Planet of the Apes (1968)

An astronaut crew crash lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Michael Wilson (screenplay), Rod Serling (screenplay),

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	George Taylor
Roddy McDowall	...	Cornelius
Kim Hunter	...	Zira
Maurice Evans	...	Dr. Zaius
James Whitmore	...	President of the Assembly
James Daly	...	Honorious
Linda Harrison	...	Nova
Robert Gunner	...	Landon
Lou Wagner	...	Lucius
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Maximus
Jeff Burton	...	Dodge
Buck Kartalian	...	Julius
Norman Burton	...	Hunt Leader
Wright King	...	Dr. Galen
Paul Lambert	...	Minister

Storyline

Taylor and two other astronauts come out of deep hibernation to find that their ship has crashed. Escaping with little more than clothes they find that they have landed on a planet where men are pre-lingual and uncivilized while apes have learned speech and technology. Taylor is captured and taken to the city of the apes after damaging his throat so that he is silent and cannot communicate with the apes.

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Plot Keywords:

ape | planet | astronaut | escape | trial | 

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Taglines:

An unusual and important motion picture from the author of "The Bridge on the River Kwai"!

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Genres:

Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Monkey Planet

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,800,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$26,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

APJAC Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 107 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "See No Evil Hear No Evil" gag was entirely ad libbed on the set of the day of shooting. It was kept in because people found it amusing when the film was threatening to get too serious.

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Goofs

After Taylor jumps into the water from the sinking spacecraft, his hair is soaking wet as he comes up to the surface, yet in the very next shot, as he's swimming toward the life raft, his hair is dry.

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Quotes

[first lines]
George Taylor: And that completes my final report until we reach touchdown. We're now on full automatic, in the hands of the computers. I have tucked my crew in for the long sleep and I'll be joining them soon. In less than an hour, we'll finish our sixth month out of Cape Kennedy. Six months in deep space - by our time, that is. According to Dr. Haslein's theory of time, in a vehicle travelling nearly the speed of light, the Earth has aged nearly 700 years since we left it, while we've aged ...

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Connections

Spoofed in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Leech Woman (1997)

User Reviews

A milestone; one of the best films ever made

When I recently, for fun, ranked my favorite films in a top 100 list, Planet of the Apes ended up at 33. It was the second sci-fi on the list, after 2001, which ranked #1. I have always been disappointed and irked at the ill-will that some people have towards Planet of the Apes. I almost assaulted someone who described Apes as "one of those so-bad-it's-funny type of movies" a few months ago. I take this film very seriously, and I wish others would do the same.

I think one of the reasons there is so much animosity against this one is that it is undeniably dated. Not too much, but it would be difficult to sit a young teenager, raised on 1990s movies, down in front of it and have him/her enjoy it. Even a young adult, between the ages of 18 and 25, would find it difficult. Planet of the Apes definitely exists in a specific time, the late 1960s. This was the best decade for film, churning out tons of both American and foreign masterpieces. Times were rough, and the Vietnam War was growing in intensity by the time Planet of the Apes was made. Because of this, we see many references to the current dilemma. The film willy-nilly debates issues like hunting, violence, animal rights, evolution vs creationism, class structure, and nuclear war. Taylor tells a young, rebellious, teenage chimpanzee not to trust anyone over 30 (a common youth adage in the late 60s). Yes, it has so many topics that it seems to be about to burst at times. And, yes, the satire does go overboard once in a while. Still, it is all argued passionately. You can tell that everyone involved, even Heston, believes in what they are saying. In its own way, Planet of the Apes is as intellectual and philosophical a film as 2001. I know that, when teens and younger people go see the Tim Burton remake (which is not great, btw), there are going to be many who overpraise it and say that it is much better than the original. You would have to be mentally handicapped to honestly believe so.