Memorable, crazy movie

Best movie ever!

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The second greatest film that came out in 1968. The first being Chitty Chitty Bang Bang of course.

"Planet of the Apes" was adapted from a novel by Pierre Boulle, a name I didn't forget ever since I was left speechless by the ending of "The Bridge Over the River Kwai". Speaking of that ending, one can't easily forget the sight of Major Clifton standing alone on the titular river and contemplating the sacrifice of hundreds of lives at the altar of human 'madness'. Madness was the repeated word indeed, almost an arc quote, a motto insisting on men's inclination to destruction and self-destruction. This was perhaps a close-to-perfect ending if it wasn't for the upbeat military fanfare that started playing during the credits, this was an epitaph-like conclusion that didn't call for any music, only silence, or the sound of palm tree leaves shaken by the breeze while we'd play that word in our minds.And as if Franklin J. Shaffner had thought over it, his ending of "Planet of the Apes" also mirrored human's destructive predispositions and madness (the word used is 'maniacs') and Charlton Heston hysterical (and not histrionic) reaction is even more powerful than Clifton in 'Kwai' because the destroyed landmark is more iconic and rooted in our universal imagery and maybe because no one saw it coming... and maybe the ending is more powerful on a pure cinematic level, because this time, there was no score, no music. And considering how iconic Jerry Goldsmith's theme was and quite revolutionary for its time, that it wasn't used for the film's climactic moment is a credit to an inspired directing, aware that audiences in the theater would gasp at the final sight and only the sounds of the waves on the beach would be enough. I'm not spoiling the film but I'm not kidding myself either, I know that 99% of those who'll read this know what I'm talking about, I just find it better left unspoken, keeping a wave of mystery about it. But we all know it's the most memorable part of the film and it became a trope codifier, so while they might be a few flaws to spot here and there, they're nothing when everything is only a build up to that moment and how it closes the arc started with Colonel Taylor's opening statement about human nature. At the end, you can't help but feel that you've just watched a very smart and intelligent movie about the decay of humanity and how quickly and easily all the pillars of civilizations we've taken for granted can vanish. Einstein said ""I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones". With that in mind, it's impossible not to see in the abundance of primitiveness featured in the film and the lack of robotic device the most realistic futuristic vision of our world, or the most plausible, with the apes having reached human-like intelligence and speech patterns. And it's fascinating how the film and its counterpart of the same year "2001" converge toward the same idea that humanity might survive but maybe in another place... but the film has also in common with another series featuring apes (who are also present in "2001").The "Planet of the Apes" series is perhaps the most iconic ape-related series after "King Kong" and came from Boulle's regret not to have conceived the iconic monster but I guess it says a lot about the way human treated animals and most especially its distant cousin 'monkey' with both disdain and compassion, not being humbled the slightest by the teachings of Darwin. But while in King Kong, the ape was powerful enough to take his revenge against men before 'Beauty' would kill the 'Beast', in "Planet of the Apes", it's a matter of intelligence, not heart and apes match human qualities and conquer their world using their methods, being as smart and yes, as destructive as human beings.And it's quite humbling to have these cocky, confident and sexy-looking astronauts being reduced to stuffed museum corpses, lobotomized zombies or a domestic animals. Incapable to talk or produce a proper sound, Taylor is forced to act like the animal they think they are desperately trying to win the sympathy of Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and Zira (Kim Hunter), it's funny but in a way that make us root for humans when the roles are reversed, from an animal perspective, while the monkeys represent the "human" side with a theocratic state and a caste society of their own: gorillas as soldiers, chimp as science people and Orangutans as rulers, on the top of them Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans).Zaius is played like a scientist who holds human in the same contempt than Taylor in his first scene, so we can't totally despise him although the narrative needs him as an antagonist to drive Taylor's actions and reveal the good heart of his chimp friends, yet he's villain who has a point to make. On the other hand, Taylor must look like a hero representing our civilization yes he's much aware of his animal status in the "island" and can't ignore Nova, the beautiful primitive girl he needed to repopulate the place, notice that he didn't ask her for her permission. So, the film features creatures who're reduced to their bestiality and or/civilizations in a rather fascinating conflict, there's no much sophistication or costly sci-fi extravaganza, but it serves the film, which is never as great and captivating as when it intelligently confronts us to our own conditions... like in "2001".The film opened a series of sequels but on its own, this is a great classic, a staple of modern cinema, parodied countless and countless times, from "The Simpsons" to Mel Brooks; and one can't just forget its extraordinary ending and the statement it makes about humanity, What can happen and what might happen and by being as destructive as animals, we might destroy our own civilization, when being humans doesn't make you immune to human behavior or when what looked the worse all throughout the picture is revealed to be the lesser of two evils.

This is a sci fi cult classic for a reason. When watching it I was full into the story and couldn't believe that this amazing movie is already 50 years old.Of course it had elements of it's time. For the most part the big overacting of Charlton Heston. Starting with the dramatic scene in the beginning where he comments on the mission and including his ridiculous laugh a bit later when they were exploring the planet they landed on. But this didn't really bother me and seemed to have ended after a while (or maybe I got used to it). From some of the old movies that I saw this seemed to be a normal acting way back in the days.But other than that the movie is perfect. The costumes and settings are so well done. It is not surprising that they got the Oscar for the costumes. They really looked like apes and when I went through the profiles of the actors in it I couldn't believe that it was them. Was a shocker for me that Zira was played by Kim Hunter, Stella from Streetcar Named Desire. The setting was also done really well giving a great atmosphere to the movie. It gives a few philosophical questions to think about when it comes to society. They were very well incorporated into the story. I first felt frustrated how Dr. Zaius can ignore George Taylor's ability to speak but as the movie progressed and especially at the end I could understand his motives.The ending was epic. Even though I didn't see the movie before I already knew how it ends (hard to avoid that spoiler for all my life and having watched the newly made prequels). Yet it was still an amazing scene that gave me goosebumps and lots of thoughts.

Charlton Heston is part of a crew of astronauts who crash land on a planet where monkeys and apes have evolved into the dominant species and humans are the wild, mute creatures living in the wilderness. Written by Rod Serling, legendary host and creator of "The Twilight Zone," the film is fascinating science fiction that works on the surface as straightforward entertainment but also works on a subtextual level, raising questions about evolution, animal cruelty, and humanity's inclination towards war. My only complaints about the film are that the opening scenes in the desert seem to drag on for quite a while and don't serve to forward the story. Also, the films final scenes are rather slow paced and overly talky. SPOILER ALERT! Now I do love the extended scenes of Heston and Nova's surreal horseback ride along the beach before his surprise discovery ("You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"), but it's the scenes preceding this in the archaeological dig site that seemed rather slow, though I do quite enjoy Heston's lecturing of Dr. Zaius ("Doctor, would an ape make a human doll that TALKS?" - although my kids have many talking animal toys, so it's a bit of an invalid argument, though no one can argue the point if Charlton Heston is shouting it at you.). Despite occasional pacing issues, Serling and director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Patton" "Papillon") create a world that becomes increasingly rich and fascinating as the film goes on. An imperfect film, but an undeniable classic, as well as a significant pop culture touchstone.