Remembering 'Planet Of The Apes ' ( 1968 )

The television series was a slightly different animal, but I thought it was well done. Roddy McDowall and Mark Lenard did a great job. And, I just remembered there was a Saturday morning cartoon as well that I used to watch.
I think I like the original film and the TV series the best; I have both on disc. I didn't enjoy the follow up movies as much and didn't bother with the remakes.

 

It's one of those great movies that I loved to watched when I was first allowed to stay up late when I was young.I've watched it & the sequels countless times since & I'll watch them again.

 

A stone-cold classic! Love it then, love it now.

I made my kids watch the whole movie series a few years back and they loved 'em too.

Although, Conquest may have been a tad too intense for my 11-year-old daughter.

 

I first became aware of POTA through the 1970s tv series, which I remember loving at the time. I became obsessed with the character of Urko (played by Mark Leonard) and so was disappointed when I later saw the film and discovered he wasn’t in it!

The impact of that final scene must have been mind-blowing in 1968 - the year when humankind seemed closest to wrecking its own planet.

I loved the smug complacency of the human astronauts when they arrive on the planet - ‘We’ll be running this place by the end of the week’, etc.

 

There is a basic flaw in the movie though...
How did the astronauts not realize however improbable it was that they were on Earth? The sun is our sun , the moon is our moon.

 

I always thought how the apes just happened to speak English might have tipped Taylor off. But artistic license is just that.

 

That's it. I cracked and ordered the 6 DVD box set last night!

 

Mego Corporation released 3 different gorillas back then...

There was the generic "Soldier Ape" which was released with their line associated with the first film (which sounds like it may have been the one you own(ed)...

They also released Urko and Ursus in their TV series line. Ursus being a bit of an odd choice, since there was never an ape named Ursus in the TV series. My guess is that Mego already licensed the name, so they released him with the TV figures, but that's purely a guess.

 

Heston is on record about that, saying words to the effect of "English is the language of film".

 

They covered their butts with the moon and stars by having the night sky cloud covered.

 

Does anyone remember the 1970's astronaut action figure that came with the blue jumpsuit and the pale gold helmet with flip down eye visor?
I don't think it was a very popular toy in Australia or in vogue for too long but iam interested to hear if it was a big hit stateside?

 

The generic "Astronaut" figure went over pretty well here in the US, as did all of the POTA figures from Mego Corp.

PS: The "Astonaut" had a dull silver helmet, not gold.

 

The "Return to the Planet of the Apes" animated series was released on DVD if you're interested... It was available as a stand-alone release & it was also available with the Caesar bust along with the original five films, the Burton piece of ****, and the 1974 TV series.

 

I’ve always loved this film and I think , today at any rate ,it’s my all time favourite ending to a film. Very chilling.
Perfect cinema with spaceships, apes in charge of humans, gorillas on horseback , tension, drama - it had/has everything.

 

I used to watch that. Didn't the apes refer to their community as "Apedom"?

 

Common sci-fi trope - everyone, everywhere can speak English no matter the planet.

 

The modern day POTA films are ok but don't deliver that same feeling the original did, and still does.

 

The original movie is one of my top 5 favorite films ever. It also has one of the best musical scores ever, and it sparked my interest in movie scores in general. In fact, the score was also a big influence on Danny Elfman!

 

Let's not forget the absolutely brilliant job of marshalling all of the elements that director Franklin J Schaffner did, too.

I have only seen the first sequel, but also really enjoyed it.

 

I've always loved PLANET OF THE APES. I saw it when it first played in downtown Philly as and event and later saw all five films in one day a few years later. It was one of the first movies I "bought" on VHS when VHS was new.

I've owned the film on LaserDisc, and DVD, and now Blu-Ray.

If you ever get a chance, look for an edit of the film made to look as if it were a half-hour episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. It's been on YouTube but is always quickly removed.

 

I’ve been racking my Brain about a line in one of the ape movies, along the lines of “ah , the good old days”. Does anyone know which movie I’m talking about?

 

It sure did


[/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]
A mute beauty.

 

I'd have to review the episodes, but I'm thinking it was just referred to as "Ape City" or something like that, if they had a name for it at all on the animated series... I do know they played with the words "ape" and "simian" enough though.

 

Part 3 of that TWILIGHT ZONE edit remains on YouTube. You can get an idea of how it goes: