Planet Of The Apes4 Out Of 5Planet Of The Apes is a sci-fi plot driven feature that depicts a life changing experience of an explorer who has landed on an unknown land and probably among a known species. Despite of having such a wide range on the genre, very few of them gets it right and this is one of them and primary reason to that is the maturity and the ingenious approach towards that concept is what makes it stand alone. It is short on technical aspects like cinematography, production design and editing although is rich in costume design and background score and sound effects. The writing is strong and witty and isn't afraid to visit unexplored places with thought-provoking concept and a sense of urgency that keeps the audience engaged throughout the course of it. The adaptive screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling is gripping and smart as the various steps in an act just falls in fluently without any hesitation. Franklin J. Schaffner; the director, is in his A game and has pulled off one of the best sci-fi fictional feature that is abruptly evergreen in its self-created mythology. It is short on performance but in actors' defense there isn't much range provided for them to factor in, accordingly. Planet Of The Apes is a worth exploring land on terms of the craft that went into creating such a glorifying and adventurous experience that communicates immensely with the audience.

This must have been super thrilling and exciting at the time of release. Even today it still holds pretty well compared to other action adventures. The primate-human reversal is taken a bit too literally, though. Some dialogue intended to be funny is just silly due to this fact. More creativity would have been nice. The music is really overbearing at times, but I suppose it was the norm way back then (well, still is in Steven Spielberg films...). A big bonus is seeing Charlton Heston shirtless for most of the film... Also a brilliant twist ending!

Planet of the Apes is the first and easily the best film of what would unfortunately become a mediocre franchise. But when it comes to the first film, what we are treated to is a strikingly distinctive classic of science fiction, as well as a marvel of creative and intelligent film-making; one that's filled with many wondrous sights and sounds - but by no means is Planet of the Apes a perfection production and it's not without it's flaws. By now most are familiar with the movies plot, which revolves around it's striking, sometimes brutal depiction of a primitive world, that's inhabited by intelligent apes that's dictated by their own strict, often belligerent brand of simian rule. Simply put, the movies basic premise is certainly one that would turn anyone's perception of reality completely on it's head.Starring Charlton Heston in one of his best and most important roles as the main character/space traveler Captain George Taylor (really a name more fitting for a truck driver or a plumber, then an Astronaut), whose in command of a crew of four (counting himself) and of their mission....... well let's just say things don't go as planned and that there are many surprises ahead - a whole movies worth. Planet of the Apes is in many ways a visually stunning film (for it's era), one that's brimming with beautiful location photography of many exotic locales (which is especially true in the beginning and end of the film), which fills your screen with many splendid wonders of the natural world. But even more importantly in creating this fantasy was it's extravagant and ground-breaking use of animalistic make-up and latex prosthetics, which at that point had never before been attempted on such a vast scale. Throughout the film you'll see dozens upon dozens of people, painstakingly fitted out in the image of upright walking "apes" with cloths, these remarkable transformations were achieved through the brilliant wizardry of the make-up department of 21st Century Fox Studio.Another notable contribution to the greatness of this film which cannot go unmentioned, is the phenomenally effective music of Jerry Goldsmith; who for this feature created a thrilling masterpiece of abstract film scoring. To my ears it's a surreal and transportive experience, one that thrusts you into an exotic sound world, filled with unsettling tension and foreboding atmospherics, that are constantly ebbing and flowing in perfect harmony with the movies glorious visuals. Many of the scores more unusual sounds (and there are many) were brought to life by a wide array of obscure instruments, from far-off foreign lands from around the world, such as Africa and India. Nearly every significant moment of the film is underpinned by Goldsmith's masterful music, which rings forth in a broad spectrum of mesmerizing tones and textures. In a highly prolific career that spanned nearly half a century, the music of Planet of the Apes is likely maestro Goldsmith's best and most creative effort to date, so much so that it's my opinion his music outshines everything else and is the best and most memorable aspect of the film. His music is just that good.On the negative side of things this movie does have it's short-comings and I do have a few complaints, which if you're at all familiar with the movie, is certainly not unfounded. Such as the poorly realized Ape City, which is far from impressive and is underwhelming in it's scope and scale, much more time, money and effort should have gone into it's construction; and at the very least it's size and grandeur could have been bolstered by the use of models and miniature sets (and on a very minor side-note, if you haven't noticed, every single wooden door seen on the sets look fake). Then there's the unwavering self-conceit and irritating "higher-than-thou" personality of Dr. Zaius (Mr. Positivity himself), his haughty proclamations of superiority get mighty tiresome and repetitive - you simply can't act that superior and not expect to wreak of conceit. Then there's the films action element/screen violence to speak of and judge and with the exception of "The Hunt" none of the films action-sequences are particularly impressive or hold-up to repeated viewings; and even though they are unique, many movies before and certainly after have much better action scenes. Another negative is that during the very last shot of the movie (the long-shot on the beach), if you haven't noticed, the films resolution nose-dives and as a result the image quality simply looks terrible, the degradation is hard not to notice, as it's anything but subtle.A brief word on the string of inferior sequels that followed this film, starting with 1970's "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" which as far as sequels go is actually pretty decent, but definitely not as good as it's predecessor. However beyond that first sequel all other installments of the franchise were done on progressively smaller budgets and sadly, but not surprisingly, get more and more pathetic with each and every movie. As far as the first batch of Planet of the Apes films goes (there currently is a revival of the franchise with the release of two new films) only the first film is essential viewing. And if you're a completest somewhere in the middle of all that, is the one-off that Tim Burton ill-advisedly made back in the early 2000's - which is not worth mentioning any further.

From today's point of view this movie could seem a bit naive, but for 60's it is masterpiece. If we take exception to outdated technology, I can not find any flaws to this movie. Camera and directing are great, movie is feast for eyes. And satire of human civilization is excellent. Film tackles burning issues of 60's and 70's, that are still relevant today - hunt for sports, treatment of animals and nature overall, the conflict between science and religion, precisely between evolutionism and creationism, and most of all fear of nuclear war that was at it's peak those days. Although I knew vaguely what this movie was about and I guessed how it ends at the very beginning, it did not spoil excitement a bit. I was not surprised by anything in this movie, but I was thrilled by everything. True masterpiece.9/10