Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Planet of the Apes



A to Z Blogging Challenge: Movie Memories
Blogging about the movies that made an impact on my life


I admit it. I'm ape for Planet of the Apes (1968).

This was another "drive-in" movie that I watched with my family when I was a kid. I was too young to understand the "evolutionary" twist, but all those apes! And Charleton Heston was the coolest astronaut ever.

I vividly remember when the space ship landed and the female astronaut was found dead in the protective sleep shield thingy. She had aged during time travel...a crack in the shield or something. That started off one adventure after another. You hardly had time to catch your breath.

We learn that apes inhabit this strange world as superior beings while man is an uncivilized animal. Taylor (Heston) is captured and studied by scientists, Zira and Cornelius, who learn that he can talk and is far superior in intelligence than other humans. When the senate decide that Taylor is dangerous to their civilization, they want him killed, and Zira and Cornelius help him escape.

The ending was INSANE! The image of the Statue of Liberty on the beach has stayed with me my whole life. Looking back, I really think that this is one of the most dramatic visual cinematic moments in history. Considering the filmmaking techniques available in 1967, this was pretty amazing. Not just the physical image, but the truth it represents. The planet of the apes is Earth. Man destroyed his own world.

19 comments:

Sylvia said...

brrrr that movie really did my head in. That ending! amazing!

Unknown said...

Creepy movie!

Luana Krause said...

Sylvia and Siv: Great sci-fi. It just happened to be on TV the other day so I taped it. Haven't seen it in years.

Rae said...

I enjoyed that movie, too- back in the day. I sometimes wish they'd do a remake with better special FX. I can hardly stand to watch their rubber mouths barely move when they talk! lol

Creepy Query Girl said...

That's a movie that stuck with me too. It was good for back in the day!!

Creepy Query Girl said...

That's a movie that stuck with me too. It was good for back in the day!!

Ella said...

I remember that movie...it was scary and amazing! They did a great job with it, for the time period~ Thanks for the walk down memory, I mean movie lane~

Luana Krause said...

Rae: They actually did a remake in 2001 with Mark Wahlberg. Very dark and not as good as the original, imo. Still had trouble making the apes look realistic.

Luana Krause said...

Katie and Ella: As I study movies, I'm realizing more and more that art imitates life.

Susan Kane said...

I remember this movie vividly. Like you, the Statue of Liberty was a big ending shocker. Great choice for a blog.

Luana Krause said...

Hi, Susan: Thanks for stopping by. Heston was my grandmother's favorite actor.

Anonymous said...

I remember watching this movie as a kid. I remembered nothing about it except that I really liked it. I loved monkeys. It's nice to know what it was about. Thanks for sharing.

Luana Krause said...

Shelley: I remember seeing old movies as a kid and not remembering much about them. If I had time, there are so many I would like to see again.

Talei said...

Loved the Planet of the Apes. It was a ritual to sit in and watch that when I was younger. Great P post! ;-)

Luana Krause said...

Talei: Brings back memories for me, too.

Heather Henry said...

I remember watching this when I was a kid. It was trippy, but I loved it. What a throw back, haha! It definitely brings back a lot of other childhood memories. It's right up there with Close Encounters.

Craig Edwards said...

Now you're talking! And so are the apes! Smart sci-fi always appeals to me - and this is some good smart sci-fi! It's also another movie that has a production story almost as good as the movie's - definitely recommend the making of to fans. I love all five movies - even though they teeter up and down in quality. I used to love Go Ape week on my local TV channels every year or two - all five Apes flicks airing M-F in the same time slot! Priceless! Glad you monkeyed around with this post! It's all that and a bag of chimps!

Luana Krause said...

Heather: There's just something about this movie that draws you in. After this I became a huge Roddy MacDowell fan.

Luana Krause said...

Craig: I'm going bananas over your ape puns. LOL.