Planet of the Apes

Dramatic and adventurous The Planet of the Apes (1968) is a fantastic movie that delivers a real experience to the viewer. There is no excuse for anyone not to enjoy this movie. Taylor and his friends land in the spaceship in a land ruled by damn dirty apes. If you haven’t seen this, it’s shameful. 9-10.

It seems that this film is almost as famous for the folks who didn't take part - Marlon Brando, Edward G. Robinson, Steve McQueen and even Ingrid Bergman, as for it's achievements as a thought provoking piece of cinema. I have always found that Charlton Heston's delivery tended a touch to theatrical monologue; but it really does work in this existential sci-fi story. Returning from a space voyage to Earth several thousand years after they left, the crew discover a planet (they are not even sure which one) ruled over by apes with their own sophisticated, hierarchical, though still agrarian, society. Heston is soon captured but luckily falls under the protection of two curiously-minded scientists "Zira" (Kim Hunter) and "Cornelius" (Roddy McDowell) who suspect that there is much more to their societal beginnings than are oft quoted in the sacred scriptures by "Dr. Zaius" (Maurice Evans). The juxtapositioning of ape and man make for some quite funny scenarios and over 50 years later it still poses some relevant questions about man's assumptions and behaviour towards the rest of life on our world.

Having seen all three films from the rebooted series, I came into watching the original series expecting something relatively similar. To my pleasant surprise, it's a very different story. It's a fascinating dynamic that is set up in this version, which I in fact prefer compared to the films from the 2010s - as entertaining as they are in their own right. It's nicely paced and features good cinematography. The cast of 1968's 'Planet of the Apes' are very good. Charlton Heston, as you might expect, sticks out the most, but Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans are good too. Everyone else is solid, as well. The effects haven't aged amazingly, for example the ape make-up/costumes are dated and clunky - particularly when the characters are speaking. That's all forgivable of course, given the release year. It's all still effective, either way. 8/10 - very close to being 9/10 in truth.