Planet of the Apes Reviews

(OK) So popular and influential that is a must. But really it has a strong idea (the reversal of evolution from men to apes) and a silly plot. The apes are too stupid. The endig is worth the film...

This film is absolutely wonderful, much better than the uninspired Tim Burton re-imagining(that saddened me as I like Burton, well his early movies anyway). This though is the real deal, much better told in terms of story, and the script is clever and sly. Planet of the Apes certainly looks good, the special effects and cinematography are excellent for their time, and the ape make up is simply marvellous. And of course the twist ending still delights(and shocks). And I think the acting is good, with Charlton Heston appropriately square jawed in one of his more interesting film roles and as the apes Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter really do shine. The direction is engaging and focused as well, and the score is terrific. The film may start a little slow, but that is nothing compared to how pedestrian the whole of the 2001 film was. Overall, simply brilliant. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Numerous classic films that have been canonized more for their historical import than their long-lasting merits. One such example of this phenomenon is Planet of the Apes, one of Charlton Heston’s many jaundiced, deeply cynical science-fiction action-adventure films which try extra hard to work as deep political allegories. Apes fares better than many of those films, but it still suffers from numerous problems that leave it just missing the unimpeachable classic mark.

With numerous sequels, remakes, and a currently popular rebooted franchise in theaters, does one really need to summarize or explain the basic plot of Planet of the Apes? Scientists on a space mission in 1972 crash land on a foreign planet and learn that the year is 3978. Upright talking apes run the planet, humans are enslaved and largely mute creatures reverted down to a feral state, Heston can only look on at the madness and rage against it. The writers use this topsy-turvy world to explore issues of science versus religion, race relations, and man’s confusion over technological progression and destruction.

None of it is particularly subtle, much of it boldly stated and with clunky dialog, cardboard thin characters, and uneven pacing that has the film oscillate between intriguing setups and long passages of awkward doldrums. Far too much of the film is eaten up by these moments in which the human characters stare soulfully into the barren, harsh landscape, or give vaguely meaningful looks to each other while their ape masters coldly treat them like test subjects or decorations. This wouldn’t be a problem if any of the human characters were even remotely interesting, but none of them are. Linda Harrison is nothing but pin-up mute babe material in a fur bikini, while Heston must contort and grimace with wild abandon, demanding answers for this strange world order and its secrets.

Far better are the three main ape characters – kindly Zira (Kim Hunter), sympathetic Cornelius (Roddy McDowell), and villainous Zaius (Maurice Evans). Emoting as best they can through Justin Chambers’s makeup, the three of them make the most lasting impression in the film, the ending image notwithstanding. Chambers makeup is another aspect of the film that gives it greater weight than it might otherwise deserve. To be blunt – it doesn’t hold up as well it should. For the time, this was a big bang, a huge evolutionary leap forward in the art of special effects makeup, but seen today these designs appear clunky, barely mobile, and like they were from the same mold. Facially, despite being different species of apes, none of them appears to be radically different from each other, only when you add in costuming and the voices of the various actors do their personalities come alive.

Yet Hunter, McDowell, and Evans seem to realize that there’s a certain amount of camp to the proceedings and go from there. Evans in particular seems to have great pride and relish in the opportunity to swing wide with his characterization. Hunter was an underrated actress, watch The 7th Victim or her Oscar winning work in A Streetcar Named Desire for proof, who was blacklisted and didn’t get the film opportunities her talents deserved. Here she manages to emote the strongest through the makeup, frequently appearing to be empathetic to Heston’s plight and the most intellectually curious about him. McDowell makes a lasting impact for his peculiar vocal presence alone, combined with his moral conflict over what to do about this strange talking human.

In many instances, Planet of the Apes feels like a two hour long episode of The Twilight Zone, for good and bad. It’s a strong premise, and frequently manages to craft movie magic with its pop culture landmark moments and strong performances, but the script never feels the need to make the characters more compelling or the dialog smoother. Yet none of this matters when we get to the ending scene, a moment so infamous that I’m not even sure there are people out there who don’t know what it is, whether or not they’ve even seen the film. If an ending can make or break a movie, then Apes stuck a difficult landing and got the gold despite its faults in performance up to this moment. I still think the film is a classic, but it’s not a masterpiece.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I used to post full reviews on this site right after seeing movies for the first time, but just found it too damn difficult. I think most will agree that the more times you see a movie, the easier it is to form a concrete opinion. So I've decided to revise my reviews, holding off on full ones until I see the movie multiple times. But, since they say the first impression is very important, I think it's only fitting to still make my initial gut reactions known. So here's my first short "first impressions" review.

