Planet of the Apes

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Summary: one of the best all-time classic science fiction films
Review: A must see for all science fiction and animal lovers. Heston and McDowell are marvelous! Really makes you ponder the inhumanity of humanity!

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Summary: Literally, the Sci-Fi of all Sci-Fi's. A must see!
Review: Every other Sci-Fi has taken something from this gem. For example: movies like Terminator, Aliens, just to name a couple biggies... The production value is great. A true classic.

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Summary: How this got past human kind I don't know
Review: Mediocure at best, Planet of the Apes is a depressing spectacle of what Hollywood can produce. Half way through when the scientist apes are trying to explain to the counsel that the human can talk and he came from space and they cover their ears and blah, blah, blah. I was so frustrated and sick that I couldn't take it anymore. And I wasn't sick at poor Charlton Heston's plight mind you, I was just sick of the movie. An oscar for the make-up? Hmmm, too bad their mouths don't move when they talk. You want good planet of the apes, watch the Simpson's Planet of the Apes musical. Don't watch the real thing. I liked the trailer to the movie the best, that way you see the highlights and don't have to sit through. "How long have you been here? Can you talk." "You cut his brain out you savages!" "They blew it up!" The characters are awful, I almost cried when Dr. Zayus came on screen and spewed his load of garbage lines. However, when the first Planet of the Apes is looked at in light of the sequels we see just how good it can be.

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Summary: You Maniacs! You Blew it up! Damn You! Damn you all to hell!
Review: Classic line from this classic sci-fi movie. Heston at his best. Great story, settings, and oscar-winning effects make this a must see for any classic sci-fi fan. The actors are superb!! Sparked a wave of inferior sequels, but this one can't be touched. A lot of relative social commentary. END

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Summary: The Best Science Fiction Movie Ever Made!!!!!!
Review: The Movie starts out were 5 Astronauts are travling in space they land on a mysterious planet run by apes. Mackeup designer Chambers received a special oscar. Starring: Chalton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans and alot more!! Director: Franklin J. Schaffner. END

Rating:
Summary: a brilliant classic
Review: With its excellent performances and tight, smart script written by Rod Serling and Michael Wilson (based on the book by Pierre Boulle), this is a film that stays fresh and interesting even with repeated viewings. Released the same year as "2001: A Space Odyssey", both films are at the top of my "super sci-fi" list, and stack up against the best of what has been released in recent years, which relies more than ever on special effects to tell the story; the effects in "Planet of the Apes" are minimal, and it's the latex make-up that is the marvel, and garnered John Chambers a Special Award at the Oscars for his work, which allows the ape characters full freedom of facial expressions. Oscar nominations went for costume design, and the marvelous score by Jerry Goldsmith.
The cinematography by Leon Shamroy is also fantastic, and I love the aerial descent that starts the film.

Charlton Heston as the astronaut who lands in an "upside down world", and Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall as free thinking scientists are superb, and in smaller roles, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore and James Daly terrific as authority figures in the ape colony.
This film had four sequels, a TV series and a cartoon series, as well as a multitude of merchandise from plastic figurines to bubble gum cards, but the original stays pristine and untarnished by its often silly spin-offs, and is a one-of-a-kind classic.
What this film has, that one can appreciate even when one knows what it is, is that rare thing...a great ending. Very few films leave one with a satisfied feeling at their close, but this one is unique, brilliantly filmed, and like a perfect dessert after a good meal.
Total running time is 112 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: "A planet where apes evolved from men...?"
Review: Grade "A" sci-fi movie. This was Charlton Heston in his prime - before "Midway", "Earthquake", and "Gray Lady Down"... and after the great ones "Ben Hur", "Touch Of Evil", and "Ten Commandments". An Oscar winner for John Chambers' monkey make-up. Along with Heston (Col. George Talyor), Roddy McDowall (Cornelius), Kim Hunter (Zira), Maurice Evans (Zaius), and the mute love interest Linda Harrison (Nova) all give outstanding supporting roles. Released in February 1968, this movie was way ahead of it's time. A great idea with apes ruling the planet that man once ruled... how clever to take an idea so simple and turn it upside down. The final scene (filmed at Zuma Beach, CA) is defined as "classic"... and even tho there is no big bang or special effects extravaganza, the last 5 minutes of this movie will leave you with your mouth agape. With all the hub-bub over the new (2001) Tim Burton "reimagination" of this film (which in my opinion was a huge let down)... I would have thought this particular DVD would've had more to offer in the way of extra goodies... not so. This DVD will give you the 112 minute film in necessary widescreen format, a photo gallery, & trailer(s). No interviews, deleted scenes or behind the scenes simian stuff at all. Too bad. This is a great movie and essential in most any library of classic films.

Rating:
Summary: A fundamental sci fi movie
Review: In the authority chain, you may distinguish the clear diference between the apes too.
One spacial navy suddenly falls in a hole time and it's carried hundred years after. The landing in a unknown planet, carries to these man and it shows them a world ruled by apes who dictate its own rules and have established the official story.
The man is under them in the evolutive chain. The men have lost his speaking capacity and they only make gutural sounds. Their state is something less than pitiful.

George Taylor is wounded in his throat and that's why he can not articulate even a single word.
The dramatic sequences in the same point he pronounces the first word,(Do you remember the miracle worker and the wild child?) creates a true revolution among the ape scientist. This behavior are against the rules. The law is the law.(The island of Dr. Moreau)
And so, Taylor is involved in a constant fight for surviving. His friends can not help him anymore , one is dead and the other suffered a lobotomy.
The dramatic ideas exchange between Taylor and the master science of the ape comunity include hilarious bits and obviously undeniable conflicts between the science and the faith. Forget all you learned about Darwin and please watch the mirror image. All the concepts are reverted and so the anguish and the poor human condition is less than zero.
Finally our hero ¿wins? and he can carry Nova his only possibilitie for sow the next human seed generational, but he will find out the astonishing revelation.
Since its release, this film involved just once more the fever for new concepts and ideas. Fahrenheit 451 (1967) and 2001 was released the same year and the world was in a decisive turning point. The man conquers the moon and the screen must be part of this decisive event.
So the people turns back over Asimov, Bradbury, Boulle, Stanoslav Lem and will read over and will find out new universes, bitter nightmares spacials. In a very close state the fifties had a coommon behavior. The ancient films of sci fi were released, and others were remade.We had to expect four years for Solaris directed by Tarkovski in 1972.
In this sense, you can not forget the political behavior in many countries in that age. There were many dictators all around the world , and the figure of the ape was a clear methapor of them.
Undoubtly, you may be find the film , thirty years after, a little bit aged, but the dramatic implications that a nuclear conflict involves, still feed the imagination of many people.
Charlton Heston was a true icon of rthe anti hero in the fifties (with his religious films) and in the sixties (with historical roles), then he would make another war films but keeping always that undeniable majesty for make prevailing the truth, no matter what's the prize you pay.
Sensational direction of Franklin Schaffner and arresting sequences, like the human chase and the scape from the jail (or the concentration camps) .
Another cult movie and the best of its following entries.

Rating:
Summary: The Movie gets 5 stars anyways...
Review: As for the DVD...I question some of the choices that were made by 20th century fox. For anyone who doesn't know the film, "Planet of the Apes" is based off of the Pierre Boulle novel, also author of the acclaimed The Bridge Over the River Kwai. In the film, Taylor (Charlton Heston), the captain of an expedition crew in deep space, is about to set the ship on a direct course home and put himself into hyper sleep. However, as he goes to sleep, something goes terribly wrong and the space ship crash lands on an unknown world 2000 years in the future "give or take a decade". Now, everything that Taylor believes in is about to get tested as his very search for something "better than man" pits him face to face with a planet of apes that DO consider themselves "better than man".

The film also stars the late Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter as the pair of scientist apes that befriend Taylor and help him discover why apes rule this planet and why this intense hatred for man exists.

When released in 1968, (alongside the release of Kubrick's Sci-fi epic 2001) the film was met with huge success (as well as controversy) due to the political and social commentary apparent in the film. And while the film is nigh on 37 years old, those commentaries are as true today as they were in the 60's and 70's. And what really makes the movie stand the test of time, aside from the wonderful performances include the expert direction of Franklin Shaffner, the unconventional score by Mr. Jerry Goldsmith, and the groundbreaking special effects (which still stand the test of time) by John Chambers.

Now to the DVD: The film is presented in digitally remastered 5.1 audio in 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks rather good. I didn't perceive any color issues or transfer issues the first time I watched it, which is always nice to see. As for the commentaries on the first disk, they are rather useless as commentaries go. Roddy McDowall passed away before this set was released so I assume that his parts of the commentary are recorded from earlier interviews. As for the rest of the voices on that commentary, their insights are few and far between. In essence the track serves more as a 2.0 audio track for the film than a true-blue commentary.

Then there is the "live" (thankfully) music commentary track by Jerry Goldsmith. It gives some insight into the musical choices as well as instrument selections by the acclaimed composer, as well as other small bits of information. On the whole, it's nothing overly amazing. Thankfully, Goldsmiths music speaks for itself.

Finally, there's the text-only commentary by Eric Greene, Author of "Planet of the Apes as American Myth". It's not bad if you're into text commentaries. But at points, it just becomes a nuisance. It makes you wonder why they couldn't have just added another voice commentary that might have actually been worth listening to.

Then we come to disk two...which is chocked full of goodies. The two hour featurette "Behind the Planet of the Apes" - Hosted by the late Roddy McDowall, is a great view into the history of this film and its four lesser sequels. Then there are some also smaller featurettes, including the 1968 original making of. Also included are dailies and outtakes from the original 1968 stock footage (with no audio track) and some of Roddy McDowall's home films shot on 16mm (at least that what I guessed from the camera he was using...it might have been 8mm). Again, these have no audio, but have been filled in with some of the music from the movie. The problem here is that "Behind the Planet of the Apes" has some of this same footage in it, so you're basically seeing the same thing twice.

So, is it worth it to buy this 35th anniversary dvd? By all means yes. This film is a classic by all rights, and it's worth being a part of everyone's DVD collection. And while the commentaries are on the weak side, there's enough here to keep the general DVD enthusiast happy. It really is true what they say...they just don't make films (sci-fi or not) like this anymore.

`Revu

Rating:
Summary: ape
Review: in this one some astronauts are in suspended animation.they come out and go down to some strange planet.charelston heston is in it.whos he?guess that was before my time.the kids will think the apes are funny.i cant tell if its low budget because all those old movies look low budget.it is the best of the set which has many many sequels.it is also better than the tim burton version.the very last scene is very well acted and one of my favorite scenes ever.thee are some chicks about but its hard to tell that they are as sexy as they are through all the grime and dirt from the forest world they live in.its an excellent film.