Planet of the Apes (1968)

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Michael Wilson (screenplay) and
Rod Serling (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 April 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Somewhere in the universe there must be something better than man. In a matter of time, an astronaut will wing through the centuries and find the answer. He may find the most terrifying one of all on the planet where apes are the rulers and man the beast.

Plot:

An astronaut crew crash lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.

Plot Keywords:

Ape | Planet | Astronaut | Escape | Trial

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	George Taylor
Roddy McDowall	...	Cornelius
Kim Hunter	...	Zira
Maurice Evans	...	Dr. Zaius
James Whitmore	...	President of the Assembly
James Daly	...	Honorious
Linda Harrison	...	Nova
Robert Gunner	...	Landon
Lou Wagner	...	Lucius
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Maximus
Jeff Burton	...	Dodge
Buck Kartalian	...	Julius
Norman Burton	...	Hunt Leader
Wright King	...	Dr. Galen
Paul Lambert	...	Minister
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gene O'Donnell	...	(unconfirmed)
Army Archerd	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
James Bacon	...	Ape (uncredited)
Erlynn Mary Botelho	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Priscilla Boyd	...	Human #1 (uncredited)
Eldon Burke	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
David Chow	...	Chimpanzee (uncredited)
Billy Curtis	...	Child Ape (uncredited)
Frank Delfino	...	Child Ape (uncredited)
Buddy Douglas	...	Child Ape (uncredited)
William Graeff Jr.	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Irvin 'Zabo' Koszewski	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Robert Lombardo	...	Gorilla Photographer (uncredited)
Jerry Maren	...	Child Ape (uncredited)
Cass Martin	...	Chimpanzee (uncredited)
Steve Merjanian	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Harry Monty	...	Child Ape (uncredited)
John Michael Quijada	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Smokey Roberds	...	Chimpanzee (uncredited)
Jane Ross	...	Human (uncredited)
George Sasaki	...	Chimpanzee (uncredited)
Felix Silla	...	Child Gorilla (uncredited)
Emory Souza	...	Child Ape (uncredited)
Dianne Stanley	...	Astronaut Stewart (uncredited)

Directed by
Franklin J. Schaffner

Writing credits
Michael Wilson		(screenplay) and
Rod Serling		(screenplay)
Pierre Boulle		(novel)

Produced by
Mort Abrahams	....	associate producer
Arthur P. Jacobs	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Hugh S. Fowler

Art Direction by
William J. Creber		(as William Creber)
Jack Martin Smith

Set Decoration by
Norman Rockett
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Morton Haack

Makeup Department
John Chambers	....	creative makeup designer
Edith Lindon	....	hair stylist
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup artist (as Dan Striepeke)
Ken Chase	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Peter R.J. Deyell	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Verne Langdon	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Leo Lotito Jr.	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Fuminori Ohashi	....	makeup advisor (uncredited)
Ken Osborne	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Sharleen Rassi	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Josephine Turner	....	wig maker (uncredited)
Jan Van Uchelen	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Marvin G. Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Gene Witham	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
William Eckhardt	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Kissell	....	assistant director (as William Kissel)

Art Department
Wah Chang	....	special props (uncredited)
Greg C. Jensen	....	set constructor (uncredited)

Sound Department
David Dockendorf	....	sound
Herman Lewis	....	sound

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Art Cruickshank	....	special photographic effects
Emil Kosa Jr.	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Lightning Bear	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eldon Burke	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Canutt	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Nick Dimitri	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Dittman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bennie E. Dobbins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Epper	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Fritz Ford	....	stunt double (uncredited)
William Graeff Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kent Hays	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Hice	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
J. David Jones	....	aerial stunts (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Leonard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lars Lundgren	....	stunts (uncredited)
Frank Orsatti	....	stunts (uncredited)
Regis Parton	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Michael Quijada	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dave Rodgers	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill M. Ryusaki	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alex Sharp	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Sheppard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roy N. Sickner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ted White	....	stunts (uncredited)
George P. Wilbur	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Del Ruth	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ronald B. MacKenzie	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert Fuca	....	assistant set costumer (uncredited)
John Intlekofer	....	costumer (uncredited)

Music Department
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler (uncredited)
Don Record	....	title designer (uncredited)
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• APJAC Productions
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (released by) (as Twentieth Century - Fox Film Corporation)
• 20th Century Fox (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (video)
• CBS/Fox (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Playhouse Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc) (40th Anniversary Edition)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior  the producers express their appreciation to for its cooperation in the production of this motion picture (as the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior)

Also Known As:

Monkey Planet

Runtime:

112 min | Argentina:115 min | Spain:107 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Brazil:12 | UK:PG (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Norway:16 (1968) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1969) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

APJAC Productions

Trivia:

All the Ape actors and extras were required to wear their masks even during breaks and in between shots because it took so much time to make them up. Because of this, meals were liquefied and drunk through straws.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The astronauts find a plant which they declare their first "life" seen on the planet. They are oblivious to the grassy ridge behind them, seen when they are squatting. Scientist Dodge's first reaction to the "life" is to tear it up for no reason, something no sensible, ethical person would do.

Quotes:

[first lines]
George Taylor: And that completes my final report until we reach touchdown. We're now on full automatic, in the hands of the computers. I have tucked my crew in for the long sleep and I'll be joining them soon. In less than an hour, we'll finish our sixth month out of Cape Kennedy...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998)

Great Film

Unlike the recent Tim Burton remake this can be called a great film . Franklin J Schaffner does a good job of bringing an otherworldliness ( And just how ironic is that ?) to the film , and the ending is rightly regarded as a classic moment of cinema . This is how SF should be made , with little FX and with much intelligence .

No doubt a reviewer can be critical and point out that a lot of the subtext of the original novel has been culled and there`s a serious lapse in logic in that both apes and humans speak the exact same language without either stopping to point this out , but I like this film and it`s too good to pick holes at