Planet of the Apes (1968, G)

In Biblical epics, such as Ben-Hur and the Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston gave some noteworthy and memorable performances. His performance in Planet of the Apes may not be as memorable, but he nevertheless delivers a very convincing performance.

Heston stars as George Taylor, the leader of the astronauts in a space mission. Also on the team are Landon (Robert Gunner), Stewart (Dianne Stanley) and Dodge (Jeff Burton). They go into deep hibernation, but sleep too long and as a result, stay asleep for about 2,006 years, skipping ahead from the year 1972 to 3978. Their ship crashes and sinks in the water, by Taylor, Landon and Dodge survive with a few provisions. They find a barren planet similar to Earths. After walking through the desert, they come across a jungle, inhabited by mute, primitive humans. Apes riding on horseback and wielding guns then charge in, killing Dodge and wounding Taylor and Landon.

Taylor survives his wounds, and his intelligence stuns the ape scientists fiances, Zira and Cornelius. He tries to communicate with them by mouthing words, drawing pictures, and writing words. His intelligence also stuns the ape leader, Dr. Zaius, who secretly holds the secret of the connection between apes and humans. The remainder of the film, after Taylor's throat heals and he can talk, has Zira and Cornelius trying to prove Taylor's innocence against Dr. Zaius and his band of cohorts.

Planet of the Apes is not one of the more successful science fiction franchises ever made, but the first installment is one of the more thought provoking sci-fi films I've seen.

The film opened to a positive critical and public reaction, and fared quite well at the box-office. It's based off of the 1963 book by Pierre Boulle, which was set in a more modern setting but other then that dealed with the same premise and issues.

The costume designs for this film were quite advanced for it's time. When I was watching the 2001 remake, one of the constant thoughts running through my head was that the costume designs hadn't much improved over the 1968 version, which was a far superior film anyway.

I thought that Planet of the Apes was an entertaining and thought provoking film, despite it's premise. Of all of the Planet of the Apes movies, this one is by far the best, and is also the one one that I recommend you really watch.

This isn't a movie that you have to watch, but I do think it's a movie that you should watch when you get around to it. It opens up a few questions about our own society, and deals heavily with the issues of race, nuclear war and it's aftermath, and similar stuff to that. This is a gripping sci-fi pic, and the only one of the series that actually has a mind of it's own.

                                                    ****/5