for now. We're not missing much - it's even worse than the Chace remix for Planet, with similarly artificial steering and some elements actually missing. That said, if anyone has the SWE LD (1013-80) and would like to hear it synced, do send it my way.

When the whole series was rereleased on DVD in 2006 (including new anamorphic transfers), Beneath received a 'new' 5.1 track. Predictably, this was closer to the Chace mix than anything else, with variable balance and missing effects. The Blu-ray version goes some way to re-balancing everything, but the quality (on both the 5.1 and folded-down mono) is surprisingly dull. Once again, the laserdisc and DVD tracks are the way to go.

[jonno]

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

With budgets continuing to drop, there was never any likelihood of the next Apes movie receiving any kind of stereo mix during production (at least, none that I have found any evidence for). In its editing and release, Escape was a mono project through and through.

Strange, then, that there was no English home video version of this original mix available until 2000.

Theatrical mono



When the Apes saga had its intial DVD release, Escape had only one audio track: the original mono. This master sounds really strong and clear, especially the music - the mono tracks that subsequently appeared on the 2006 DVD and 2008 Blu-ray are increasingly processed, losing a great deal of energy in the process. This track is my go-to for this film.

Chace stereo



Throughout the 80s and 90s, the English-language home video releases of this film (VHS and laserdisc)* had already passed through the questionable hands of Chace Audio's stereo upmix process. The quality of this one is particularly low - it's noisy, choppy (though that might be more to do with limitations in the video master) and, aside from the opening title, the brilliant music is really buried in the mix - presumably in keeping with 80s tastes. Worst of all, some sounds were left entirely out of the mix, from the annoying (various animal sounds in the zoo at the start) to the absolutely criminal (the final, plaintive 'mama' from baby Milo before the credits roll is gone!) Far from ideal.

5.1 mix

As with Beneath, Escape received a 5.1 track as part of the 2006 DVD rerelease. This one is actually fairly decent, if not much departed from its mono origins - it's well balanced and nothing obviously missing. The same mix carries over to the Blu-ray in DTS-HD. Overall, I'd still recommend the 2000 mono as the truest way to experience Escape.

*Actually, I need to check a 1983 CBS-Fox UK VHS I have to see if it managed to predate the remix stick. It won't sound any better than the DVD but might fill a gap in the timeline!

[jonno]

Coming soon: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes!

[jonno]

Coming soon: Battle for the Planet of the Apes!

[PomSpitz]

That 5.1 mix on the Blu Ray is possibly the worst remix I've ever heard. There was a scene where Brent & Nova explore the underground caverns - before any dialogue begins - there are sound effects of water trickling - which they looped and played repeatedly in the rear speakers for the entire length of the scene - and you can clearly hear THE HARD CUTS to the sound effect each time the loop begins again. Just awful.

[jonno]

Sounds about right. This film seems to attract bad judgement, for some reason!

[BDgeek]

Hi jonno!

Thanks a lot for this great effort!

Do you think the 1982 JP LD is worth it?
https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/45033/FY5...f-the-Apes

Are you able to capture it? If you're interested, I could try to get it to you.

[BDgeek]

Doing a bit of a resarch now, I saw there was a 1999 THX LD release with PCM mono, since the THX DVD with the 2.0 track came just a year later, it's a good bet this could be the DVD track in PCM.

[jonno]

Updated with info for Escape - see second post.

[BDgeek]

Hi Jonno, don't know if you saw my post above. But if you're interested in syncing it, I can get this LD [0582885] captured. I believe it might have the DVD 35mm 4-track mag mix in PCM.

Edit:

Do you think the 1999 Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) [0582985] has the mono audio in PCM, despite what those lddb specifications?

I could try to get this one too, if it's worth it.