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

Director Franklin J. Schaffner deliberately used odd, skewed angles and hand-held cameras to create a disorientating effect, much like what Charlton Heston's character experiences in this brave new world.

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Goofs

At one point, Taylor offhandedly mentions that the nights have all been too cloudy to see the sky, an explanation for why he had not seen the moon and instantly realized where he was. In fact, the moon is easily visible in the daytime sky at least twice every month.

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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 Mystery Science Theater 3000: Rocket Attack U.S.A. (1990)

User Reviews

A Science Fiction Masterpiece

In the year 1968, two movies came out that changed modern day science-fiction films forever, 2001 A Space Odyssey was the most famous out of the two, but Planet of the Apes stands on its own ground and became a classic that it is universally acclaimed to be. Planet of the Apes is still way better than all of the sequels and remakes that has even been made.

I remember the first time, I watched Planet of the Apes. I was a major Sci-Fi geek who loved Star Wars and Blade Runner. I was sitting down on the couch with my nerdy glasses, watching T.V. When all of a sudden the movie started, my friends told me the movie was very cheesy and lame. So I had extremely low expectations, but I told, whatever, I'll give it a try. After the film finished, I was completely flabbergasted and amazed to have seen this work of art. The visuals were great and the movie was extremely entertaining. But that's not the main reason I loved the film so much. It raises a lot of questions about our modern day society without letting social commentaries get in the way of the drama and action.

The movie is easily one of the top ten best Sci-Fi films ever created, it stands high up with Star Wars, 2001 A Space Odyssey and The Day the Earth Stood Still. If you're a Sci-Fi, this movie is highly recommended because it deals with philosophical and sociological questions and its a must have.

10/10 for this Masterpiece.