[HorrorScience] Planet of the Apes (1968)

When Pierre Boulle wrote his novel entitled The planet of songs In 1963, he probably didn't imagine that it would be the basis for one of the most famous films in the history of cinema, but it was.

In 1968 it premiered Planet of the Apes and it was a huge success, its protagonist (Charlton Heston) and its overwhelming ending remained in the memory of the spectators and They became icons of the science fiction genre.

The success of Planet of the Apes caused a barrage of sequels: Return to the Planet of the Apes (1970) Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) The Rebellion of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Two television series were also filmed, one live-action and the other animated, and comics based on its universe were published.

Due to the fame of this saga, it is not unusual that attempts have been made to bring the apes back to the present on several occasions. First with a remake directed by Tim Burton in 2001 and later with the 2011 film The origin of the planet of the apes.

Astronauts Taylor, Dodge and Landon end their long space journey by landing on an Earth-like planet. The landing is bumpy so the three are miraculously saved but losing almost all of their equipment.

While exploring the mountains, they end up encountering a group of humans who act like savages and soon after they find themselves involved in a hunt, where Humans are the prey and apes are the hunters.. Taylor is hunted like many other humans so he is treated like a savage. However, upon recovering the gift of speech (once his throat injury has healed) Taylor is separated from the rest and placed under surveillance, since he is a unique specimen.

Dr. Cira and the paleontologist Cornelius see in Taylor the answer to many questions they have about the past of the apes, however the famous Dr. Zaius sees a threat to the entire society current and believes that it must be eliminated before it is too late.

The first time I saw this movie it was already quite old and it still surprised me, its story, its special effects (especially the appearance of the apes), its anti-war message and its tremendous ending did not leave me indifferent and made me interested in its sequels, which are quite irregular but do a good job of explaining how the apes took over the planet.

One of the most curious things about this movie is that If you see it again knowing the ending, the perspective on who is good and bad changes a lot.. For example, although I have to admit that I don't really like the character played by Charlton Heston (his pimp and forgiving attitude doesn't seem interesting to me at all) it is very difficult not to take his side. You want him to survive, to rebel, and to beat up Dr. Zaius. However, on a second viewing the character of Dr Zaius becomes much more interesting, he knows what has happened on the planet, he knows the true history of humans and apes and he is only trying to prevent it from being repeated, which he can achieve thanks to his privileged position in the society where he lives. In other words, knowing the whole story, Dr Zaius is closer to being a hero than Taylor himself, since what he seeks is global peace and avoiding a new war like the one that took place on Earth years ago.

The movie has its flaws (How does Taylor not find it strange that the Apes speak his language?) but overall It is a marvel and little can be reproached for it.. Planet of the Apes It is a careful product that has aged quite well and a very important film for the science fiction genre.

Curiosities about the film:

• In the original book, the story takes place on the planet Socor, not on Earth.
• In the book the apes have a different language from the terrestrial one and a more advanced technology than that seen in the film
• The makeup was an expense of 17% of the total of the film, but due to the good result it won an honorary award.
• The apes that cover their faces, eyes and mouth while trying to judge Taylor are an homage to the monkeys at the Toshogu Shinto shrine in Japan. The meaning of apes is “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”