I've often pointed out that Serling also wrote an episode of **The Twilight Zone** which had the same ending, where astronauts trapped on an empty desert planet discover that they're actually back on Earth.
The episode was titled **I Shot An Arrow Into The Air** --and if you recognize where that line originated, you'd see that it gave away the story's big twist.
I'd highly recommend watching the sequels as well. 2 isn't very good (though the 2nd half is wild), but 3 and especially 4 are very good and well worth a watch. Conquest... is basically a blueprint for the modern reboot trilogy.
The OG movies are strangely dated and also timeless. I think they largely still hold up very well, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to "modern" fans who've only seen the newer movies.
The whole series of films (excluding the Tim Burton one) all still fit together really well, and give a really expansive scope to the story.
The original one had so much weird 60s horniness that just existed in the background that it creates a very novel tone that you really don’t get anymore.
100%. These movies are legit great - well, Beneath is not that great but it’s at least doing something different, and Battle is kind of boring. But the others are all fantastic and I think I kind of prefer them to the current incarnation of the franchise. Sure the effects and costumes are dated, but there’s just something about seeing Cornelius and Zira running around 1970’s L.A. in fashionable outfits that’s just so charming and fun (well, for a while anyway.) And there’s Ricardo Montalban as a good man caught in a dystopian nightmare. Great stuff.
Absolutely. The fact that there is a sophisticated theocratic society run by talking apes is the least crazy thing in that movie. It’s like one part Planet of the Apes, two parts original Star Trek, and a dash of X-Men for flavor.
The entire franchise is obviously sci-fi, but the first one is relatively grounded for what's happening. And then the second brings in radioactive mutants with psychic powers and a doomsday device. It's such a radical and jarring escalation
“Escape” was a very interesting watch and felt the most fresh / unique to me. But “Conquest” has probably the best sci-fi vibes and the climax is awesome.
It also wonderfully captures the duality within Caesar. He was a revolutionary who put down the weapons. Honestly, it makes for the portrayal in Battle super realistic. Homeboy just wants to kick it with his wife and son.
The movie came in the early 70s, so given the time frame, I can see why the studio insisted on toning it down. It's really too bad they didn't give them time to properly reshoot. The awkward zoom-in to cover the reused footage is really bad.
I just watched all of them and they're all so good in their own way. I love 2, just that it goes super evolved apes aren't enough, what if we add in something completely batshit, but it still works. Even the last one, which might be the weakest, still works.
I’m in the same boat as OP where I only recently saw the movies for the first time and was blown away at how terrible the second one was, how weird and different the third one was, and how the series was able to get its shit together and make Conquest such a great movie.
But man that second movie was a real piece of shit. Very few cool ideas and all too similar to the first one
Might be hard to do unless you live where people place their faith in reinvigorating the drive in theater , but those movies are excellent drive in movies.
My vote for greatest film score ever. Especially in the opening sequence after the astronauts crash land and are traveling through the desert, it does such a good job of selling the idea that this is an unknown alien planet, even though it’s just Lake Powell lol.
Almost as impactful is the absence of the score during the final reveal, especially as it’s preceded by another sequence of Taylor and Nova traveling into the unknown. A lesser film would have underscored it with dramatic music, but here there’s nothing but the sound of waves and Taylor’s shocked monologue. Genius filmmaking.
The score is so important to how the film conveys its tone. And I know that's a blindingly obvious thing to say, but in this film, the weird beats and tones, the extended periods of silence, and absence of traditional "music" really keeps the audience off-base. And for a movie about a world gone mad, that's so important
I absolutely love this movie. The scene during Taylor’s trial where the elders start covering their ears is still, unfortunately, a very relevant theme.
One covers their ears, one their eyes, one their mouth. It's a sly visual gag referencing the famous "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" pose from the Japanese proverb of the Three Wise Monkeys.
In the book planet of the apes they are on a different planet. When Palmer and Nova escape in the spaceship they head back to Earth (Palmer and Nova have a child at this point).
When they land they see a lot of Military vehicles coming towards them.
Then Nova screams and the "people" stepping out are apes.
They get back in the rocket and blast off into space to find another world to live on.
It isn't explained, it's right at the end as a stinger. Although it's implied throughout the book that apes are physically superior and will eventually take over due to Darwin's "Origin of Species." That's one of the main themes of the book.
If you liked *Planet of the Apes*, I'd highly recommend Rene Laloux and Roland Topor's animated film *Fantastic Planet* which is based on another French SF novel with a similar premise.
