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

The media could not be loaded.  This is a great art book, and one that I highly recommend.A lot of the book is devoted to the creation of the apes - including concept art, production stills of Andy Serkis and other performers, VFX renders of Ceasar and the apes, and finished frames from the movies. That portion of the book is most fascinating, since they really did push the limits of technology with these films in order to create realistic CG apes infused with human performances from actors.There are also many pages devoted to environments - for "Rise", this includes places like the lab, Will's home, and the primate shelter. The combination of conceptual artwork and production stills really show off the amount of work that went into the set design/dressing. Because of the intensive visual effects required, the production had to build most environments from scratch (rather than going on location) so that they could have complete control. This results in set pieces like the Bridge and the Primate Facility being built rather than finding and shooting an existing location.As massive a production as "Rise" was, it seems that "Dawn" has eclipsed it in terms of scale. The sequel takes place 10 years after the first film, and most os humanity has been ravaged by the Simian Flu. As a result, cities and architecture have become run-down and vegetation has encroached. The places occupied by the human colony are large spaces that were practically built and required an enormous amount of effort to distress them to a point where they look worn down. At one point, Ceasar returns to Will's home - it's fascinating to see the differences between Will's home between the films (colorful and vibrant in "Rise"; dirty and desolate in "Dawn").If you are a fan of these movies, then this is certainly a good purchase to make. The book features a nice balance of conceptual artwork, production photos, and film shots. The images are printed large and clear. There is also a decent amount of text which sheds light onto the challenges of the production and adds to the enjoyment of the book, including a foreword by director Matt Reeves.

The media could not be loaded.  It's nice that there's an artbook for the two Planet of the Apes films. I was really thrilled and blown away by them, especially for Dawn.This is a large format hardcover artbook with 176 pages. The cover has a nice fine grainy texture and the print of Cesar's face is actually glossy. I'm just amazed at how real Cesar looks, even though you know it's just computer graphics.The content is split between the first and second films, more on the second one. Pictures are a mixture of photographs from behind the scenes, the sets and concept art. There is a lot to see and it provides a nice general idea of how the films were created. The accompanying commentary that talks about film production, covering the sets and scenes in the order as they appear in the films.In terms of concept art, many pieces are of the environment, such as Gen Sys building, Will's home, primate shelter and San Francisco. The art is quite well done. Many I suspect are paintings over 3D models but they look great because of the details and lighting. There aren't much character designs except for a two page spread for the main apes with more screen time.The set photographs are fantastic. It's fun to find out which sets are real and which are digital. There's just the right amount of photos of actors in their motion capture suits. I left the cinema wondering if director Matt Reeves had casted mutant apes because the acting is just unbelievable. You'll read quite a bit on the performance motion capture.This is a fantastic artbook with a good mix of art, photos and writeup. I particularly enjoy the insight from commentary.(See more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

The book is very interesting and a great read. My biggest issue is that there were scratches and stains on the cover, despite being in new condition.Overall this is still a great book. It very closely dissects the themes and narratives of both films as well as the extensive artwork and process that goes into bringing these visions to the big screen. If you are a fan of the movies, I highly recommend this book.

Gorgeous book! Mine was damaged in shipping however going to get a new copy!

One of the better "Art of" books, it's comprehensive and has a good depth in the evolution of the designs. The writing is actually helpful, insightful and well done, not an afterthought.

Beautiful and with a lot of stuffI hope anoter one for War

A great film book

Interesting and Informative.

A decent enough “Art of” book for the first two films that (currently) make up a trilogy.This though, is more of a “Making of” book; there is some concept art included (all digitally rendered) but it is mostly film stills and a look at the CGI process of creating the ape characters from the motion capture techniques.It`s still an interesting book – I expect it will depend on the expectations of the individual – but I found it a little underwhelming as the use of graphics and design in films are my main concern.A reasonable companion to the films but - from my point of view - not quite as good as other books of this type.

Grandson loves it.

Really interesting book, with a lot of information about the films. However, it is not nearly as in-depth as I was hoping, particularly when it comes to the chapters on the design of the films, I was expecting more examples of concept art and ideas.Having said that, I do still think it is a must for any fans of the films or film-making in general!

Liked the films so I bought this for something to read over winter. Very good addition to any bookshelf.

Einer der besten Art-of-the-movie-Bände, die ich habe: angefangen bei dem beeindruckendem Cover, das man aus der Nähe betrachten muss um die Wirkung der Augen zu sehen und weiter bei den schönen Fotos und den aussagekräftigen Texten. Der Autor liefert einen sehr guten Einblick in den kreativen Prozess, de für die hervorragende Gestaltung der beiden Filme notwendig war. Sehr empfehlenswert!