Planet of the Apes was originally released in 1968 and was and remains to this day a classic science-fiction adventure that is as powerful I felt now when I watched it on DVD as it was then on it's release. In my opinion his is the best of the series of Planet of the Ape films that came out and the first. Also, for me his is far better than the remake by Tim Burton in 2001. When Taylor played by Charlton Heston and his fellow astronauts crash land their spaceship on a strange planet they encounter some scary ape beings. However, things are even more scary when they eventually discover that these apes in fact rule this planet and the humans are the mute animals ...  Read the complete review

In the late sixties, two seminal sci-fi classics were released - one is '2001' (1968), which is still regarded as a gigantic classic (especially by me), although it has little of obvious value to say other than 'wow, look at me'. The other classic was 'Planet of the Apes', released a year earlier, adapted from the novel by Pierre 'Bridge on the River Kwai' Boulle'. Despite the homage paid to it by Tim Burton's 2001 remake (see upcoming companion review if you want), 'Planet of the Apes' has enjoyed a less secure reputation, at least in part because 20th Century Fox milked its success ruthlessly through four sequels, a live .  Read the complete review

Why review a movie which is over 30 years old? Well not only is there a modern remake of this movie due to hit the cinema screens in the coming months, but its also a damn fine film - even now. Charlton Heston heads a a small band of astronauts whose ship has crash landed on an unknown planet. They are surrounded by a barren wasteland, and think themselves doomed to die on an arid planet until they find a lush jungle paradise on the edge of the wasteland. Soon though they come across a band of humanoid figures who they believe to be stone-age humans, but then as they are watcing a trumpet sounds and they hear the sound of gunfire and hooves and out of the trees ...  Read the complete review

Damn you, DAMN YOU. That's a phrase you will hear more than once during this film, in fact its worth watching just for the end sequence where Charlton Heston utters the immortal words "damn you, damn you all to hell". Well wouldn't you be in a bit of a mood if your history and evolution suddenly ceased to exist, and you found yourself on a planet ruled by Apes? That is exactly what happened to Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his fellow astronauts who crash land on an unknown planet after a deep space mission went pear shaped. Luckily for them the atmosphere is breathable, unluckily for them their spacecraft landed in a ...  Read the complete review

Without a shadow of a doubt `Planet of the Apes` is in the top three science fiction films ever made. While it is often underrated, or even dismissed out of hand as an excuse for a bunch of actors to get dressed up in monkey costumes, this is an incredibly thought-provoking and engrossing piece of sci-fi drama. Charlton Heston takes the lead, as an astronaut who has crash-landed on an alien planet far in the future. The planet is ruled by the apes, while humans are slaves or pets. But is there more to this planet than it first seems? Heston really suits the role - he takes to it just as easily as if he were playing a Ancient Roman gladiator, or any of ...  Read the complete review