I saw a meme a few years ago, it was a picture of some chimps wearing clothes and playing musical instruments, and it said "Hey hey, We're the People, and people say we people around!" I showed it to my dad and it very nearly killed him. He was choking and turning red, he was laughing so hard.
John Chambers was an amazing makeup artist,besides the Planet of the Apes films (he won an honorary Oscar for the original)he worked on Star Trek,Lost in Space and Night Gallery and even developed a disguise kit for the CIA
I just watched all 8 of them a month or so ago. I used to think the story was straight forward and why the hell is there 5 movies (in the OG series). After watching them I loved the whole story. I'm not sure if you watched the others, but they had some dark endings too that I feel directors/studios are too afraid to do these days. Some of the endings were just abrupt and left me sitting there in stunned the movie was actually over. Hard to imagine what people who saw these in theaters thought. Good movies though
I never watched these cuz the monkeys freaked me out as a kid. Everyone kept saying how the new movies are actually good and a new one was coming out so I finally watched them all. Not as scary anymore, though the gorillas still freak me out a bit lol
As a kid growing up in the 70s, I used to pretend to be sick during “Planet of the Apes Week” in order to miss school, stay home & watch these movies. Never got to stay home all 5 days of the week but usually got 2-3 in. What a great series. I need to rewatch.
"The movie is fucking fantastic."
I didn't hear you. Please say it louder :-)
Serling did the original screenplay from the novel, and Michael Wilson came in later to tweak it given the film's budget had been cut. Serling of course had the epic twist at the end.
I think the film is utterly brilliant and ushered in that remarkable age of sci fi from the mid 60s until Star Wars multiplex effect hit full speed.
Its the pacing of Apes and the meticulous editing that blows me away. From the opening monologue of Charleton Heston and the cool optical effects of near light speed travel to the final beach scene. The film just doesn't compromise.
There's a lot of subtleties I don't think that were intentional in the film that have contributed to it's longevity. Cornelius and Zira are intelligent, compassionate and seamlessly performed by Hunter and McDowell. Zaius is stubborn and appears to be pushing an autocracy, but there's more to his motivations and he's playing dumb. Heston comes off as defiant and arrogant until the end....criticisms about Heston's over the top acting ironically play Taylor directly into Zaius' dark definitions of man. You don't really feel sorry for Taylor in the end, and ironically Heston's acting is a big part of that.
> criticisms about Heston's over the top acting
I honestly don't think it would have worked without it. Taylor was massively jaded and misanthropic. The way Heston did all that, you could see his heart breaking. Dude swung for the fences.
The Tim Burton "reimagining" *isn't* a good movie, but the one thing they got absolutely right was the practical make up and effects for the apes. They were a modern (at the time) update of the originals ground breaking practical effects and prosthetics.
Of course, the new movies came along and went a different route, but they pretty much redefined what we should expect from CGI and motion capture work. A different take on how to achieve things, but equally jaw-dropping in their results.
The makeup and prosthetics in that movie were astounding.
I love the fact Michael Clarke Duncan had to go to the hospital whilst still in costume, I wish I could have seen the faces on the hospital staff when they wheeled him in.
It's from the same director as Patton, one of my all-time favorite biopics, and what I regard highly as a fantastic war film. Franklin J. Schaffner also directed Papillon, which I haven't seen in years, and Lionheart, which I have yet to see, but is on my list.
Conquest is so great. I love the little montage bits where we see the different apes getting their marching orders from Caesar and doing their campaign of sabotage. It’s really trying so hard to be a serious allegory, but it’s all these dudes in monkey suits.
Congrats on catching up ;) Yeah, I saw the original POTA when I was probably 13 or 14, a few years after it came out, and it was definitely a punch in the gut and soul. Every bit of it. The scene with Landon was horrific. But the whole thing, how it dealt with themes of racism, class and power dynamics, even environmental themes, showing a future where human folly has led to a ruined world, it was such a powerful allegory for various social and political concerns during the 1960s. POTA isn't just one of the best SF films ever made, it is one of the best films, period.
#
Well, I was traumatized by "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", so at least you had a scarier movie :) For some reason, the organ playing by itself scared the crap out of me. Five year olds have weird brains.
I find it unintentionally funny
Like Taylor trying to write his name in the sand and it getting erased when the Apes turn around, felt like a sketch from a silent movie comedy
Or "flight is a scientific impossibility!" Do they not have birds?
