Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Paul Dehn, Pierre Boulle (based upon characters created by)

Stars:

Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roddy McDowall	...	Caesar
Don Murray	...	Breck
Ricardo Montalban	...	Armando
Natalie Trundy	...	Lisa
Severn Darden	...	Kolp
Hari Rhodes	...	Malcolm MacDonald
Lou Wagner	...	Busboy
John Randolph	...	Commission Chairman
Asa Maynor	...	Mrs. Riley
H.M. Wynant	...	Hoskyns
David Chow	...	Aldo
Buck Kartalian	...	Frank - Gorilla
John Dennis	...	Policeman
Paul Comi	...	2nd Policeman
Gordon Jump	...	Auctioneer

Storyline

Cornelius and Zira's son Caesar leads apes to revolution in this installment of the apes saga. Dogs and cats have been wiped out by a plague and now apes are household pets that are treated like slaves. Caesar has the intelligence to fight this oppression.

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Plot Keywords:

planet of the apes | ape | 1990s | year 1991 | caesar character | 

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Taglines:

All new! The revolt of the apes. The most awesome spectacle in the annals of science fiction!

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place 18 years after the events of Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971).

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Goofs

Throughout the film, the apes have human-looking feet, and not the ape-shaped feet as in the earlier films. This is most apparent when the apes are strapped to the electrical torture device, to which the feet are visibly bound.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Armando: [to Caesar, whom he has on a leash] Come! Come!
Guard: Do you have authorization to dress him like that?
Armando: [hands over papers] Oh, yes, Sir.
Guard: A circus ape, huh?
Armando: And the only one to ever have been trained in bareback riding in the entire history of the circus!

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century-Fox logo does not appear on this film.

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Alternate Versions

The film was cut for violence in the final battle scene by the US distributor for a 'PG' rating. Similarly the BBFC (UK) cut the electrical torture of Caesar, and closeup scenes of violence from the killing of the guards and the climactic battle for an 'AA' cinema rating. Video releases were classified as '15' (now '12' for the DVD) and all prints feature the edited U.S version.

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Connections

Featured in Cinematic Excrement: Planet of the Apes (2001) (2017)

User Reviews

It tries, but not well enough

This film's low budget really does it in. The make-up that had worked so well in the first film looks cheap and phony here. The script is half-baked and if you think about it, kind of tasteless. They should have been more subtle with that equating blacks with apes thing. The film is well-directed and its fast pace helps, but it really needed to be better mounted and given a longer running time to develop its story. As it is it's just not very convincing and even more than a little silly. And when I look at a good actor like Roddy McDowall all hunched-over in that make-up, I have to wonder, "Did he really need the gig that much?"

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

Filming Locations:

Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,700,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,043,472

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,043,472

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, APJAC Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1