George Taylor
Two enormous SF movies came out in 1968. This is the superior of the two. Planet of Apes spawned franchises, toys, model kits and basically was the blue print for the Star Wars juggernaut that came around a decade later. A brilliant movie with one of the greatest endings ever, it simply has withstood the test of time. The entire cast is as near perfect as a cast can be. This film allows one to suspend their disbelief - for instance why isn't Taylor shocked that the apes speak English? Doesn't matter. Maybe he's in shock. Who cares? What matters is that this movie works on EVERY SINGLE level. With an absolutely superb screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling (who lifts the death of Stewart from his own Twilight Zone Episode, The Solid Gold Caper) and one of the greatest shock endings (parodied often) in cinema history, this was a classic from it's first screening and it's a classic today. I never get tired of watching this. EVER.
Tweetienator
This is the real Planet of the Apes - superior to the reboot in any sense and in any aspect - better acting, better story, better everything, I even like the ape-masks more (they look far more real) then this crap CGI-Apes of the new ones.Charlton Heston plays the lead role in three classics of sci-fi: Soylent Green, The Omega Man, and Planet of the Apes. Like Ben Hur these movies are top notch for their time and even still after all the time for the genre of sci-fi.Watch this one and the sequels (they are not with Heston and can't keep up with the level of the 1st movie but are still good) and skip the video games Hollywood tries to sell us as "movies".
ComedyFan2010
This is a sci fi cult classic for a reason. When watching it I was full into the story and couldn't believe that this amazing movie is already 50 years old.Of course it had elements of it's time. For the most part the big overacting of Charlton Heston. Starting with the dramatic scene in the beginning where he comments on the mission and including his ridiculous laugh a bit later when they were exploring the planet they landed on. But this didn't really bother me and seemed to have ended after a while (or maybe I got used to it). From some of the old movies that I saw this seemed to be a normal acting way back in the days.But other than that the movie is perfect. The costumes and settings are so well done. It is not surprising that they got the Oscar for the costumes. They really looked like apes and when I went through the profiles of the actors in it I couldn't believe that it was them. Was a shocker for me that Zira was played by Kim Hunter, Stella from Streetcar Named Desire. The setting was also done really well giving a great atmosphere to the movie. It gives a few philosophical questions to think about when it comes to society. They were very well incorporated into the story. I first felt frustrated how Dr. Zaius can ignore George Taylor's ability to speak but as the movie progressed and especially at the end I could understand his motives.The ending was epic. Even though I didn't see the movie before I already knew how it ends (hard to avoid that spoiler for all my life and having watched the newly made prequels). Yet it was still an amazing scene that gave me goosebumps and lots of thoughts.
a_chinn
Charlton Heston is part of a crew of astronauts who crash land on a planet where monkeys and apes have evolved into the dominant species and humans are the wild, mute creatures living in the wilderness. Written by Rod Serling, legendary host and creator of "The Twilight Zone," the film is fascinating science fiction that works on the surface as straightforward entertainment but also works on a subtextual level, raising questions about evolution, animal cruelty, and humanity's inclination towards war. My only complaints about the film are that the opening scenes in the desert seem to drag on for quite a while and don't serve to forward the story. Also, the films final scenes are rather slow paced and overly talky. SPOILER ALERT! Now I do love the extended scenes of Heston and Nova's surreal horseback ride along the beach before his surprise discovery ("You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"), but it's the scenes preceding this in the archaeological dig site that seemed rather slow, though I do quite enjoy Heston's lecturing of Dr. Zaius ("Doctor, would an ape make a human doll that TALKS?" - although my kids have many talking animal toys, so it's a bit of an invalid argument, though no one can argue the point if Charlton Heston is shouting it at you.). Despite occasional pacing issues, Serling and director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Patton" "Papillon") create a world that becomes increasingly rich and fascinating as the film goes on. An imperfect film, but an undeniable classic, as well as a significant pop culture touchstone.
AD