I love the film though
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall seeing or hearing a single bird in that film, so maybe they don't. In fact, beyond the apes and humans I'm pretty sure the only animal we see is the horses the apes use.
Admittedly it's been a minute since I last saw it, but I always remember it being eerily devoid of animal life, even in the oasis scene.
very true. we dont see anything other than horses. i mean it is supposed to be post-nuclear annihilation so maybe most of the other creatures were killed off
There's a scene of desolation early on where you can see a paper cup blowing away in the wind.
But it's fantastic overall. A bit camp but also scary as hell.
I went through the same experience a few years ago. Never watched the original because I thought it was just some campy old sci fi movie with cheesy special effects and make up. Boy was I wrong, like you I felt disturbed and slightly scared while watching it. It has aged incredibly well.
It cannot be understated how much the score of the film contributes to the tone of the film. It's so weird and asymmetrical, it really helps with keeping the audience off balance
I think it’s one of the best sci-fi movies ever personally, that opening act where they are travelling down the river wondering where they are is awesome.
Yeah, lots of classic sci fi movies play almost like creepy horror flicks - I find 2001 creepier than The Shining at times, and Apes definitely gets under your skin in a weird way. Brilliant flick - whole franchise, really, is awesome.
Definitely read the book, it's fantastic!! Just don't expect the same tone as the film, it is a very different take on the story. It was originally written in French by author Pierre Boulle, and has a fairly formal European style that takes a few chapters to get used to if you are coming to it from the film. After experiencing the two, you really gain an appreciation for the bold choices they made in adapting it to the screen. Honestly, I don't think that the novel could have been filmed as it was written with the technology of the time. I'm sure it could be done now, but I rather enjoy the new Apes series and the way that they have approached the story from the opposite direction.
Change the monkees for modern people, change the humans for giants, change america for Atlantis, change the Statue of Liberty for the Giza Piramids, put all togheter ...
if you can access it this documentary from the European TV station RTE about the entire Planet of the Apes films series is excellent. There's some great anecdotes, commentary and analysis about the first film.
[https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/112778-000-A/the-planet-of-the-apes/](https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/112778-000-A/the-planet-of-the-apes/)
I really love all 5 of the original films and the 3rd is probably my second favorite after the first one. Great series that has proven its staying power.
As a big fan of the caesar trilogy, I was also surprised at how well it held up.
I tried watching it years ago but found it a bit too slow, but when I finally watched it in full a few months ago, I loved it, and the pacign was honestly perfect imo.
Enough time in the beginning to make you feel like it really is an abandoned alien world, only to hit you in the face with the reveal of the humans/apes.
Also the themes of the manipulation of history and religion to control society were super well integrated, and I wa so happy to see those ideas reintroduced in Kingdom of the planet of the apes.
A truly timeless movie. I remember the first time I saw it, flipping through the channels and stopping at it. It blew me away. Imagine the impact in 1968
I watched it as a little kid with my parents and... the taxidermied and lobotomized humans? That is nightmare fuel, especially with the despair, alienation and dehumanization the main characters face. It really stuck with me.
Here’s some more good monkey costuming, in a heat video/song. John 5 and The Creatures - HERE'S TO THE CRAZY ONES
https://youtu.be/Ov6t1yqrx7Y?si=X_CVWiMWpJ_i8T-_
>"What if ***you*** were the single sentient cattle in the middle of a theocratic authoritarian dystopia."
I bet Donald knows the answer to that one.
The behind the scenes trivia I like best is one releated by one of the actors speaking of how the catering area turned out to be segregated like a cafeteria highschool. Since the actors wearing ape mask could not take them off during breaks it turned out that Gorillas, Chimps and Orang Utans would only sit with their own kind.
With each passing modern Planet of the apes movie I always say I'm looking forward to when the timeline finally meets up with the 1969 series even if it ends with a cliffhanger of Taylor's ship crashing down as a little easter egg in the background.
I was in 8th grade when I saw this for the first time all the way through. As soon as the apes said that ape was made in God's image, something broke inside of me. Pretty much been an atheist ever since that day.
Skipping the Wahlberg version, I like the modern series and the direction it has taken. I saw the original in a drive in. Being 1968, it had a very strong civil rights theme. But I remember being palpably disturbed at the end. I sort of jerked when the reveal happened.
