Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

A lot of fun.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Planet of the Apes is a classic science fiction film. The plot involves a crew of astronauts who crash into a planet dominated by a civilized, talking population of ape-men. In this world, humans cannot speak and are treated like animals while the apes live like humans. The astronauts must survive in a world dominated by xenophobia and totalitarianism. The concept of switching roles is explored when the humans are kept in cages and afforded no rights by animals. On one hand, it shows that the less-intelligent species will always be subjugated, therefore showing a duality with the human world and the ape world. On the other hand, the movie casts a positive light on the humans and their struggles, validating their cause of having rights, despite not being the dominating species. This conflict is shown to be inevitable and natural, but that fighting against it is also justified and expected.Despite a few corny lines of dialogue and a few bits of bad acting, Planet of the Apes is still a great movie. The story will keep you engaged while the overall themes provide thought-provoking and intrigued enjoyment. The film is highly recommended for any fan of the science fiction genre.

"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.

The Planet Of The Apes (1968) is an Adventure/Sci-Fi movie starring Charlton Heston as George Taylor. Although the main focus of the movie is science fiction, there are some funny moments and some sweet moments as well. The movie begins with Charlton Heston, an American astronaut, talking in the control room and then later, after the main title sequence, the astronauts awake from their beds. The ship begins flooding and they attempt to signal to Earth to inform them that they have landed. They cannot save the ship so they grab life jackets and abandon it. As they exit, you can gather that they have crashed onto a planet with water and dark red sand mountainous islands. They get their life raft and begin to paddle while their spaceship sinks so they realize they will be unable to get home. At first, it is unknown what planet they are on and what kind of species the planet is inhabited by. As they get to land, they test the environment with some of the equipment they salvaged from the crash. They only have enough food and water for 3 days so they will need to explore the planet and find another way to eat. The acing is great and the landscape is stunning. The movie will leave you wondering and questioning what will happen next. The special effects are excellent for its time. While exploring, lightning which looks realistic is simulated to add to their journey. A heavy boulder almost falls on them as it crashes into pieces and forces them to run around it. It all looks magnificent. You won't believe that the movie was made in 1968. The astronauts find life in the form of a plant and they seek out to find more of it. Eventually, they find a waterfall and bathe in it. Something steals their clothes and equipment. Upon investigation, they realize it is a being that looks similar to humans but appears to be mute and less intelligent than homo sapiens. Their humanness is shown as their first thought is to rule over these less intelligent beings.When the apes appear the first time, very intense orchestra music plays. The human- like beings get scared and immediately begin running for their lives. It is apparent why they ran when the apes, mounted on horses, begin shooting at them. Considering the movie is so old, the apes look pretty decent.. at least as decent as they possibly could at that time. We find out later that the apes are able to speak. This Sci-Fi classic will take you on an adventure as it follow's these astronaut's journey on The Planet Of The Apes. The acting, landscapes, and special effects make this film one of the best films of all time.

Allow me to begin this review by describing a childhood event for you. I was perhaps 10 years old, sitting in an arm chair that was way too big for me. And on the TV screen, was Planet of the Apes. I had not intended to sit down and watch the film in it's entirety, but that was the result all the same. The outcome? 10 year old me was fascinating and intrigued by what she saw. And the film's incredible twist ending, (which I shall not spoil just in case) left a very deep impression upon me and I have never forgotten it since.1968 proved to be an important year for the science fiction genre. In the span of only 12 months, audiences were treated to both 2001: A Space Odyssey and this film. Remarkably, both films feature scenes with realistic ape make-up. Or at the very least, it was realistic for it's time. But let's not compare too much.Younger generations seem to mistaken this film as one of those "campy" sci-fi flicks of the 1960's which have that "so bad it's good" appeal. Rest assured, Planet of the Apes is not one of those films. Rather, it's a deeply thought-provoking and philosophical study on the human race. But what makes this commentary on humanity so different from other sci-fi films is that the film makers chose to explore it through satire. Apes and men are completely reversed. It is the apes who walk around on two legs and capture humans for their amusement and studies while humans are primal and barbaric creatures who cannot speak. Up is down. Backwards is forwards, etc. What the main protagonist, George Taylor describes as "a mad house" is actually quite normal for the ape masses. And it's through such satirical and excellent screen writing that these themes begin to take hold. They are as amusing as they are slightly terrifying.Held under a metaphorical microscope, the aforementioned screenplay is absolutely phenomenal. It's rife with mirthful and stimulating material. I believe it was this quality which had drawn me to the film so easily as a child. It mesmerizes as much as it entertains. However, it also forces us to confront our own wrongdoings. Evoking all sorts of complex questions for us to observe. Is man really so different from animals? Is our first instinct to destroy? Are we actually civil? Or merely pretending to be? You could argue and ponder over such questions all day long, but thankfully the film still provides a good time even without these philosophical musings.As far as performances go, they are also (mostly) excellent. Kim Hunter and Roddy Mcdowall are both able to emote so much through their heavy and intense ape-make up. Every time I watch their scenes, I become more and more impressed. Charleton Heston's best moments emerge when his character is rendered temporarily mute. It has always been my hypothesis that an actor's talent can only be truly tested when he cannot speak, only react. When he does speak, he's simply adequate at best. A very arrogant and ham-fisted performance sometimes gets in the way of what could have been an expertly delivered line of dialogue, but these blunders are far and few between.I consider the original Planet of the Apes to be a definitive sci-fi classic of it's time. And while it is not required to be viewed by anyone who calls themselves a film buff, it is highly recommended that you do. And for good reason.