In a magnificent performance, Heston plays what he considers an "existential" character... He is a cynic who hates mankind enough to make him leave the Earth in search of "something better than man."
Heston tries to make sense of this "upside-down" world, and in the process, Pierre Boulle raises such issues as balance of power, racism, the role of government, and evolution... The apes are seen with cameras and guns, but strangely, the sight of a paper airplane shocks them...
Schaffner's ability to focus on the human element in the face of awesome spectacle is one of his greatest assets... He uses dizzying camera effects, very enthusiastic zooming and hand-held cameras at ground level during chases...
"Planet of the Apes" is a magnificent visual experience, from the emerald lake at the beginning to the threatening sea-shore at the end... The desolate landscapes of the Utah and Arizona National Parks, represented into primeval ruins, make an appropriately setting for the first appearance of the talking apes, rounding up humans like animals... The apes themselves remain an astonishing achievement of make-up and performance... John Chambers receives an Academy Award for his art...
The motion picture features one of Heston's strongest, most emotional performances... Heston escapes, fights and yells... He is violently treated, caged, dragged, and hosed with powerful jets of water... He runs barefoot through hills, mountains, plains and an ape city... He is raided by gorillas on foot and on horseback, humiliated by thoughtful chimpanzees and mad ape scientists, pelted by inhabitants of the Planet of the Apes...
The terrific supporting cast is wholly convincing: Maurice Evans in the role of Zaius, the scientist who does not want his race to suffer the fate of the humans; the two friendly chimpanzees named Zira and Cornelius (Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall) are superb...
"Planet of the Apes" also gives us something else:
-Heston and his crewmen have landed on an unknown planet... They hear sounds of galloping horses and guns being fired... But what they see is incredible... Apes on horseback!
"Bright Eyes" does surprise the apes who believe humans aren't capable... With those enraged words ("Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty apes!"), he shakes the entire foundation of ape society and causes the Semians to retreat in shock...
The crucial scene where Taylor has been given a hearing: As he tries to explain to his captors that he's come from another planet in a spaceship, the scene cuts to the monkey tribunal - sitting in the classic "hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil - pose...
When a shaved Taylor kisses Zira in front of Cornelius who is suffering without complaining... An indecisive Zira expresses: "Allright. But you're so damned ugly!"
The ultimate scene: Having finally escaped from his captors with his mate Nova (Linda Harrison), Heston rides along the beach on horseback to the Forbidden Zone, once a paradise... Suddenly he spots something unusual in the distance... He remembers what Zaius told him, "You may not like what you find!" What he can see was not a rock but salt-stained metal... As he draws closer, the camera slowly draws back and up to reveal what must come as a terrible shock...
Backed by a magnificent and unusual Jerry Goldsmith musical score, "Planet of the Apes" is a stylish and thoughtful science fiction film, which starts and finishes splendidly... It is a superb exercise in fantasy, a fine suspense adventure, an exciting and provocative entertainment...
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