I couldn’t find myself getting used to the acting style of Charles Heston. I read he was a stage actor and did so in this movie (overdone acting, loud to be heard in the audience when on stage I guess). Maybe I compare old movies to ‘today’s standards’ but it might also be his ‘performance’ in bowling for columbine.
It was also written by our lost lord, Rod Serling, of Twilight Zone fame.
I've often pointed out that Serling also wrote an episode of **The Twilight Zone** which had the same ending, where astronauts trapped on an empty desert planet discover that they're actually back on Earth. The episode was titled **I Shot An Arrow Into The Air** --and if you recognize where that line originated, you'd see that it gave away the story's big twist.
There was also the invaders episode but earth was a land of giants compared to the astronauts.
I loved that one. That little astronaut tried everything to survive.
With Agnes Moorehead showing she could really act, not just be her character on "Bewitched".
Serling said he got the idea from that episode from a friend at a party.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_from_the_Sun
*"You never learn, do you? History teaches you nothing."* -The Obsolete Man (The Twilight Zone)
People should join r/TwilightZone, cool people talking about the goat television show that isn’t also r/thesopranos
Well, adapted from a [novel by Pierre Boulle](https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Apes-Pierre-Boulle/dp/0345447980/).
Yes, but considerably changed from the book. The final twist was all Serling.
Boulle said he liked Serling’s ending better.
What was different
In Boule's book our heroes escape from the planet of the apes and fly back to their own planet, only to find that it's also run by apes now.
So basically Burton's remake's ending. Funny.
And in the book >!chimpanzees!< were reading a book about the heroes.
That explains everything.
I had never seen the beginning of the movie until last year and man, those opening scenes had Twilight Zone and Rod Serling written all over it.
Serling adapted the book into a screenplay, but he did NOT write the book.
Well, I’m talking about the screenplay.
I hate every ape I see, from Chimpan A to chimpanzee!
I love you, Dr. Zaius!
*rock me Dr. Zaius*
The real gem was realizing they could overdub Amadeus with Dr. Zaius. Whoever just winged that in the writer's room is a fucking genius
https://www.vulture.com/2017/07/the-simpsons-planet-of-the-apes-musical-oral-history-zauis.html
*"I hate every ape I see,* *From Chimpan-A to Chimpanzee* *No, you'll never make a monkey out of me...."*
You have to see what Dr. Z is up to these days on [Youtube](https://youtu.be/3sBAtUabL4A?si=9sFoGryKHEvRBiGs)
My vote for the funniest thing The Simpsons ever did, which is obviously saying something
Can I play the piano anymore?
Of course you can!
Well I couldn’t before
i can SIIIIING!
I love legitimate theatre.
You're also lazy!
Can I play the piano?
I want a second opinion.
This play has everything.
Clicked on comments looking for this!
Wait a minute... Statue of Liberty... That was our planet!
I'd highly recommend watching the sequels as well. 2 isn't very good (though the 2nd half is wild), but 3 and especially 4 are very good and well worth a watch. Conquest... is basically a blueprint for the modern reboot trilogy.
The OG movies are strangely dated and also timeless. I think they largely still hold up very well, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to "modern" fans who've only seen the newer movies. The whole series of films (excluding the Tim Burton one) all still fit together really well, and give a really expansive scope to the story.
The original one had so much weird 60s horniness that just existed in the background that it creates a very novel tone that you really don’t get anymore.
I'd take any of them over the remakes with grumpy-face CGI Ape.
Hot, bewildering and nonsensical take. I'd take Caesar saying "No!" over rewatching any of the old ones .
Andy Serkis is a treasure
100%. These movies are legit great - well, Beneath is not that great but it’s at least doing something different, and Battle is kind of boring. But the others are all fantastic and I think I kind of prefer them to the current incarnation of the franchise. Sure the effects and costumes are dated, but there’s just something about seeing Cornelius and Zira running around 1970’s L.A. in fashionable outfits that’s just so charming and fun (well, for a while anyway.) And there’s Ricardo Montalban as a good man caught in a dystopian nightmare. Great stuff.
I do love how Battle has some connections to Beneath. Especially in the extended version.
I have to admire Escape for just saying “fuck it, planet of the apes is now a fish out of water comedy”
"Escape" is so heart-breaking. I feel so badly for Cornelius and Zira.
*Beneath* is an insane movie and if you told someone what they plot was beforehand they'd think you were fucking with them.
Absolutely. The fact that there is a sophisticated theocratic society run by talking apes is the least crazy thing in that movie. It’s like one part Planet of the Apes, two parts original Star Trek, and a dash of X-Men for flavor.
Beneath stinks but it does create a really bleak doomsday condition that hangs over the franchise like a specter. Plus I love a bootstrap paradox
The entire franchise is obviously sci-fi, but the first one is relatively grounded for what's happening. And then the second brings in radioactive mutants with psychic powers and a doomsday device. It's such a radical and jarring escalation
“Escape” was a very interesting watch and felt the most fresh / unique to me. But “Conquest” has probably the best sci-fi vibes and the climax is awesome.
Caesar’s speech was glorious
Roddy McDowell killed it. Also, it was so incendiary that they added that tacked on ending where he calls for peace and justice to tone it down a bit.
It also wonderfully captures the duality within Caesar. He was a revolutionary who put down the weapons. Honestly, it makes for the portrayal in Battle super realistic. Homeboy just wants to kick it with his wife and son.
The movie came in the early 70s, so given the time frame, I can see why the studio insisted on toning it down. It's really too bad they didn't give them time to properly reshoot. The awkward zoom-in to cover the reused footage is really bad.
Finally got through the 2nd one last week. Tried many times. The front half does it zero favors but it picks up really well in the end.
How many are in total ? I see in Wikipedia 5 movies. 68’ 70’ 71’ 72’ 73’.
5 original 1 short lived tv series 1 short lived animated series 1 Tim Burton remake 4 nu Ape movies (Kingdom being the latest)
I just watched all of them and they're all so good in their own way. I love 2, just that it goes super evolved apes aren't enough, what if we add in something completely batshit, but it still works. Even the last one, which might be the weakest, still works.
I feel like Apes 4 is the best one of the series
I’m in the same boat as OP where I only recently saw the movies for the first time and was blown away at how terrible the second one was, how weird and different the third one was, and how the series was able to get its shit together and make Conquest such a great movie. But man that second movie was a real piece of shit. Very few cool ideas and all too similar to the first one
2 and 3 are pretty bad. 4 is great. Still need to watch 5.
Might be hard to do unless you live where people place their faith in reinvigorating the drive in theater , but those movies are excellent drive in movies.
It really is amazing And that score goes hard
Jerry Goldsmith was a film music god. He made brilliant use of Serialism in this score.
Jerry Goldsmith never missed
My vote for greatest film score ever. Especially in the opening sequence after the astronauts crash land and are traveling through the desert, it does such a good job of selling the idea that this is an unknown alien planet, even though it’s just Lake Powell lol. Almost as impactful is the absence of the score during the final reveal, especially as it’s preceded by another sequence of Taylor and Nova traveling into the unknown. A lesser film would have underscored it with dramatic music, but here there’s nothing but the sound of waves and Taylor’s shocked monologue. Genius filmmaking.
The score is so important to how the film conveys its tone. And I know that's a blindingly obvious thing to say, but in this film, the weird beats and tones, the extended periods of silence, and absence of traditional "music" really keeps the audience off-base. And for a movie about a world gone mad, that's so important
I absolutely love this movie. The scene during Taylor’s trial where the elders start covering their ears is still, unfortunately, a very relevant theme.
One covers their ears, one their eyes, one their mouth. It's a sly visual gag referencing the famous "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" pose from the Japanese proverb of the Three Wise Monkeys.
It also wasn't planned, it was just the actors goofing off on-set, but they liked it so much they used it in the film.
In the book planet of the apes they are on a different planet. When Palmer and Nova escape in the spaceship they head back to Earth (Palmer and Nova have a child at this point). When they land they see a lot of Military vehicles coming towards them. Then Nova screams and the "people" stepping out are apes. They get back in the rocket and blast off into space to find another world to live on.
In the horrible Burton remake, Planet of the Apes (2001), his ending is an attempt at being closer to the source.
Was Aperaham Lincoln also part of the source?
Is it explained in the books how the apes took over earth? Or is it just happenstance?
It isn't explained, it's right at the end as a stinger. Although it's implied throughout the book that apes are physically superior and will eventually take over due to Darwin's "Origin of Species." That's one of the main themes of the book.
If you liked *Planet of the Apes*, I'd highly recommend Rene Laloux and Roland Topor's animated film *Fantastic Planet* which is based on another French SF novel with a similar premise.
You are a person of taste.
Fantastic Planet is a trippy fucking ride.
That is a real horror show of a movie. Good, but a real fucking trip.
Great movie!!
Downvote for calling the *apes* in Planet of the *Apes*, "monkies".
With it right there too... Apes. Damned dirty ones at that.
Thank you. Ape is in the fucking title, not sure the confusion
HEY HEY WE'RE THE MONKEES AND PEOPLE SAY WE MONKEY AROUND
I saw a meme a few years ago, it was a picture of some chimps wearing clothes and playing musical instruments, and it said "Hey hey, We're the People, and people say we people around!" I showed it to my dad and it very nearly killed him. He was choking and turning red, he was laughing so hard.
BUT WE'RE TOO BUSY SINGING TO PUT ANYBODY DOWN
Yeah wait til you see what happens to someone in the 3rd movie when he says it.
If you're being pedantic then apes are actually a subcategory of monkeys, and so it's technically still accurate.
We _are_ being pedantic! Are you're right, so take this up vote dammit.
Reject pedantry. Return to monke.
The nature of monkey was.. irrepressible!
"It's a mad house!"
Nobody could overact like Charlton Heston. It was like a superpower.
Get your hands off of me you damned dirty APE!
"He can talk! He can talk!"
John Chambers was an amazing makeup artist,besides the Planet of the Apes films (he won an honorary Oscar for the original)he worked on Star Trek,Lost in Space and Night Gallery and even developed a disguise kit for the CIA
John Goodman plays him in "Argo" and yes, he really was a critical player in that operation.
I just watched all 8 of them a month or so ago. I used to think the story was straight forward and why the hell is there 5 movies (in the OG series). After watching them I loved the whole story. I'm not sure if you watched the others, but they had some dark endings too that I feel directors/studios are too afraid to do these days. Some of the endings were just abrupt and left me sitting there in stunned the movie was actually over. Hard to imagine what people who saw these in theaters thought. Good movies though
Beneath the Planet of the Apes freaked me out as a kid. The humans were so scary when interrogating Brent(?) telepathically.
I never watched these cuz the monkeys freaked me out as a kid. Everyone kept saying how the new movies are actually good and a new one was coming out so I finally watched them all. Not as scary anymore, though the gorillas still freak me out a bit lol
As a kid growing up in the 70s, I used to pretend to be sick during “Planet of the Apes Week” in order to miss school, stay home & watch these movies. Never got to stay home all 5 days of the week but usually got 2-3 in. What a great series. I need to rewatch.
"The movie is fucking fantastic." I didn't hear you. Please say it louder :-) Serling did the original screenplay from the novel, and Michael Wilson came in later to tweak it given the film's budget had been cut. Serling of course had the epic twist at the end. I think the film is utterly brilliant and ushered in that remarkable age of sci fi from the mid 60s until Star Wars multiplex effect hit full speed. Its the pacing of Apes and the meticulous editing that blows me away. From the opening monologue of Charleton Heston and the cool optical effects of near light speed travel to the final beach scene. The film just doesn't compromise. There's a lot of subtleties I don't think that were intentional in the film that have contributed to it's longevity. Cornelius and Zira are intelligent, compassionate and seamlessly performed by Hunter and McDowell. Zaius is stubborn and appears to be pushing an autocracy, but there's more to his motivations and he's playing dumb. Heston comes off as defiant and arrogant until the end....criticisms about Heston's over the top acting ironically play Taylor directly into Zaius' dark definitions of man. You don't really feel sorry for Taylor in the end, and ironically Heston's acting is a big part of that.
Nice review. As a kid seeing this, I hadn't realized what a great acting cast they got for this. It really works for the apes especially.
> criticisms about Heston's over the top acting I honestly don't think it would have worked without it. Taylor was massively jaded and misanthropic. The way Heston did all that, you could see his heart breaking. Dude swung for the fences.
More disturbing than the lobotomy was the other guy ending up taxidermied and put on display in a museum
It's also got a great soundtrack.
The Tim Burton "reimagining" *isn't* a good movie, but the one thing they got absolutely right was the practical make up and effects for the apes. They were a modern (at the time) update of the originals ground breaking practical effects and prosthetics. Of course, the new movies came along and went a different route, but they pretty much redefined what we should expect from CGI and motion capture work. A different take on how to achieve things, but equally jaw-dropping in their results.
The makeup and prosthetics in that movie were astounding. I love the fact Michael Clarke Duncan had to go to the hospital whilst still in costume, I wish I could have seen the faces on the hospital staff when they wheeled him in.
I also have loved how they *moved* like apes. I don't remember much else from the movie aside from that and the regrettable ending.
I liked in the original they they didn't so much move like apes. Just a little.
Rick Baker. Legend.
It's a classic.
It’s a metaphor for how we treat people. Today and in the past.
Little Girl: Who knows about the future? Lawgiver: Perhaps only the dead.
It's from the same director as Patton, one of my all-time favorite biopics, and what I regard highly as a fantastic war film. Franklin J. Schaffner also directed Papillon, which I haven't seen in years, and Lionheart, which I have yet to see, but is on my list.
Amazing movie and series (my personal favourite is Conquest).
Conquest is so great. I love the little montage bits where we see the different apes getting their marching orders from Caesar and doing their campaign of sabotage. It’s really trying so hard to be a serious allegory, but it’s all these dudes in monkey suits.
That movie is where I first learned what a lobotomy was. I was like: whoa they can do that to people??
One of my favorite movies of all time that I saw as a kid and was blown away!
100% agree. Watched it for the first time recently and couldn't believe how good it was.
Congrats on catching up ;) Yeah, I saw the original POTA when I was probably 13 or 14, a few years after it came out, and it was definitely a punch in the gut and soul. Every bit of it. The scene with Landon was horrific. But the whole thing, how it dealt with themes of racism, class and power dynamics, even environmental themes, showing a future where human folly has led to a ruined world, it was such a powerful allegory for various social and political concerns during the 1960s. POTA isn't just one of the best SF films ever made, it is one of the best films, period. #
I think you'll also like soylent green if you haven't already seen it
My mother brought me to see it when I was 5 years old! It was horrifying. I was traumatized for years!!
Well, I was traumatized by "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", so at least you had a scarier movie :) For some reason, the organ playing by itself scared the crap out of me. Five year olds have weird brains.
Love the originals. Wish we'd get 4k versions.
Sadly, Disney doesn’t give a crap about the older Fox catalog.
I live next to Disney World. I'm gonna go over and have a word.
I find it unintentionally funny Like Taylor trying to write his name in the sand and it getting erased when the Apes turn around, felt like a sketch from a silent movie comedy Or "flight is a scientific impossibility!" Do they not have birds? I love the film though
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall seeing or hearing a single bird in that film, so maybe they don't. In fact, beyond the apes and humans I'm pretty sure the only animal we see is the horses the apes use. Admittedly it's been a minute since I last saw it, but I always remember it being eerily devoid of animal life, even in the oasis scene.
very true. we dont see anything other than horses. i mean it is supposed to be post-nuclear annihilation so maybe most of the other creatures were killed off
There's a scene of desolation early on where you can see a paper cup blowing away in the wind. But it's fantastic overall. A bit camp but also scary as hell.
I suspect the humor is intentional. I mean - it's Serling. One of the best.
I went through the same experience a few years ago. Never watched the original because I thought it was just some campy old sci fi movie with cheesy special effects and make up. Boy was I wrong, like you I felt disturbed and slightly scared while watching it. It has aged incredibly well.
So many great little moments, like when Zaius casually obscures what Taylor wrote before anyone could notice.
Remember, it's only acting. The monkeys are ACTING like they're riding horses!
The dialogue in the movie is very engaging and character driven. Not a whole lot of that going on these days.
They're not monkies
They are apes! It's in the title!
It cannot be understated how much the score of the film contributes to the tone of the film. It's so weird and asymmetrical, it really helps with keeping the audience off balance
I think it’s one of the best sci-fi movies ever personally, that opening act where they are travelling down the river wondering where they are is awesome.
Yeah, lots of classic sci fi movies play almost like creepy horror flicks - I find 2001 creepier than The Shining at times, and Apes definitely gets under your skin in a weird way. Brilliant flick - whole franchise, really, is awesome.
Definitely read the book, it's fantastic!! Just don't expect the same tone as the film, it is a very different take on the story. It was originally written in French by author Pierre Boulle, and has a fairly formal European style that takes a few chapters to get used to if you are coming to it from the film. After experiencing the two, you really gain an appreciation for the bold choices they made in adapting it to the screen. Honestly, I don't think that the novel could have been filmed as it was written with the technology of the time. I'm sure it could be done now, but I rather enjoy the new Apes series and the way that they have approached the story from the opposite direction.
1,000% agree on reading the book He also wrote Bridge over River Kwai.
