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 & 2 nominations.

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:

astronaut | lobotomy | trial | future | writing in sand | 

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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 | 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:

Kayenta, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,800,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$33,395,426

Company Credits

Production Co:

APJAC Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The famous quote "Human see, human do" is based on an old children song that goes, "When you clap, clap clap your hands,/The monkey claps, claps claps his hands. Monkey see, monkey do/Monkey do the same as you."

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Goofs

The ape-civilization does not seem to know advanced technology or energy-sources. Therefore it would be impossible to use a fire hose to spray Taylor and Nova, because a generator or machine is needed to create the pressure to drive the water.

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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

Referenced in Joe and Caspar Hit the Road (2015)

User Reviews

Get your hands off this movie, you damn dirty remake!

It's especially interesting that "Planet of the Apes" was released a few months before "2001: A Space Odyssey", as they both look at the same question: what will become of humanity (and how did we originate)? Obviously, the really famous line is Charlton Heston's snap at his captors, and the really famous scene is the end - which I won't tell here for fear of spoiling the whole movie. And what an impressive movie it is! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Tim Burton's remake. "POTA" should never have been remade. So, for a cinematic treat, stick to this one and avoid the remake.

One more thing is that some people have pointed out that the portrayals of the simians were kinda racist. The blond, cultured orangutans are the nobles; the dark-haired, mildly nervous chimpanzees are the scientists; and the dark-skinned, incompetent gorillas are the police. Oh well. It's still a good movie.