Planet Of The Apes Turns 50
“Today’s man is the father of the monkey of the year 2000 (or 3000)”, once wrote the Spanish singer-songwriter and poet Joaquín Sabina. Time will tell whether the things he declared to an Andalusian newspaper will be true or not. What is certain is that more than half a century has already passed since the first release of the film Planet of the Apes .
Planet of the Apes, a very important film
Despite the decades that have passed and the new technologies applied to cinema, this film continues to impress all those who see it for the first time or who gladly relate to it. Without a doubt, we are facing a stainless classic.
The story told in the film, based on the novel that the Frenchman Pierre Boulle published in 1963, is more than just an adventure or science fiction novel.
The film stimulates interesting reflections on the human condition and on man’s relationship with the animal kingdom and the world he inhabits.
An unexpected ending
The film’s ending – which we won’t tell if anyone hasn’t seen it yet – is the perfect corollary of a disturbing film.
But we assure you that if you watch the film for the first time, you will be amazed more than Charlton Heston, the main protagonist. Many doubt that he understood the meaning of the film, much less its powerful punchline.
So, more than 50 years after its release, we invite you to review or discover this film (fundamental in the history of cinema) that leaves no one indifferent.
The story of Planet of the Apes
We don’t want to reveal too much, but in general this is the plot of the film: we are in a world dominated by monkeys who have developed their own civilization and have many of the virtues and defects of men.
And as if that weren’t enough, primates enslave humans who lack the ability to speak, a faculty that apes have developed. We are in the year 3978 and after the crash of his spaceship, an astronaut finds himself in this dystoptic world.
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, Planet of the Apes has become an international success. The cast consisted of Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison.
Prequel, sequel and remake
The film had its sequels in the 1970s, its television versions (even in cartoons) and all the merchandising you can imagine. Also, in 2001, director Tim Burton made a remake that fell short of the original film.
We had to wait for the three prequiels, made in the second decade of the 21st century, to give this story the recognition it deserves. Topics such as human evolution and involution, genetic manipulation, mistreatment of animals for scientific research, destruction of the environment, etc. were covered.
But the saga deals with many other themes that we invite you to discover or rediscover. As you can imagine, it is a story that lends itself to multiple interpretations.
If you haven’t seen the first movie of the saga yet, we invite you to do so. And if after watching it you want to know how we got to the world that Planet of the Apes tells us about , you can see the interesting prequels.