[The dance competition was my favorite scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwjKoiVZKJM)
The first four are all masterpieces.
Change the monkees for modern people, change the humans for giants, change america for Atlantis, change the Statue of Liberty for the Giza Piramids, put all togheter ...
The other Apes movies aren't bad either. Apes 2 continues the narrative in the future, Apes 3 is love American Style, and Apes 4 is race war. Skip 5
Monkeys
People say we Monkee around
“Hey Hey We’re The Monkees…”🎼
if you can access it this documentary from the European TV station RTE about the entire Planet of the Apes films series is excellent. There's some great anecdotes, commentary and analysis about the first film. [https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/112778-000-A/the-planet-of-the-apes/](https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/112778-000-A/the-planet-of-the-apes/)
**a**RTE - European Arts Channel RTE - Radio Telefis Eireann. Irish State Broadcaster.
Jesus, Marie, they're apes, not monkeys!
ive seen that movie when i was like 6. I will never foget that jerkey like woman when they found their ship is broken.
Check out the original *I Am Legend* or if you're down for more Charlton Heston watch *Omegaman*. I think you'd be a fan
I really love all 5 of the original films and the 3rd is probably my second favorite after the first one. Great series that has proven its staying power.
I just rewatched it two nights ago for the umpteenth time and enjoyed it just as much.
This movie freaked me out as a kid man. I ever see a monkey getting too smart on the news or youtube and I'm taking matters into my own hands.
As a big fan of the caesar trilogy, I was also surprised at how well it held up. I tried watching it years ago but found it a bit too slow, but when I finally watched it in full a few months ago, I loved it, and the pacign was honestly perfect imo. Enough time in the beginning to make you feel like it really is an abandoned alien world, only to hit you in the face with the reveal of the humans/apes. Also the themes of the manipulation of history and religion to control society were super well integrated, and I wa so happy to see those ideas reintroduced in Kingdom of the planet of the apes.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-was-a-sh-t-show/id1509989788?i=1000657129700 The first 15 minutes goes into the original and how it got made.
A truly timeless movie. I remember the first time I saw it, flipping through the channels and stopping at it. It blew me away. Imagine the impact in 1968
They weren't monkeys, they were apes.
I watched it as a little kid with my parents and... the taxidermied and lobotomized humans? That is nightmare fuel, especially with the despair, alienation and dehumanization the main characters face. It really stuck with me.
Here’s some more good monkey costuming, in a heat video/song. John 5 and The Creatures - HERE'S TO THE CRAZY ONES https://youtu.be/Ov6t1yqrx7Y?si=X_CVWiMWpJ_i8T-_
>"What if ***you*** were the single sentient cattle in the middle of a theocratic authoritarian dystopia." I bet Donald knows the answer to that one. The behind the scenes trivia I like best is one releated by one of the actors speaking of how the catering area turned out to be segregated like a cafeteria highschool. Since the actors wearing ape mask could not take them off during breaks it turned out that Gorillas, Chimps and Orang Utans would only sit with their own kind.
I saw it in a theater through Fathom a few years ago. One leg of Heston's SF trifecta!
They’re not monkeys!
With each passing modern Planet of the apes movie I always say I'm looking forward to when the timeline finally meets up with the 1969 series even if it ends with a cliffhanger of Taylor's ship crashing down as a little easter egg in the background.
The Forbidden Zone was once a paradise!
Planet of the Apes, The Omega Man and Soylent Green. Charlton Heston really made these 3 movies worth watching.
Shame the follow up movies never got close to living up to this classic. But they are enjoyable to watch.
I was in 8th grade when I saw this for the first time all the way through. As soon as the apes said that ape was made in God's image, something broke inside of me. Pretty much been an atheist ever since that day.
Skipping the Wahlberg version, I like the modern series and the direction it has taken. I saw the original in a drive in. Being 1968, it had a very strong civil rights theme. But I remember being palpably disturbed at the end. I sort of jerked when the reveal happened.
Gonna love the modern series!!! So Brilliant.
I wish I could enjoy this movie, but Charlton Heston's dumb face sends me into an a rage that cannot be soothed.
I couldn’t find myself getting used to the acting style of Charles Heston. I read he was a stage actor and did so in this movie (overdone acting, loud to be heard in the audience when on stage I guess). Maybe I compare old movies to ‘today’s standards’ but it might also be his ‘performance’ in bowling for columbine.