Planet Of The Apes (Special Edition) [DVD] [1967]

How Planet of The Apes was made in the US is baffling to me, particularly given the fact it was shot in 1968. In a country that elevates the science of evolution to a lower level than the fantasy of a bronze age deity carving man from the rib of Adam, the boldness of this film is simply breathtaking.

Putting aside the basic plot of man returning to Earth to find that primates have evolved, a la Darwin, the other key messaging in the film is that of the role that FAITH plays in the lives of the apes. Put simply (and it is writ LARGE in this film) the FAITH of the apes has some interesting and contemporary parallels. Firstly it stifles the scientific advancement for the Apes, such that the experiments done on man are restricted so that they do not reveal the truth, secondly the possibility of flight is dismissed out of hand as impossible as it runs against the doctrine of FAITH and thirdly the evidence of fossils is ignored and ultimately destroyed to hide the truth (that's lower case `truth'). The FAITH leaders hold the power base, hold Kangaroo courts against dissenters, peddle lies to the masses (albeit their reasons have some foundation) and destroy those that question the reigning FAITH based power status quo (in one case by removing their brains).

There is a poignant image in the Courtroom where, upon being confronted with the hard scientific evidence of the defendants (and reality), one ape judge holds his hands over his ears, one over his mouth and one over his eyes, all of them sitting in a line (speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil)- in this one image you have 2000 years of religion summed up beautifully in a film about talking monkeys.

You can watch this film over and over again as it works on so many different levels and is hugely entertaining- to be honest 2 hours of Linda Harrison is reason alone but does her silence act as a metaphor for the oppression of women or should my `moral compass` be calling for her to be more appropriately dressed?...who knows (only kidding).

Moving onto Beneath The Planet of the Apes the basic theme and underlying story is followed through from the excellent The Planet of The Apes, with the jarring and unwelcome difference that Heston only has a cameo role in this sequel (and a poor one at that). In terms of the theme, undeterred by the fact that it was most likely FAITH that resulted in the nuclear holocaust that wiped out pretty much the entire planet, the surviving humans have turned their worship to the new creator of the their New World , an unexploded atomic bomb. Consistent with all worship they grovel in front of the phallic shaped deity and sing creepy songs to it, without much response, and it's all a bit unnerving given the fact that their chosen `GOD' will eventually explode and kill them all (I have to say that the acting by the bomb as a deity is simply superb - it does absolutely nothing). This bomb story line is in fact probably a clever metaphor for FAITH in the real world today, because to most people, especially in the US, their chosen deity will thankfully return to save them in their life time and destroy the Earth in the process (to save the US from `sins' like gluttony and sloth). So putting FAITH into something (a bomb in this case) that, in time, will destroy all humanity and the entire planet (bar the chosen few who will ascend in RAPTURE in the general direction of Heaven) is entirely consistent with the ghastly situation the World finds itself today as the various FAITH groups square up to each other with mounting levels of Nuclear arsenals. Happy days.

In terms of the film, this is actually a weak pastiche of the iconic The Planet of The Apes but worth watching to enjoy all the underlying themes. For apologists out there it's a film about a bunch of deluded humans irrationally worshipping a bomb, which is a bit silly if you think about it, in a land where the monkeys have taken over, which is also a bit silly when they were created for our enjoyment and not the other way around - and it has a happy ending when the bomb goes off.

I'm still working through the other films but from memory they get cheaper and less didactic...

I'm a seeker, too. But my dreams aren't like yours. I can't help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be.

Planet of the Apes is directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and adapted to screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling from the 1963 Pierre Boulle novel La planete des singes. It stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison. Music is scored by Jerry Goldsmith and Leon Shamroy is the cinematographer.

3978 A.D. and a spaceship and its crew crash down on a distant planet. Three astronauts survive the crash, they appear to be on a planet not unlike their own, Earth. But soon they come to learn that this planet is ruled by intelligent apes, the human being is the lesser species, mute and of basic intelligence.....

