Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray] starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore
Enthralling And Amazing !
Many early science fiction films are now, quite inadvertently (and in most cases undeservedly), objects of camp attention: we laugh at the silly makeup, tin-can special effects, and the naive high-tech dialogue. Planet of the Apes is no such film. Its intelligent script, frightening costuming, and savagely effective conclusion (which needs no big-budget special effects to augment its impact) remain both potent and relevant. When Colonel George Taylor (the fabulous Charlton Heston) crash lands his spacecraft on what seems to be an unfamiliar planet, he is captured and held prisoner by a dominant race of hyperrational, articulate apes. However, the ape community is riven with internal dissention, centered in no small part on its policy toward humans, who, on this planet, are treated as mindless
animals. Befriended and ultimately assisted by the more liberal simians, Taylor escapes--only to find a more terrifying obstacle confronting his return home. Heavy-handed object lessons abound--the ubiquity of generational warfare, the inflexibility of dogma, the cruelty of prejudice-and the didactic fingerprints of Rod Serling are very much in evidence here. But director Franklin Schaffner has a dark, pop-apocalyptic sci-fi vision all his own, and time has not dulled the monumental emotional impact of the films climactic payoff shot. If you dont know what Im talking about here, you owe it to yourself to check out this stone classic, and even if you do, see it with fresh eyes; and dont be surprised if you get the chills all over again... and again... and again. --Miles Bethany
Personal Review: Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray] starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore
If you're going to see this 1968 movie for the first time, as I did only a few weeks ago, you're in for a treat. I can see why it has, despite its occassional camp and references to '60s youth radicalism, withstood the test of time. It has all the elements of a great movie: astonishing performances that shine through the ape masks and costumes; superb cinematography that makes effective use of the widescreen (if you can, watch it on a large projector screen); thought-provoking screenplay which deals with man's place in the great scheme of things; and an ending that inspires awe with its visual beauty and apocalyptic portentousness. This ending has seared itself into my memory, and is the most startling conclusion I've ever encountered on film (even including The Sixth Sense and Don't Look Now).
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