LogFAQs > #913088404

After a very atmospheric, tense first act, Commander Taylor is of course captured by the intelligent apes of 3978. The apes are great here, too Zira in particular is just an extremely likable, layered character who brings a lot of personality to the movie. There's a lot of good commentary here about the shortcomings of human society, as the apes have developed a sort of Galileo-era theocracy based on their limited information regarding their progenitors. This leads to an extremely engaging trial scene (love the see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil monkeys on the bench), and then the rest has passed comfortably into the zeitgeist. The social commentary here is good and adds intrigue to the slower parts of the movie, but never overwhelms the story no small feat considering you're watching two hours of people in ape costumes, delivering oration written 50 years ago by the Twilight Zone guy." ~KBM

"First off, yes, Helena Bonham Carter in the remake is attractive. There I said it. Now with that out of the way, the original still holds up amazingly well. The plot is a bit ambiguous about the initial mission, but its not really a point A to point B kind of film. Its actually rather interesting to see human beings in an alien movie start out at the bottom. Usually they start at the top and some invader weakens them. But in this case, its just humans as subservient to the apes, which creates a unique dynamic of human beings as animals. Throw in somedisturbingly topical political commentary about the use of religion in governing a society, as well as genuine suspense as more and more of the mystery of society unfolded, and you wind up with an awesome movie. And the twist ending? Pretty fucking awesome in its own right." ~Inviso

"A true classic of the sci-fi genre, it has survived the test of time far better than James Francos version will. Charlton Heston is a surprising good actor. Its a shame people of today only know him as the NRA gun nut because he had a lot of talent back then. This movie has everything. It has action, a good cast, moral ambiguity, and real conflict on both sides of the equation. It wasnt simply RAWR APES BAD HUMANS GOOD but you could see both the right and the wrong in their approaches and I found that to be very refreshing.

Traviss Opinion: I was going to put Travis to bed, but he really wanted to stay up and watch this with me. He cuddled in bed with me and watched the first half hour, but couldnt stay up any longer. He seemed really into it though. I bet hed really like seeing the rest of it sometime. " ~Stifled

"What It Is: A thoroughly thought-provoking piece about racism told through the lens of a world far removed - and yet hauntingly familiar - to the viewer.

Why It Matters: It spawned a billion-dollar franchise and yet, for the most part, it has remained faithful to the exploration of segregation, fear of that which is difference, and an exploration of human nature.
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"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful