Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Ten years after a worldwide series of ape revolutions and a brutal nuclear war among humans, Caesar must protect survivors of both species from an insidious human cult and a militant ape faction alike.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Pierre Boulle (characters), Paul Dehn (story)

Stars:

Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roddy McDowall	...	Caesar / Cornelius
Claude Akins	...	General Aldo
Natalie Trundy	...	Lisa
Severn Darden	...	Governor Kolp
Lew Ayres	...	Mandemus
John Huston	...	The Lawgiver
Paul Williams	...	Virgil
Austin Stoker	...	Bruce MacDonald
Noah Keen	...	Abe the teacher
Richard Eastham	...	Mutant Captain
France Nuyen	...	Alma
Paul Stevens	...	Mendez
Heather Lowe	...	Doctor
Bobby Porter	...	Cornelius
Michael Stearns	...	Jake

Storyline

After conquering the oppressive humans in "Conquest for the Planet of the Apes", Caesar must now keep the peace among the humans and apes. Gorilla General Aldo views things differently, and tries to cause an ape civil war. In the meantime, other human survivors learn of the ape city, and decide they want to take back civilization for themselves, thus setting the stage of warring ape factions and humans.

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Plot Keywords:

caesar character | cornelius character | betrayal | ape | gorilla | 

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Taglines:

The final chapter in the incredible Apes saga. The most suspenseful showdown ever filmed as two civilizations battle for the right to inherit what's left of the earth!

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Colonization of the Planet of the Apes

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Hyperion sewage plant., California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$8,800,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apjac International, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 96 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kolp (Severn Darden) is the only villain other than Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) to appear in more than one film in the series.

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Goofs

During the final battle scene, a pyrotechnic charge and the cable leading to it are clearly visible at the bottom of the screen (at around 14 mins). The holes in which other pyrotechnics charges are buried are visible before they explode.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: North America, 2670 A.D.
The Lawgiver: In the beginning God created beast and man so that both might live in friendship and share dominion over a world of peace. But in the fullness of time evil men betrayed God's trust and in disobedience to His holy word waged bloody wars, not only against their own kind, but against the apes, whom they reduced to slavery. Then God in his wrath sent the world a saviour, miraculously born of two apes who descended on Earth from Earth's own future and man was ...

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Crazy Credits

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

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 14 minutes from this film for its 1975 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in Blood and Guts with Scott Ian: Scott Ian Gets His Face Cut in Half by Jerry Constantine (2012)

User Reviews

Just a few words...

There are plenty of reviews that provide synopses here, so I just have a few comments. I recently caught this film on the Sci-Fi Channel for the first time in twenty years, and I thought it was fun. Personally I think the whole series would've been better if NO sequels had been made. Regardless, I noticed something was missing. I distinctly remember a scene in this film, after the ape-mutant war and after the apes and humans agree on equality in their society, that depicted Mendez and the woman of Asian descent in the Forbidden City playing chess. She looks at her watch or a clock and announces that 72 hours have passed and she has not received Kolp's signal. As per Kolp's orders, she is now going to launch the nuclear missile at Ape City. Mendez talks her out of it, telling her that the missile is the Alpha-Omega Bomb and will destroy not just the ape city, but the world. He tells her that Kolp got what he asked for and that they should stay together and guard the bomb in peace and, thus, talks her out of it, while laying the groundwork for the cult of mutant bomb worshippers we see in Beneath. This scene has been cropped out for some reason. It's a shame, as it really helped with the series' continuity. If any of us are alive in 2067, I'm sure the studio will put it back in for the 100th anniversary slip-cased edition they release. Or whenever they think it will be profitable. Whichever comes first.