Planet of the Apes

Unfortunately I'd never seen this before but did know about the famous ending, which I won't ruin for those few who haven't seen it. Although my guess is that it would not be hard to figure out where the film is heading. Charlton Heston as an astronaut explorer crash-lands on a planet several thousand years after heading out from Earth. The film is rife with 60s social commentary. I particularly liked the remarks about "never trusting anyone over 30" and Heston's opening monologue in which he wonders if humans "still fight our brothers." Do we hear sentiments like this anymore? (Pity. Well, at least for the latter.) The pacing was good (never boring), the special effects really didn't seem that bad (even when compared to the excruciating 2001 re-make), and the overarching ideology (that we are not as superior as we think we are) was never force-fed. Filming in Utah at Glen Canyon underscored that ideology. These insignificant little humans traipsing across this never-ending landscape...what better way to visually prove your point?

year: 1968
length: 112 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063442/combined