‘War For The Planet Of The Apes’ Ice Sculpture Hits London To Celebrate Blu-Ray Release

A life-sized ice sculpture of Caesar from War for the Planet of the Apes appeared in London in celebration of the film’s Blu-ray and DVD releases.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES ICE SCULPTURE IN LONDON

The figure was carved over a period of five days, and it’s likeness to the film character is incredible. Even the horse Caesar rides atop is nearly flawless. Artists used many tools including chainsaws, steak knives, and bonsai saws to get the look of the ice just right. The ice itself had been imported from Belgium and weighed in at three tons. The finished piece, which was created by Glacial Art, stands at just over seven feet tall and just under eight feet long.

The perceived realness of the ice sculpture mimics the convincing effects of the apes in the actual film. VFX Supervisor Dan Lemmon, after working on Dawn for the Planet of the Apes, wanted to make the characters as hyperrealistic as he possibly could for the third film in the trilogy.

In Dawn, he told The Wrap, “There were some shots that worked great and others where I said, I don’t know if I totally I buy it, that an ape is riding a horse.” For War for the Planet of the Apes, Lemmon and director Matt Reeves used new technology like a Ray tracer to get the success that they had.

“I think the biggest challenge — which was true from the last two movies — was to get the characters that we’re creating have the same emotional intensity and subtlety that the actors have on set,” Lemmon added. “Because we’re deleting actors from the movie and replacing them with digital creations, we have to make sure that our digital creations fully honor and respect what the actors gave on set and that they carry emotionally the same connection that we had with them when we were watching the performance.”

The film is now available in 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, Blue-ray, and DVD formats.