Planet of the Apes-1968

Director Franklin J. Shaffner

Starring Charlton Heston

Top 250 Films #109

Scott’s Review #363

Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

Planet of the Apes is a 1968 science fiction film starring one of the greats, Charlton Heston.

At the time of release, the film was a great film and quite visionary- and the message still holds up well today. Since certainly everyone on the “planet” must know the “surprise” ending, the film speaks volumes about the destruction of the world we know and love.

Intelligently written, Planet of the Apes is memorable and was followed by a bunch of not-so-compelling or strong sequels, remakes, and reboots.

A group of astronauts crash-lands on a strange planet in the distant future. The men have no idea where they are or what period it is.

The planet is inhabited by apes, who are highly intelligent and speak and act just like human beings. They are dominant, and the real humans are largely mute and incapable of doing much- they are kept imprisoned.

George Taylor (played by Heston) is the lead astronaut who, the apes realize, can speak and is assumed to be brilliant. The ape leader wants him killed, but sympathetic scientist and archaeologist apes Cornelius and Zira (played by Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter) are curious about Taylor and wish to experiment further.

To say nothing of the story, the prosthetic makeup and costumes are dynamic. Human actors play the apes, but they do not look fake or phony.

Furthermore, the sets look genuine and grand and hold up well nearly fifty years later. Nothing about the film appears to be remotely dated or losing its original appeal, as some movies inevitably do.

Planet of the Apes is a political film, and this message also holds up well in the present times.

How human beings have ruined their planet is the main point of the film, but this is wisely not revealed until the very end, with the now-famous scene of an escaped Taylor running along the beach, only to realize, in terror, that the submerged, tattered Statue of Liberty is there.

With horror, he realizes that human beings have destroyed planet Earth, and the astronauts never actually left their planet!

Fun and serious to watch all rolled into one, Planet of the Apes (1968) is a film for the ages, with a distinct message and a story that audiences everywhere can absorb and relate to.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (Not a Musical), Best Costume Design