Planet Of The Apes (The Original)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Runtime: 112 minutes

Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner

Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore

From: 20th Century Fox

It was about time I actually watched all of this famous movie, which does deserve its famous reputation, as I explain below:

Would people believe it when I saw that it wasn't until last night that I saw this movie in full? Whether or not you do, it is true. From now until War for the Planet of the Apes comes out in a little over two weeks, I'll go through the original Apes series... and if I am a masochist, I'll watch the Tim Burton Apes disaster.

I don't want to just presume that everyone knows the general plot, or the most famous line from the movie, or its twist ending. The ending I've known since a kid as it's parodied and talked about often; I can't complain about knowing this beforehand as the movie telegraphs it. Anyhow, Charlton Heston and some other astronauts go travel light-speed on a spaceship in 1973; Einstein's Paradox is used, so them traveling at that speed for 18 months means that while they are only a year and a half older, 2,000 years have passed on Earth. They crash-landed on a mysterious planet that is ruled by talking bipedal apes, and humans are low-intelligence creatures seen as incredibly inferior.

Sure, the movie is kind of ridiculous, it's heavy-handed and also on the silly side. Yet, it's well-made, has a Jerry Goldsmith score that is way trippier than I had ever heard from him, is a parable about various interesting/important topics, is never boring, has some exciting action, and it does have a bleak ending, although I've heard that the sequels have far darker conclusions. I do see why this movie was a big hit at the time and it can still be enjoyed today.

There were some things that made me laugh, and I am not sure if that was the intent. Heston's character of Taylor is a dick in the beginning, but that was by design as it's part of character development for Taylor and how he changes from having to go through this bizarre ordeal. Him falling in love with a hot brunette human native and him dragging her around is wackier, and what an awkward moment he had near the end involving a kiss... but even then, the movie has a lot to say that is still applicable to today-unfortunately for us in 2017, plenty of it is negative comments-and this motion picture is more than just its most iconic moments.