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I was almost afraid to watch this classic after my agonizing experience with its remake (see my review). But I was pleasantly surprised –- even shocked –- when I finally got up the courage to see it. I soon discovered that the only thing the two movies had in common was, well, a planet full of apes.
Planet of the Apes stars Charleton Heston as George Taylor. Frustrated by man’s inhumanity, he agrees to leave Earth and, along with his fellow crewmembers, is sent light years into space –- and two thousand years into the future. Awakened from a long sleep, they discover that they’ve crashed into a large body of water, so they escape from the ship and head for land to search for any sign of life. The humans they find on the planet are mute and animal-like -- and under the constant attack of intelligent apes.
Taylor is captured by the apes and is discovered by Zira (Kim Hunter), a scientist who immediately takes an interest in him. Though he’s been injured and can’t speak, he tries to communicate with Zira -- and finally does so in writing. Zira and her fiancé, Cornelius (Roddy McDowall), see Taylor and his intelligence as a “missing link” in their unpopular theory that apes had evolved from man. The theory angers Dr. Zaius, the planet’s head of science and religion, who forces the heretics and their miraculous human to flee into the “forbidden zone,” where Cornelius, an archeologist, had once gone in search of proof for his theory.
The original Planet of the Apes is a work of art. It has a message -- one that even makes sense. And the cinematography is outstanding for something made in 1968. Despite the occasional snicker at the 60s’ view of science -- and despite the fact that I was somewhat annoyed by Charlton Heston’s clenched-jawed overacting -- I loved this movie. And I’ve added it (and not the remake) to my list of DVDs to buy.
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