Release Date: December 13, 2011
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 105 minutes

A single act of both compassion and arrogance leads to a battle unlike any other when RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES makes its worldwide debut on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on December 13th in North America and starting December 7th Internationally. From the Oscar-winning® visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and Lord of the Rings comes revolutionary new ground – a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence, and epic battles on which rest the upended destinies of man and primate.

James Franco (127 Hours) stars as Will Rodman, a neuroscientist living in San Francisco trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease by testing on chimpanzees, giving them a human level of intelligence. After a test subject’s baby, Caesar, is orphaned, Will decides to raise him at home on his own with his Alzheimer-stricken father (John Lithgow; “Dexter”). What begins simply as a continuation of his experiment quickly turns into a problem for Will, as Caesar is taken away from him and forced to live in a primate facility. As Caesar’s intelligence continues to grow, he begins to stake his claim as the leader of his new primate counterparts, which will ultimately lead to the RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.

Directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist), this special effects blockbuster features fantastic supporting performances from Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), Brian Cox (Red), Tom Felton (Harry Potter films) and Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) in a ground-breaking performance. The RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Blu-ray is loaded with bonus material including deleted scenes, making-of featurettes commentaries and more.

Having never seen a Planet of the Apes movie before, I was in for quite a treat with Rise of The Planet of The Apes. I had heard that The Planet of The Apes remake a few years ago was terrible and was never particularly interested in the original but I took a chance on this film, the origin story and I am so glad that I did.

The casting for one, was superb. It seems as though every role James Franco takes on is made just for him. The lead and supporting cast did such a wonderful job bringing me into this world which is normal, except for one thing… the rise of the apes. Watching the journey that is taken, it’s sad, it’s heartbreaking, but things turn around but it takes time for this to take place since there’s a lot of growth that needs to take place. Something that I had not anticipated this film having a lot of was heart but I was gladly mistaken.

Director, Rupert Wyatt did a wonderful job capturing just the right frames and really reaching into the characters’ souls. That is not an easy thing to do. And the cinematography is so beautiful! Talk about visually captivating. Motion caption acting is also not easy to do right so credit where credit are due. Really, every aspect of the film was perfect. Well, okay, the pacing of the first half of the story could have been a little quicker, but other than that, I have no problems with the film. What each moment builds up to is worth it. It’s intense.

Rise of The Planet of The Apes is one of the most compelling tales of 2011 with an abundance of special features to boot. If you enjoyed the film and do not yet have a blu-ray player, I would suggest you make this your first blu-ray purchase as you head out to get your player. There are hours of bonus features including not one but two commentaries and one of my favorite features, “Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries.” There is plenty to learn about the making of this film in the special features so if you are interested in this aspect, you are in for quite a treat! What a fantastic job everyone involved did on this film. Rise of The Planet of The Apes is a must see and the Blu-ray is really the only way to go here. Be sure to get your copy today!

Bonus Features:
*Deleted Scenes
Alpha Gets Shot
Will’s Meeting with Lab Assistants
Will Discovers Caesar Has Solved Puzzles
Caesar Plays with Bicycle
Caesar Questions His Identity
Caesar Bites Off Neighbors Finger
Will Ignores the Risks of an Airborne Mutated Virus
Rodney Gives Caesar a Cookie
Rocket Gets Hosed by Dodge
Caesar Destroys the Lab and Koba’s Attempted Revenge on Jacobs
Caesar Pushes Helicopter
Koba with Shotgun

* Pre-vis for The Future
* Capturing Caesar – Script to Screen
* Studying the Genius of Andy Serkis
* Multi-Angle: Rocket Cookie Scene
* A New Generation of Apes
* Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries
* Breaking New Sound Barriers: The Music and Sound Design of Rise of the Planet of the Apes
* Ape Facts
Chimpanzee
Gorilla
Orangutan
* Audio Commentary by Director Rupert Wyatt
* Audio Commentary by Writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver
* Character Concept Art Gallery
* Three Theatrical Trailers

Own Rise of The Planet of The Apes on Blu-Ray and DVD today.