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 & 1 nomination.

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:

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

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Taglines:

Somewhere in the Universe, there must be something better than man!

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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 actors in ape costume had to eat their lunch in front of a mirror so as to monitor any changes to their make-up. They also had to use straws for their drinks. Naturally, in those days, a lot of the actors were smokers too so they were all issued with cigarette holders. Kim Hunter found the whole experience so laborious that she eventually gave up eating when in full make-up.

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Goofs

Female human has a wardrobe slip when Taylor is being loaded into the capture wagon.

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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 Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)

User Reviews

Only one word can describe this movie, "WOW"

Absolutely incredible. Easily in my top 10 all time, and that's saying something. This movie kept me captivated from the beginning all the way to the end. It combined a super setting and effects (at least for '68) and the casting was perfect. This movie included, in my opinion, one of the most memorable line in film history, "get your damn paws of me, you stinkin' apes!". Not to ruin it for anyone, the ending is also one of the best in film history. This easily won my award for most entertaining and original story ever, because it captivated the imagination, especially considering the fact that it could actually happen (it's a stretch, but...) This is a rather short response, but I could just go on and on saying how great it was, but it would only be redundant. Overall, this movie was absolutely incredible

9.5\10 stars (I'm a tough reviewer)