Planet of the Apes -1968

[kennermike]

I had not watched this in years since VHS man I forgot how great this film is Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell and the rest were brilliant Jerry Goldsmith score beyond words and John Chambers Makeup effects wow! true filmaking just started me thinking what the hell was Fox on when they greenlite Tim Burton for his reamagined version I like Tim but doing Fantasy work not Science Fiction he was the wrong person to direct this kind of film no wonder it was a train wreck at box office in 2001

[wolfie]

I love the original but i like the Burton movie aswell.

[D!n0-M@n]

Yes the two films from '68 and '01 were completely different, but it was because of the success of that first film that made the money-hungry execs at Fox want to go and have that mediocre film made in 2001 I guess hoping to strike gold again. And then to just blaspheme by giving it the same name as the first and best of the Apes films! There is NO contest in comparison of these two films. 1968 was the best year for apes! I actually prefer the ENTIRE ORIGINAL series of Apes films over the newer one from 2001 hands down.

That brings me to a question somewhat related... why do they "re-make" movies that were fantastic in the first place?! I think they should leave the well-made, amazing, truly classic films ALONE and NOT "re-make" them. I mean, why re-make a perfectly awesome film? What's next? A re-make of "Gone With the Wind"?! "The Wizard of Oz"?!! "2001"?!!!
I think they should "re-make" all of the crappy movies out there and MAKE THEM GREAT. There's plenty to chose from!
Just my opinion. Thanks for letting me rant.

[Nostalgiabuff]

The original is one of my all time favorite movies. I did like the remake but as a stand alone movie in it's own right and I do not consider it part of the Apes series.

[Mikey]

The original was a classic and is always the best.
The first sequel was "ok" but nowhere near as good as the first.
The third, fourth and fifth movies seemed like TV movie of the weeks -- very poor quality.

[garagesale]

I'm a huge fan of POTA, Beneath, and Conquest. I'm a little aloof to Escape, and Battle disappointed me a bit, as did the TV series.

I'm actually a big fan of the animated series.

JamesD

[wolfie]

I like the Original and Escape the most. I think the Burton film is better than the other 3 films.

[david_b]

Despite it's primarily focus on being a 'chase' show, the live action television series was always Roddy's favorite out of all the Apes projects. I liked it more than any of the sequel movies..

The original movie was an entertaining milestone on many levels..!

david_b

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I showed my 11 year old nephew the old one then the new one back to back, and he thought the old one was much better...that says a lot to me in these technology oriented times.

[Mikey]

The Planet of the Apes movie series was an odd lot.
It's like they didn't know which direction to go so they went off in all directions.

Planet of the Apes was pure modern (at the time) Sci Fi

Beneath was too.

Escape seemed made for kids but had adult situations -- a weird combo that really didn't work, imo

Conquest was dark and I still can't believe that movie got made ... The claustriphobic feel, adult themes including torture -- and the ending really still has me scratching my head as to "what were they (the studio) thinking ?"

Battle was similiar to Escape ... It seemed ment for kids but had adult themes (the child dying at the end)...

Today, we can look back on these movies with fond nostalgia and go easy on them ... But at the time a lot of bad decissions were made in the franchise that totally trashed it before it's time.

[wolfie]

The original cut of Conquest was, so i have heard, really good and possibly the best film of the series until the studio got hold of it and cut it to pieces to get a family rating. As far as i know no print of the original cut exists.

[Gorn Captain]

Let's face it, movies like the first POTA are so original, and timeless, why would you possibly remake it?
Don't mess with perfection. I rewatched the first one last month, and I still get a buzz from that first scene showing the gorilla soldier on horseback. Wow! It still kicks!

I liked part II, but the lower budget let it down a bit. Low-cost ape masks, poor effects (especially in the subway scenes). I liked Franciscus as the new lead, he did well.

Part III had some great social comment, mostly about how we treat animals or anyone that's different. Again, they didn't shy away from letting the film end on a down note. Gutsy. But someone still has to explain to me how Cornelius and Zira suddenly found a functional space ship and suits, knew how to pilot it, go back in time,...
Needed some suspension of disbelief for that part...

I loved Conquest. A very social and political film, about human/simian rights, slavery, modern society. It's still an exciting movie to watch, but I loved the underlying messages.

"Battle" was pretty poor, due to an even smaller budget (will studios never learn?), and the need to "make a family picture". It was pretty weak on storyline, and the "big battle" at the end had about two horses and a truck. Not impressive.

If you have the DVD box, the documentary is fantastic, two hours of interesting, intelligent info. Great stuff.

And if you don't mind, I'll skip the remake. I don't settle for Pepsi, either....

[kennermike]

you know Conquest is a thinker really dark the whole police state theme ,torture, slavery.I think that was Roddy Mcdowell's best work in the whole series that speech he gave at the end with the orginal apes theme cue and the burning buildings in the background chilling still think of it

[Mikey]

The biggest problem with Conquest imo, was it didn't FEEL like a Planet of the Apes movie.

Conquest was the only POTA's movie I seen new in the theatre back in the day (I still remember seeing it at my local drive-in.
I vividly remember HATING it because it didn't seem like a POTA's movie.

[wolfie]

As i said that was because it was cut to shreds with a lot of plot and everything cut out including a lot of Roddy's speech.

I would love to see the full version but sadly never will.