Charlton Heston in Space; "Does Man...Still Make War against His Brother?" Planet of the Apes (1968)

This is one of my favorite movies ever. I'll never forget at the end of the movie when he realizes that he is back home and that we had blown ourselves up, and then he damned us all to hell. Other than Charlton Heston damning us all to hell, it's a really good movie, and I would recommend it to anyone.

When I first started watching this movie I was thinking, what are the odds of landing on another planet and finding apes that speak English? Because of that I thought the movie was a little bit far fetched until at the end when he found the statue of liberty, then it all made sense.

I think it's kind of cool how he's smoking a cigar in a space ship. I really like how he puts it in his pocket before he goes into deep hibernation, like he's saving it for later, just in case they don't have cigars in the future. Very smart thinking on his part.
jbranstetter04


Plot
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 science fiction/thriller film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner loosely based on the novel La planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and veteran Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans. The film was ground-breaking for its make-up techniques by artist John Chambers. The script was originally written by Rod Serling but had many rewrites before eventually being made. Changes included character names and a more primitive ape society, instead of the more expensive idea of having futuristic buildings and advanced technology.
The film was well received by critics and audiences, launching a film franchise,[4] including four sequels, as well as a short lived television show, animated series, comic books, various merchandising, and eventually a remake in 2001. McDowall had a long-running relationship with the Apes series, appearing in the original series of five films (one only via stock footage from an earlier film), and also in the television series.
Astronauts Taylor, Landon, and Dodge are in deep hibernation when their spaceship (non-canonically known as Icarus) crash-lands in a lake on an unknown planet in 3978 after a 2006-year voyage at near-light speed (the crew ages only 18 months due to time dilation). The astronauts awaken to find that their fourth companion and only female, Stewart, has died in space due to an air leak and that their ship is sinking. They use an inflatable raft to reach shore. Once there, Dodge performs a soil test and pronounces the soil incapable of sustaining life. Taylor suggests they are on a planet in the constellation of Orion some 320 light years from Earth but admits he is not sure.
Taylor discovers that the apes, who can talk, are in control and are divided into a strict class system: the gorillas as police, military, and hunters; the orangutans as administrators, politicians and lawyers; and the chimpanzees as intellectuals and scientists. Humans, who cannot talk, are considered feral vermin and are hunted and used for scientific experimentation.
Zira and her fiancé, Cornelius, an archaeologist, take an interest in Taylor because of his lip movements. While Cornelius and Zira are talking to their boss, Dr. Zaius, Taylor writes in the dirt and attempts to call Cornelius and Zira's attention to it, but he becomes frustrated when they do not notice the writing. Zaius sees some letters on the dirt and realizes that Taylor possesses intelligence and hastily erases the letters with his cane. Taylor manages to steal paper and a pencil from Zira and convinces her and Cornelius that he is intelligent.
Production
Shooting began on May 21, 1967, and ended on August 10, 1967. Most of the first scenes in the film were shot at Lake Powell and Glen Canyon located in Utah, as well as locations near Page, Arizona. The scenes of the crew paddling away from their crashed ship were shot on Lake Powell. The ape village was constructed and filmed on the Fox Ranch in Malibu Creek State Park, northwest of Los Angeles. The concluding beach scenes, including the remains of the Statue of Liberty, were shot near Point Dume, at the south end of Zuma Beach in Malibu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_the_Apes_(1968_film)

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[frtw4428]

I've always liked this opening scene - very profound. The questions Heston poses at the end are still relevant: will we ever stop making war with our brothers and not let our neighbors' children starve?

[jbranstetter04]

@frtw4428 It can be said that some will stop making war on others when others stop making war on some. Does that make any sense?

[bus114]

I agree with powergirl. It was a movie with a promising beginning that went downhill from there. And something that really, really never made sense to me was the idea of sending three men and just one woman in a one- way trip to the stars. How do you think that would work out in real life?

[jbranstetter04]

@bus114 These were professional astronauts, not wild monkeys!

[camcome1]

To jbransletter04 Thanks for the comment, true he did have other things on his mind but for aliens from a different planet I just wondered why we should think they should all speak English or for that matter any other language of Earth.

[jbranstetter04]

@camcome1 It's because they listen to us, and then they learn the language because they are so intelligent. Also, the movie would be hard to follow if they didn't speak our language.

[shinshoryuken]

Heston had one hell of a voice.

[DEK33019]

This is my favorite movie. Most of the statements he makes including this intro scene are powerful. It takes a critical thinker to appreciate such a movie. And of course we cant forget the POTA was adapted from the 1963 French novel by Pierre Boulle "La Planète des singes". This movie is a classic and stands the test of time. Not the insulting 2001 remake. Thanks for posting the clip and the commentary.

[SanaOvaisKhan]

gotta love the serling dialogue

[GirlSpiritWolf]

ok i cant belive im telling people his because it is somewhat emmbarasing but for some reason i love films where humans are captured, films where aliens abduct people and treat them like pets (in a good way), can someone tell me why im like it? im 13 and ive liked this sorta stuff since i was about 6!!!! plz tell me if ur like it to it would make me feel so much better!!!! also just to add, i also dont know why i feel this way or why i feel embbarased about it. thx

Grace

[cutis1000]

The opening monologue was written by Rod Serling. It's no wonder it packs so much power.

[GalenMarek20101]

Rupert Wyatt: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

[jamesjeffery49]

Great movie... So much better than the new copy

[southport97]

@SouthBayRick Yeah, the first movie is a series is usually the best. The law of diminishing returns applies.