Inspired by a novel by Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes is the story of a group of four American astronauts who volunteer to be cryogenically frozen and sent into space. When the flight crash lands on a seemingly desolate planet in the year 3978, the surviving astronauts venture into the desert where they encounter a race of primitive humans ruled by fearsome simian overlords.
Charlton Heston stars as Colonel George Taylor, a cynical man who volunteers for the mission to escape mankind and its inhumanity towards one another. Captured and isolated, he is unable to speak after being shot in the throat and must persuade the apes holding him prisoner that he is intelligent and that he deserves his freedom.
Do I detect the distant sounds of allegory? I think I do.
Yes, Planet of the Apes turns our world on its head to make points about man's barbarism to one another, the negative influence religion can have on free scientific inquiry, racial injustice, blood sports and keeping animals caged. Most of this is laid on heavily in philosophical discussions and in a memorable court sequence.
Yet these sequences do not slow the film. In fact, they are amongst the most compelling in the picture, energetic and fascinating as we see the ruling apes refuse to allow their beliefs to be challenged.
Heston shines in these sequences, full of moral superiority and later frustration as he attempts to reason with his captors. It is not a subtle performance but without the energy he injects into the piece it could easily have fell flatly in its moralistic middle section.
Praise should also be given to Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans for achieving captivating performances despite being behind rubber masks throughout the picture. The maks, whilst more flexible than many and simulating speech reasonably well, are not able to indicate emotion particularly clearly and so it falls to the actors to communicate those feelings vocally - no mean feat.
The ape characters are handled nicely by the script, being given strong personalities and characteristics. From the inquisitive Cornelius, who privately doubts that apes have always been the dominant lifeform but is scared to speak out, to Dr Zaius, who is scared of order being undermined, it is easy to believe in these characters and their motivations.
This film rarely gets it wrong but when it does can provoke unfortunate chuckles. The sight of the three male astronauts naked and running through the woods yet with their modesty completely in tact is ridiculous, and several traditional sayings switched to refer to humans ("human see, human do") sound ridiculous. You may also find yourself questioning why the apes are able to speak perfect twentieth century English whilst the humans cannot.
Despite these weaker elements the film still holds up reasonably well if treated as a campy science fiction adventure rather than a more serious effort. It is entertaining and intense, leading to a highly satisfactory ending.
Unfortunately the film's shocking twist is now so ingrained in pop culture that its effect is slightly dulled. Yet Heston sells it so well that it still has a powerful impact as we watch Taylor realise what has happened.
Planet of the Apes features compelling performances, a couple of exciting set pieces and a fanastic conclusion. It is a less serious movie than it clearly considers itself to be but is no less enjoyable for that.