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Planet of the Apes Overview:

Planet of the Apes (1968) was a Science Fiction - Adventure Film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and produced by Arthur P. Jacobs and Mort Abrahams.

SYNOPSIS

Astronauts on a deep space expedition land on an Earth-like planet only to find evolution gone awry: apes rule and treat humans like animals. Heston makes contact with two sympathetic scientists (MacDowall and Hunter) and forces them to face their origins. He also gets a lesson in man's fate in the final sequence when he comes upon a half-submerged Statue of Liberty. Smart sci-fi with social commentary and wry humor, based on the novel by Pierre Boulle with a screenplay cowritten by Rod Serling. Four sequels and two television series followed.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Planet of the Apes was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2001.

Academy Awards 1968 --- Ceremony Number 41 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Costume DesignMorton HaackNominated
Best Music - ScoringJerry GoldsmithNominated
Honorary AwardJohn ChambersWon
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Planet of the Apes BlogHub Articles:

Planet of the Apes (1968)

By Beatrice on Jan 9, 2020 From Flickers in Time

Planet of the Apes Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner Written by Michael Wilson and Rod Sterling from a novel by Pierre Boulle 1968/USA IMDb link Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die 1968 was certainly a year for science fiction blockbusters! The year is 3978 A... Read full article

1968 Fest – Making A Monkey Out Of Charlton Heston – Planet Of The Apes (1968)

By Michael on Apr 30, 2018 From Durnmoose Movie Musings

I find it hard to believe that in all the time that I’ve been writing this blog I’ve not written about one of my all-time favorite movies.Fortunately this 1968-fest gives me a chance to rectify that. I can’t remember how young I was when I first saw Planet of the Apes. One of the g... Read full article

No, I’m Not Gonna Make A Gorilla Warfare Pun Here – War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

By Michael on Feb 5, 2018 From Durnmoose Movie Musings

While watching War for the Planet of the Apes I found myself wondering: When did Woody Harrelson become one of our most interesting working actors? I mean, even from his early days on Cheers it was obvious that he was talented, but recently he has become one of those actors whose movies I will seek ... Read full article

Ticklish Business Episode 3: Planet of the Apes (1968)

on Jul 27, 2016 From Journeys in Classic Film

I talk with Dwight Hurst about the 1968 sci-fi adventure Planet of the Apes in honor of TCM’s recent nationwide screening of the film.  https://www.podbean.com/media/player/pazkr-612bce Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account... Read full article

“TCM Big Screen Classics: Planet of the Apes” Movie Event Ticket Giveaway (July 1 – July 16)

By Annmarie Gatti on Jul 1, 2016 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

... Read full article

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Planet of the Apes Quotes:

George Taylor: Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!
Dr. Zaius: The Forbidden Zone was once a paradise. Your breed made a desert of it, ages ago.
Dr. Zaius: Dr. Zira, I must caution you. Experimental brain surgery on these creatures is one thing, and I'm all in favor of it. But your behavior studies are another matter. To suggest that we can learn anything about the simian nature from a study of man is sheer nonsense. Why, man is a nuisance. He eats up his food supply in the forest, then migrates to our green belts and ravages our crops. The sooner he is exterminated, the better. It's a question of simian survival.
Dr. Zaius: You are a menace. A walking pestilence.
George Taylor: If this is the best they've got around here, in six months we'll be running this planet.
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Planet of the Apes Facts
Although it is widely believed that the budget for the ape make-up was at a million dollars, Assoc Producer Mort Abrahams later revealed via interview that the make-up was "more like half a million...but a million dollars (quote) made better publicity". Abrahams was certainly qualified to know, since his function was more as the active Line Producer through Planet of the Apes & Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
Linda Harrison, who plays Nova, was having an affair with producer Richard D. Zanuck at the time of production. In the year of the film's release, Zanuck divorced his first wife and married Harrison. The couple were married for 9 years and had 2 children.
The sound effect of the rocket ship hurtling through the atmosphere of the ape planet and then landing in the lake is the exact same sound effect used for the Batmobile in motion from the TV show "Batman" also produced by 20th Century Fox.
Of the original five 'Ape' films, this was the only one to show the Fox logo before the film, and the only one that doesn't feature Natalie Trundy (who plays three different parts in the other four).
The spaceship the astronauts crashland in was re-used in Escape from the Planet of the Apes and the short-lived TV series Planet of the Apes.
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