So yesterday I finally got round to seeing the original Planet of the Apes – but I didn't comment on it right away because, as yet, I wasn't thinking straight. But suffice to say, for me, the movie definitely lived up to its hype! :)
For one thing, it's a much darker movie than I was expecting! Not only are the humans in this world brutally oppressed, but what happens to Charlton Heston's comrades is actually really shocking.
But on top of that, the humans being in the reverse position of the apes, in terms of the contrast it creates, is a hilariously brilliant idea. But it also makes for a fantastic parallel of the big religion-versus-evolution argument. The movie doesn't come out and preach all that social and theological satire, though: it all blends right into the story.
The ape makeup effects are stunning, even if the lips don't always sync up properly and you can tell that the makeup is impeding the actors' speech.
I love the music – anything by Jerry Goldsmith, I think is gold.
And the ending, even though it's since been flat-out spoiled because that iconic image is now on every poster for the movie, is still a great twist.
So, on the whole, I think this is one of many movies whose reputation precedes it. Planet of the Apes is a great movie.

My rating: 95%

Last year, I have watched all the Star Trek movies and, this year, I have decided to do the same thing with the Planet of the Apes franchise. I’m pretty sure I saw this flick when I was a kid but it was definitely a very long time ago and I had forgotten most of it. What a grand Science-Fiction tale! I actually had a hard time convincing Nick, my step-son, to watch it with me but within 5 minutes, he was completely hooked which is always a good sign. Indeed, I thought it was much better than I remembered. First of all, I really enjoyed how they took their time at the beginning for the viewers and the characters to get acquainted with this strange world. Eventually, after waiting for 30 minutes, you finally see those apes and it was basically a huge slap in my face. In my memories, I thought they looked really cheesy but I was wrong, they looked just awesome. The way they managed to allow the simian characters to have some specific facial characteristics and being able to show their emotions was just mind-blowing. Especially considering that the make-up is now already 45 years old! Furthermore, when the apes show up, it was like a nightmare (‘Where did I land?!? Is it real?’). They further developped some very interesting idea about the future, science-fiction in general, parallel realities and many other things. The only major flaw in my opinion was how clueless Taylor actually is. I mean, how many clues does he actually need ? I mean, the vegetation, the horses, the language, the alphabet and many other things in this planet are exactly the same as on Earth but, still, he doesn’t get it. Anyway, with the ending, it then completely made sense. And what an ending! Definitely one of the famous ever put on the silver screen and it was indeed downright awesome and shattering. To conclude, it is a indeed a classic, a very good SF flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Arguably one of the finest movies ever made, Planet of the Apes is also a legendary achievement in the history of Hollywood. I have nothing but praise for this film. This was the film that introduced me to Charlton Heston and the director Franklin J. Schaffner, whose another film, Patton, I also thoroughly enjoyed. Look, this was made before the high rise of technology and decades before CGI was born, so everything not only looks brilliant, but chillingly authentic. So real you can reach out and touch it. Such was the power of John Chambers who was the head of the monkey / ape / chimpanzee design. They look, feel and eat like real monkeys. Now that is something that the Hollywood of the now cannot re-create with CGI. Oh, and then there's the music by Jerry Goldsmith. Spine-chilling, hair-raising and bone-rattling, the music is the scariest element of the movie. This had to be the only time I ever feared the arrival of the music in the scene.
Look, PotA is one of those movies that everyone sees and everyone likes to remember, so I suggest you become one of them as quickly as you can. If someone says that this film is one of their personal favourites, it's not hard to see why. I'm one of those people. Not only it is a brlliantly executed film, it also shows us how awesome and memorable a film can get. PotA will forever remain in my top 10 and no, the sequels and remakes just don't compare to this original. The Tim Burton's remake is one of the worst movies I've seen and subsequently, his worst directed flick so far. The monkeys looked like very ugly caricatures and not realistic enough. Thank you and sorry, but I will stick to this film.

