The Lowdown on the Planet of the Apes Movies

When I heard they were rebooting the Planet of the Apes franchise again, I had low expectations.  What was left to do with the concept?  However, against all odds, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is getting strong reviews.  (I’ll resist the urge to say they finally made a monkey out of me.)  So, hey, why not celebrate by looking back at the long-running franchise!


Growing up in the 70’s, there was Apes merchandise everywhere.  Pre-Star Wars, it was the biggest thing going.  I first encountered the Planet of the Apes through the short-lived TV series which starred Roddy Mc Dowall who is more or less synonymous with the franchise.  As a kid, I enjoyed the show because of its action/adventure elements.  But I’m pretty sure it was the same formula every week.  Astronauts get captured by apes.  Astronauts escape with Roddy McDowall’s help.
 
In the post Star Wars 70’s, the Apes didn’t seem as relevant.  I was young when the TV show was on and never really gave the franchise a second thought.  I was aware of it.  And every now and then I’d catch a bit of one of the movies on TV.  But I don’t think I ever really sat down and watched one from start to finish until I was in middle school.
As a middle schooler, the 1968 Planet of the Apes blew my mind!  It was awesome.  I was in a heavy Twilight Zone period at the time.  I watched every single episode whenever I could.  The original Planet of the Apes is basically the most expensive Twilight Zone episode ever made.  Which is not surprising considering it was co-written by Rod Serling.
The make-up effects were revolutionary when the film was released in 1968.  Watching Planet of the Apes in the early 80’s, they were still pretty impressive.  But what won me over was the story.  Planet of the Apes works on so many levels.  There are lots of thinly veiled messages about racism and cruelty to animals.  But it’s also a funny satire and a rousing action film.
And then of course there is the ending.  Odds are you know the ending even if you’ve never seen the movie.  It’s been parodied to death and back.  Which is a shame, because it’s a joy to watch the original movie unspoiled.  I doubt many people get to experience that these days.  But I did in spite of having watched the TV show as a kid.
Back in those days, you couldn’t just go out and rent any old thing you wanted.  So I wasn’t able to track down the rest of the franchise.  And once again, I moved on.  I caught bits and pieces of the films on TV.  But I didn’t get to watch them in order until I was in college.

I was surprised how well the original film held up in the 1990’s.  But going into the sequels I had low expectations.  The sequels have a pretty bad reputation.  And there is no doubt that each film is a step down from the one before it.  However, even the worst Apes movie is still pretty good.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) is one crazy sequel!  The first half is essentially a remake of the first film with James Franciscus subbing in for Charleston Heston.  This was done because Heston didn’t really want to run around in a loincloth for an entire movie.  But since the original Apes film had given his career such a boost, he felt obligated to appear in the sequel.
The solution was to have Franciscus track down Heston on a rescue mission.  And once the two astronauts meet, all hell breaks loose.  There are mutated humans with telepathic powers who worship an atomic bomb.  And the end, while not as poetic as the first film, delivers a ballsy punch.  Heston would only agree to the sequel based on the film ending this way.

1971’s Escape From the Planet of the Apes was ingenious in a few ways.  One, Fox found a way to continue the lucrative franchise after what seemed like a pretty final resolution.  Two, they were able to cut costs by basing the film in the modern human world.  And three, they pulled off a clever role reversal in which the apes were at the mercy of the humans.
In Escape, Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter literally escape from the Planet of the Apes only to find themselves trapped in the human world of the 1970’s.  At first, they are treated like celebrities.  But soon they are hunted and feared. 
Once again, the script is very clever with a light touch.  At first, the film has a comedic apes-out-of-water tone.  But by the end, things have turned very dark.  Escape ends with another bombshell though not a literal one like in Beneath.

The franchise started showing its age in 1972’s Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.  They really had nowhere to go but to depict the ape revolution.  This time, McDowall plays the son of Cornelius and Zira and the liberator of apes from human oppression. 
There’s a lot to like about the film which continues the franchise’s tradition of thinly veiled social commentary.  But it lacks the clever wit of the first 3 films.  And the low-budget revolution just falls flat leaving a very unsatisfying final act.  A first in the Apes franchise known for spectacular endings.

The original Apes films ended with 1973’s Battle for the Planet of the Apes.  Most of what made the franchise great is missing here.  But the film does a decent job of bringing the franchise full circle.  It is for die hard fans only, but they will find some redeeming value in the weak final chaper.

The Apes franchise laid dormant for decades.  Fox made several attempts to restart it, but they were unsuccessful until Tim Burton’s “re-imaging” of Planet of the Apes in 2001.  It’s easy to see why Fox had trouble.  The original film was known for its twist ending.  If you repeat the same ending, you’re not going to surprise anyone.  But if you come up with an original ending, how can you top the original?
Tim Burton came on to the troubled project at the 11th hour after much of the pre-production had been completed.  I’m not sure it would have made the film any better if he had been involved from the beginning.  But I don’t think it could have been any worse.  The film was a dud in spite of a stellar supporting cast in ape make-up.
As for the ending, Burton dared an original ending.  I respect his decision to do so, but the ending he came up with was too ridiculous for words.  Yes, it was surprising.  But not in a good way.  Audience reaction was more along the lines of “What the f#ck was that?”
The Burton film was supposed to relaunch the franchise, but didn’t.  Instead, Fox let the Apes films alone for 10 years until now…  But if the reviews are any indication, we may be in store for more Apes in the future.
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Geo
Geo
12 years ago

I feel the same way you do about the 5 originals. #1 is outstanding. #2 is cool. #3 is refreshingly cool. Watching #4 and #5 really felt like chores. I respect them, and would definitely watch all 5 again since it’s been over 20 years since I’ve seen any of them. We’ve already agreed that Burton should steer clear of apes. I think he’s great at whimsically strange fantasies, nothing else. For that matter, I really don’t think he should have ever helmed the Batman franchise. I’m as shocked as you are that this new one is getting great reviews.… Read more »

Geo
Geo
12 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Ok, I’ll see it : )
By the way, what happened to LeBlog yesterday? I thought for sure that the Batman Curse had unleashed its final fury under the fierce command of Sean Young : )
(sorry Sean, just kidding around)

Terrence Michael Clay
10 years ago

The CineFiles – The Planet of the Apes Series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KepOTysLYo
Uploaded on Dec 14, 2009
We’re going ape about Planet of the Apes! The crew sit down to discuss the original Planet of the Apes series. We ran out of time, so we couldn’t discuss Tim Burton’s relaunch. We did a little mini review, but we had some technical issues, so we’ll need to re-tape it again in the near future.

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