Behind the Planet of the Apes

*Behind the Planet of the Apes*
Behind the Planet of the Apes
Written by	Brian Anthony; David Comtois; Kevin Burns;
Directed by	David Comtois; Kevin Burns;
Narrated by	Roddy Mcdowell
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Shelley Lyons; Brian Anthony;
Cinematography	Cory Geryak
Editors	David Comtois; Dustin Ebsen; Steve Rasch;
Running time	126 minutes
Production companies	Van Ness Films; 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Foxstar Productions; American Movie Classics;
Original release
Network	AMC
Release	September 6, 1998

Behind the Planet of the Apes is a 1998 American television documentary directed by Kevin Burns and David Comtois who also co-wrote it with Brian Anthony and produced by Foxstar Productions. (IMDB lists feature's length as 2 hours and 7 minutes. ) It premiered on AMC on September 6, 1998 as part of their 2 day 30th anniversary Planet of the Apes marathon.^[1]^[2]

Premise

It focuses on the five films in the original Planet of the Apes series, and is hosted and narrated by Roddy McDowall, who played Cornelius in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes and Escape from the Planet of the Apes and his son Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. The documentary premiered on AMC to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the first 1968 film.^[3]

The documentary discusses the ideas and works that led to the production of the films and franchise, including two television series, one live action and one animated for children. The documentary begins with the original novel written by author Pierre Boulle and how it caught the interest of producer Arthur P. Jacobs, who brought it to 20th Century Fox. The development and production of each film is discussed, including casting, costume design, filming locations and behind the scenes footage.^[4]

Release

The documentary was included in the 2001 DVD box set of the classic films.^[5] The documentary was again included in the 2008, 40 Year Evolution Blu-ray set, and was again included in the 2011 reissue of the set.