Planet of the Apes [PG]

After six months in space, a lot longer in earth years, astronaut Taylor and his crew crash land on a strange and seemingly lifeless planet. They soon discover, however, that apes that hunt the primitive and mute human tribes for sport and scientific experimentation rule the planet.  After being captured in a hunt, Taylor finds himself caged like an animal, but he manages to catch the attention of a compassionate researcher, Zira, and her fiancé Cornelius who feel that he might be a missing link in their theory of evolution. 

We all know this story, we all the know the ‘shocking’ ending, and we’ve seen it sampled and remade again and again: in Tim Burton’s 2001 remake (that didn’t fare too hotly), in the newest instalments of the tale (Rise of the Planet of the Apes and now Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), and even in that fantastic episode of The Simpsons where it was made into a musical. But still, Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 original is just as effective and thought-provoking now as it was back at the time of its release. 

After six months in space, a lot longer in earth years, astronaut Taylor and his crew crash land on a strange and seemingly lifeless planet. They soon discover, however, that apes that hunt the primitive and mute human tribes for sport and scientific experimentation rule the planet. After being captured in a hunt, Taylor finds himself caged like an animal, but he manages to catch the attention of a compassionate researcher, Zira, and her fiancé Cornelius who feel that he might be a missing link in their theory of evolution. 

Back in 1968 this movie was a risk. The major concern namely being that actors running around in ape costumes would be seen as hilarious rather than horrifying. Indeed, as a modern viewer, it’s hard to concede how this movie was every really seen as being ‘scary’. Fears were put to rest however, thanks to the brilliant achievement in makeup that artist John Chambers managed to reach. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for said achievement. 

As brilliant as the makeup is, for me the film’s longevity is achieved through its rather excellent script. Based on the book La Planete des singes by Pierre Boulle, Michael Wilson and Rod Sterling’s screenplay is loaded with heaps of thought-provoking notions and questions about man, nature, science, and religion and some memorable and very funny injections of humour come into play: my personal favourite being a visualisation of the famous ‘hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil’ monkey image. The script is brought brilliantly to life by the superb casting with Charlton Heston making a great gruff and cynical arsehole and protagonist and Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall delivering very lovely performances as the compassionate chimpanzees. 

Starring Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, Linda Harrison, Robert Gunner, Lou Wagner, Woodrow Parfrey, Jeff Burton, and Buck Kartalian, Planet of the Apes is a science fiction classic filled with action, romance, comedy, drama, and a dark surprise at the end. The special effects may not stand the test of time, but the writing, the performances, and the food for thought that accumulates in layers all the way throughout make it a film that still endures in cinematic history and aren’t we glad for that!