It was a tough sell to studios back in the 1960s, not only was the premise that formed Pierre Boulle's novel a tricky one, but the technical aspects, cost and quality of, also had the men in suits backing away from producer Arthur P. Jacobs and beefcake actor Charlton Heston. Eventually Dick Zanuck over at Fox nervously agreed to make it as long as significant tests ensured that farce would not follow. Stumping up $50,000 for John Chambers to develop the ape make up and masks, and a successful test run acted out by Edward G. Robinson as Dr Zaius opposite Heston, Planet of the Apes was given the green light. The script went through a number of changes as Serling and Wilson tossed around ideas to improve on Boulle's page turner-Heston himself felt that the novel as written was unfilmable-and when director Schaffner came on board, he himself went for a more primitive ape world as opposed to the one under consideration that featured futuristic high rises and super advanced technology. What came out at the end of it all is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time.

What would follow the success of the film is well known, a number of inferior sequels, a TV series, a remake and even a prequel in 2011. Then of course there was the toys, models, comics, cartoons and T shirts; it at times felt in the 70s that there really was a Planet of the Apes, only this one was driven by commerce. The aftermath of the original film has not done it any favours, the lines have become blurred, with so much muck and tack about, it often gets forgotten just how clinically great Schaffner's movie is. If ever there was a film that deserves to be a standalone, this is the one. Follow Heston's brawny Taylor from the pitiful planting of the stars and stripes at the beginning, to that monumental ending, and then leave it at that, do not pass go, do not venture further into any sort of monkey business. No sequel necessary, for Planet of the Apes to truly hit you with maximum impact, it all needs to end right there on that shoreline. As the great Rod Serling intended, in fact.

Thematically the picture is acknowledged as being caustically strong, a sociological allegory, with pinches of racial animus just for flavouring. It might be under the guise of a sci-fi movie, but the makers aren't trying to hide it. Whilst the narrative twitches with comment, whoosh was that an aside to the Scopes trial? Film is also full of visceral thrills, pop-culture references and unnerving (alienation like) photographic beauty. The former comes with the hunt sequence, where we first meet gorilla's on horses, with guns and attitude, the latter with Shamroy's Panavision/De Luxe colour lensing of the California and Arizona locations. All enhanced by Goldsmith's aural pinging percussive led score. And while we continue to remember some of those famous bits of dialogue, we also pick up on each revisit to the film those little slices of humour slotted into the story; human see, human do, indeed.

Film of course hinges on Heston's central human performance, of which he delivers athletic guts and subtle nuances in equal measure. Taylor's character arc demands repeat viewings to fully appreciate what Heston brings to the role. Take in the cynical Taylor who wanders through the Forbidden Zone in the first quarter, then marry it up to the Taylor fighting for his life in the middle, and finally to the Taylor at the denouement, it's a three pronged acting turn of some undervalued distinction. Not all muscular "presence" actors are/were able to be credible, Heston was. Around him in the monkey suits are true professionals, Hunter, McDowall, Evans (coming in for Robinson who feared for is health in the suit) and Whitmore, while Harrison in the non speaking human role of Nova does her job of looking gorgeous! All that's left to say is that Schaffner, who would win the Academy Award for Best Director two years later for Patton, pulls it all together neatly. 10/10

Don't be put off by Burton's dire 're-imagining' - this is a top quality film. It's worth buying for the crash sequence and the shots of the stranded ship in the lake alone - stunning.

Charlton Heston hams it all up superbly, and the film as a whole just succeeds on so many levels. The melodramatic scripting adds to the experience if you don't take it too seriously, and the whole thing adds up to a fantastic film, which is superior to any of the sequels and remakes, although it is rather overshadowed by the glorious Simpsons musical version, 'Stop the Planet of the Apes, I want to get off!'.

Unfortunately the DVD has virtually no extras, but the beautiful widescreen print is so worth your money.