Planet of the Apes (1968)

1968, Twentieth Century Fox. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. Charleton Heston, Kim Hunter, Roddy McDowell, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison.

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From a National Catholic Register review

By Steven D. Greydanus

The original Planet of the Apes is an indelible icon of American pop culture that launched a series of increasingly inept sequels, a lame TV series, and a failed big-budget remake by Tim Burton. In spite of this dubious heritage, the original film is so entrenched in popular consciousness that even people who haven’t seen it have a pretty good sense what it’s about and even what the surprise ending is. Notwithstanding all of the above, or perhaps because of it, Planet of the Apes remains a near must-see, despite its flaws.

Adapted by Rod Serling from Pierre Boulle’s Swiftian social satire, Planet of the Apes is basically a feature-length "Twilight Zone" episode, with all that that implies for good and ill. There’s an ironic sci-fi reversal of real-world conditions, a rather thin plot padded to fill out the running time, heavy-handed but sincere allegorical moralizing, thought-provoking social satire, and a stunningly imagined climactic twist.

Charlton Heston leads an interstellar expedition to an unnamed planet revealed to be inhabited by intelligent apes and brute-like humans. The resulting cautionary tale of dogma versus science casts the ape religion in an unflattering light, but ultimately turns out to be more about humanity’s self-destructive tendencies. Flawed but worthwhile.

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Planet of the Apes (DVD)

Planet of the Apes (VHS)

Some violent and disturbing imagery; brief mild profanity; fairly discreet and clinical references to reproduction; somewhat problematic treatment of religious themes.