ElMaruecan82
"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.
Miguel Neto
Planet of the Apes is one of the greatest classics in science fiction, a film that had a release close to another classic of the 2001 fiction of the master Stanley Kubrick, Planet of the Apes has a somewhat confusing storyline, since it uses time travel and etc. , The film impresses by your makeup, today you will find it bad, but at the time it was released it was something impressive, the monkeys were very well done, the cast is very well, has that at that time was at its peak Charlton Heston which is made The Twilight Saga: New Moon Plot Twist: The Twilight Saga: The Twilight Saga: New Moon Plot Twist: The Twilight Saga: The Twilight Saga: New Moon Great turnaround, has a good cast, has some problems in the script, but it is still a great movie. Note 8.7