Now, the devilishly handsome Charlton Heston was one of the finest actors of yesteryear's cinema and his role as Taylor was one of his best. Granted, it was far from perfect but he was the perfect man for the job. From his eulogies to his laugh to his anger, Heston captured the emotions greatly. Even though he wasn't as believable in his role as, let's say, he was in Ben-Hur or Touch of Evil, he still managed to make it human and convincing, a man on the verge of becoming a monster. Abhuman, in a sort of a way. From the supporting, Kim Hunter had my undivided attention from the very start to her last dialogue. She plays Dr. Zira, the likable female ape, one of my favourite characters. Not nearly, not almost, but all "non-human" actors were simply the tops. Their little twitches, hand movements, facial movements (which they were told to constantly keep moving them for a realistic effect) is something that I thoroughly enjoyed. Never in my life have I ever had fun watching apes!

So, if you are a newbie or an oldie, Planet of the Apes is the one film I would urge you to watch. You have my permission!

9.0/10

I love this movie. The original, and first movie of a pretty decent series of movies, is great to watch, and re-watch, time and time again. There is a great moment during the deposition/trial scene, where the 3 apes sitting behind the desk are basically doing the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"...and it lasts a bit. I just noticed this for the first time watching the movie today, for about my 15th time seeing it. Always something new to discover.

It's a great film, a classic one, to watch (yes the re-make is more current and has better effects), a good story of discrimination, experimentation, close-mindedness, religion dominating over scientific fact.

This is an absolutely brilliant sci fi classic! Planet Of The Apes was released in the same year as 2001: A Space Odyssey and together they have become two of the greatest films of it's genre. Personally, I prefer Planet Of The Apes but I still really like 2001: A Space Odyssey. I find most science fiction films have very effective and shocking endings and twists. Planet Of The Apes has one of those things. I loved it first time and still love it after a rewatch. There is one thing that I do have a problem with in this film and that is that it takes far too long to get into what's going on within the film. It took 33 minutes until Taylor ended up in the apes' hands. Planet Of The Apes has absolutely outstanding make-up especially on the apes. It is a very extraordinary film that does make sense and does feel very realistic when you watch it. I thought that there is one way where Planet Of The Apes might not a science fiction film and that is because the Earth was once ruled by apes millions of years ago. However, where it is science fiction is obviously where apes had their own costumes and cages whereas in the old history of the Earth, they had none of that.


Charlton Heston is most famous for his Oscar winning performance in Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments but I remember him better for Planet Of The Apes. His performance as George Taylor was far better than his performance in both of those other films because I believe he showed real power, force and reality towards the character. Taylor is an astronaut who is in deep hibernation with fellow astronauts Landon, Stewart and Dodge while their spaceship lands on an unknown planet. This unknown planet is ruled by apes and is set in the year 3978. Kim Hunter was awesome as Zira. Just like all of the actors behind the ape costumes and make-up, you can't tell that it's that person but the voice you can. I could tell it was Kim Hunter as Zira because I have watched A Streetcar Named Desire numerous times and can recognize her voice.


Franklin J. Schaffner is a really good director who has done some amazing classics! This is his most famous one in my opinion. He directed Papillon and Patton. This feels like a sci fi epic when watching this film. Planet Of The Apes is a film that took a lot of work because of the date of when it was made. Nowadays, it is quite easy for filmmakers to make science fiction films but back then it was really hard. It had three months of filming which I would have predicted at least 1 year of filming just like I was predicting with 2001: A Space Odyssey. I have never read the novel but I have heard from some people I've met that it is a good book but the film is better.


Planet Of The Apes is a classic science fiction film that is absolutely brilliant yet quite slow. It is the best sci fi film of the 1960s ahead of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This film has one of the most shocking and most powerful film twists ever! Planet Of The Apes is Charlton Heston's best film in my opinion even ahead of Ben-Hur. Planet Of The Apes is quite a dark film is some ways but is quite good for anybody because it is hardly a violent film. Love this film and is just too good to despise.