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 | psychotronic film | ape | 

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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

Official Sites:

Official site

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

Roddy McDowall and Natalie Trundy are the only cast members to appear in four of the five original "Planet of the Apes" movies. McDowall appeared in all except the first sequel, unless you include the flashback at the beginning for which he received an uncredited appearance. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). Natalie Trundy did not appear in the Planet of the Apes (1968), but appeared in all four sequels. 'McDowall also starred in the television series Planet of the Apes (1974).

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Goofs

Caesar's famous "Now, fight like apes!" line is marred by his ape lower-mouth appliance beginning to fall off, revealing his own human mouth inside. The director tried to hide this by blurring those frames of film at the lower end of the screen. What looks like dust on the camera was intentional.

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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 television version adds a few scenes cut from the theatrical release. One scene takes place after Aldo chases teacher Abe, where MacDonald reminds him why humans should not say "no" to an ape. Another scene towards the end of the film has the surviving House of Mendez cult about to set off the doomsday bomb (as seen in "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes"), but decide not to as it would be a threat to the world.

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Connections

Referenced in Animaniacs: Space Probed/Battle for the Planet (1993)

User Reviews

Last and lackluster sequel in which mutant humans battle the simians led by Caesar

Again the Apes along with an underground civilization of mutated human beings living on remains of a nuclear catastrophe . Average and stirring science-fiction movie with a first rate Roddy McDowall and special intervention of John Huston as the Lawgiver who literally disappears in the beginning and re-appears on the ending . This known story is the last and inferior of the primates sequels ; it starts on a culture where simians rule over humans and they are divided in three lineage : gorilla , chimpanzee and orangutan . Humanity has gone awry and Earth has been reduced to a wasteland . Militaristic General Aldo (Claude Akins) wishes humans to be treated as animal of burden and regarded as scum . A couple of chimps formed by the chief Caesar( Roddy McDowall) and his wife Lisa (Natalie Trundy replacing the usual Kim Hunter) think otherwise and even agree a peaceful existence with humans .Caesar is son of Cornelius and Zira from ¨Escape from the planet of apes¨ and was the leader in the ¨Conquest of the Planet of the apes¨ Caesar attempts to ease disputes between apes and men . Meanwhile, an expedition commanded by Caesar , Virgil (Paul Williams) and MacDonald (Austin Stoker ) sets out the forbidden zone where live human mutants ( Seven Darden, France Nuyen among them) who survived a nuclear explosion several years before . The group finds an underground civilization in the ruins of a bomb-blasted city and the battle begins . Meantime , mean gorilla Aldo is itching a coup de état and take over from Caesar and murder every human in sight . At the ending happens a spectacular confrontation between a human army ruled by governor Kolp and the simians commanded by Caesar .

This is an average , lackluster sci-fi flick plenty of metaphysical significance with thoughtful reflexion about origin of human being , racism , atomic danger and nuclear catastrophe , though also packs action, adventures, intrigue and entertainment. The performers , particularly Roddy McDowall, Natalie Trundy and Claude Akins are pretty good , the characters are well drawn and in spite of makeup they are still oddly convincing . In spite of time and being mostly a mediocre follow-up of the former stories , some moments of energy remain and turns out to be a B movie full of action, battles and suspense . Writing credits by habitual Paul Dehn from Pierre Boulle novel , however his screenplay is not just clever and was cut , eliminating the violent scenes and obligated to happy end . Acceptable production design with passable sets and great visual effects by means of matte paintings reflecting the ruined city inhabited by mutant survivors . One of the important attributes of this work, is the magnificent and luminous cinematography by Richard H. Kline . Phenomenal make-up by John Chambers, a first-rate expert, such as proved in 'Blade runner, Ssss, Island of Dr Moreau' among others . Sensational musical score by a top-notch Leonard Rosenman though imitating sounds from the great Jerry Goldsmith .The picture is lack budgeted by usual Arthur P. Jacobs , producer of whole saga, in his last film because he suffered a stroke . It's regularly directed by J. Lee Thompson , using sometimes a nice visual sense. It's followed by a short-lived TV series, again with Roddy McDowall .