Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Ted Post

Writers:

Pierre Boulle (characters)
Paul Dehn (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 May 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The bizarre world you met in 'Planet of the Apes' was only the beginning... What lies beneath may be the end!

Plot:

The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission searches for the only survivor of the previous expedition. He discovers a planet ruled by apes and an underground city run by telekinetic humans.

Plot Keywords:

Ape | Astronaut | Planet Of The Apes | Survivor | Sequel

Cast

James Franciscus	...	Brent
Kim Hunter	...	Zira
Maurice Evans	...	Dr. Zaius
Linda Harrison	...	Nova
Paul Richards	...	Mendez
Victor Buono	...	Fat Man
James Gregory	...	Ursus
Jeff Corey	...	Caspay
Natalie Trundy	...	Albina
Thomas Gomez	...	Minister
David Watson	...	Cornelius
Don Pedro Colley	...	Negro
Tod Andrews	...	Skipper
Gregory Sierra	...	Verger
Eldon Burke	...	Gorilla Sergeant
Lou Wagner	...	Lucius
Charlton Heston	...	Taylor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Army Archerd	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Edward Bach	...	Picket (uncredited)
James Bacon	...	Ape (uncredited)
Stan Barrett	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Angelina Bauer	...	Chimp Protestor (uncredited)
Erlynn Mary Botelho	...	Ape (uncredited)
Dick Bullock	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Bruce Fleischer	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Ending Voiceover (voice) (uncredited)
Roddy McDowall	...	Cornelius (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ted Post

Writing credits
Pierre Boulle		(characters)
Paul Dehn		(story) and
Mort Abrahams		(story)
Paul Dehn		(screenplay)

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

Original Music by
Leonard Rosenman

Cinematography by
Milton R. Krasner		(director of photography) (as Milton Krasner)

Film Editing by
Marion Rothman

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

Set Decoration by
Walter M. Scott
Sven Wickman

Costume Design by
Morton Haack

Makeup Department
John Chambers	....	creative makeup design
Edith Lindon	....	hair stylist
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup supervisor (as Dan Striepeke)
Peter R.J. Deyell	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Verne Langdon	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)
Sharleen Rassi	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Jan Van Uchelen	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Joseph C. Behm	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chuck Roberson	....	second unit director
Fred R. Simpson	....	assistant director (as Fred Simpson)

Art Department
Fred Harpman	....	art illustrator

Sound Department
Stephen Bass	....	sound
David Dockendorf	....	sound

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

Stunts
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Stan Barrett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Bullock	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eldon Burke	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
William H. Burton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hank Calia	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Nick Dimitri	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts (uncredited)
Orwin C. Harvey	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kent Hays	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Hice	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Hudkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Clyde Hudkins Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hubie Kerns	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hubie Kerns Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Leonard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary McLarty	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Sawaya	....	stunts (uncredited)
Walter Scott	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Ralph Ferraro	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• APJAC Productions (as An Arthur P. Jacobs Production)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• CBS/Fox (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Playhouse Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Planet of the Apes Revisited (USA) (working title)
Planet of the Men (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Norway:16 (1970) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | USA:G | West Germany:16 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company:

APJAC Productions

Trivia:

An early draft of the script, called "Planet of the Men", and written by Pierre Boulle in his native French, featured a messianic Taylor 14 years after the events of the 1968 original. It involved an uprising against the apes, following which they revert back to their primal states.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Brent and Nova are hiding in the back room of Cornelius and Zira's house, Franciscus is mouthing part of Cornelius's speech.

Quotes:

Dr. Zaius: You ask me to help you? Man is evil! Capable of nothing but destruction!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Futurama: I Second That Emotion (#2.5)" (1999)

Much better than I had expected

As an avid fan of the original Planet of the Apes, I had always avoided the sequels (though unfortunately not the remake), thinking they'd be so cheesy that they would harm the greatness of the original. I finally got around to the first sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and, frankly, I'm surprised at how good it is. I'm a big fan of corny '70s sci-fi anyway, and Beneath is certainly cheaper and goofier than the original. But its themes and ideas are surprisingly intelligent, and it creates suspense and excitement very well. It also expands the mythology of its universe, which is always a positive to geeks like myself. I'd say the only big faults are the much smaller budget, which causes the ape makeup to appear much less convincing than it originally was, and the casting of a Charlton Heston impersonator to play the lead. The story is that James Franciscus is another astronaut looking for Heston and his crew. And since he eventually does find Heston, I don't understand why they wanted someone who looked so much like their original star.