- 3 months ago
In this episode, we take a glimpse into a sci-fi classic about the fate of mankind resting in the hands of a prisoner in a world filled with intelligent primates, Planet of the Apes.
Originally uploaded on February 27, 2011.
Originally uploaded on February 27, 2011.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Satsang with Mooji
00:30Groovy.
01:00Groovy.
01:30Groovy.
01:38The 1960s were a rough time in history for the United States.
01:42The assassinations of political leaders like President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther
01:48King Jr., race riots tearing through the streets of cities all over the country, and
01:54of course, the Vietnam War being the major news story of the day.
01:59The last thing Hollywood needed was a film that challenged the political views in our
02:03society and thus were made more for entertainment.
02:07However, there would be one landmark film that would present how films can be entertaining
02:13and also convey a warning about the flaws in our way of living.
02:18This was 1968's unforgettable science fiction classic, Planet of the Apes, a social satire
02:26hidden within a film that is groundbreaking in special effects and storytelling.
02:32I think Planet of the Apes is one of the best allegory stories we've had, like George Orwell's
02:38Animal Farm, where in that it told the story of the flaws of communism within an English
02:47barnyard.
02:48Well, with Planet of the Apes, it's much different.
02:50I mean, it tells the story of the flaws of humankind itself within an Apes society.
02:57I mean, there's things like evolutionism versus creationism, racial segregation, all kinds of stuff.
03:08I noticed that while re-watching it, there seemed to be an underlying tone going against organized
03:21religion, but when I looked at Rod Serling, the writer, and his background, I found out
03:33that he was actually a Unitarian, so he was of a religious belief that basically all gods
03:45are the same, which I'm not necessarily agreeing with myself, but he was trying to push a much
03:54more open-minded view with this movie as far as religions go.
03:59They went beyond the boundaries of science fiction.
04:02It wasn't, you know, we're going to make a typical B movie.
04:05We're going to do something, you know, beyond that, and as a result, we get not only a classic
04:10science fiction tale, but also a science fiction tale that conveys a warning to us, the basic
04:18material of, if we continue to live this lifestyle, we're going to end up just like this, and that's
04:24the horrifying aspect about it.
04:26But Planet of the Apes taking this pure entertainment film, because it was essentially an entertainment
04:32film, pretty much, and putting these messages to it worked, I think, because people went
04:39in not expecting these messages.
04:41And, you know, it's subtle enough that you can still enjoy the film.
04:47One of the great things about Planet of the Apes is that, while there's obviously a message to it about,
04:52you know, the world, and sort of a message to it, it's not hammered in, because, you know,
05:02you don't want to be really preachy in your film, especially a pure entertainment side.
05:07Fiction 1-like Planet of the Apes, so the fact that it's subtly in there works, and that's
05:12a part of its success.
05:14And I guess it's interesting to note how Planet of the Apes came out the same year as 2001,
05:19A Space Odyssey.
05:20I don't think it's quite as good as 2001, A Space Odyssey, which in my mind is a masterpiece,
05:26but it's sort of interesting.
05:28Planet of the Apes, the messages, as subtle as they were, were so little obvious.
05:322001, people didn't really understand, unless there was some sort of substance to it, and
05:38this is coming from a massive fan of 2001.
05:42But Planet of the Apes, as a pure entertainment film, people didn't go in expecting serious
05:50messages.
05:50Maybe when they left, they didn't notice them.
05:53No, who knows.
05:54But those who did notice it, I think appreciated that it was more than just pure entertainment,
06:00for the sake of being entertained.
06:01No, not that there's anything wrong with that, but I give the film a lot of credit for its
06:08serious messages, and taking on those ideas and presenting them with apes and ruling the
06:19world.
06:19And it's quite a distressing image, the idea of lowly apes taking over the world, which
06:26I guess at the time, maybe it wasn't all that unusual, because obviously with the space
06:32age, and then using chimps to test out, you know, launching chimps into space, and I guess
06:38as well, even then, there was the stress, the whole cold war going on, the whole space
06:43age race with Russia was going on, and it works.
06:50It works as a whole.
06:51And it's clever, too, because when you first look at it, like, when you first look at an
06:56image from that movie, you think it's like a Saturday matinee kids science fiction film.
07:03But when you watch the film, you're totally shocked at what you see.
07:08I mean, it's not like anything you've seen prior to it.
07:13Maybe you have, but back then, if you were someone living in the 60s, and you first go
07:19to see the movie, you're shocked, and you understand the messages that are hidden in the movie once
07:27you've, like, watched it once or twice.
07:30And that's why I think Planet of the Ipses is so clever.
07:34The film begins with the crew of an exploratory spaceship, lead by astronaut George Taylor,
07:41crash landing on a mysterious alien world.
07:44Taylor and the astronauts, after witnessing their ship sinking into the ocean, realize
07:50that they're there to stay, and might as well make the best for it.
07:55After days of hiking through the scorching desert, the three travelers come upon an oasis,
08:01where they are amazed to find a small tribe of primitive, non-intelligent humans eating in
08:07a large cornfield, but they soon discover that the true masters of the planet are a race of highly
08:14evolved apes, more civilized to the point of creating their own cities, gods, and laws.
08:21Taylor is captured during a large massacre of humans in the cornfield, and is used as a
08:27scientific lab animal under the guide of Dr. Zira, a young chimpanzee scientist.
08:33While living in the animal lab, Taylor falls in love with a primitive human female, who
08:39he names Nova.
08:41And while Zira and her husband, Cornelius, tries to find proof of an evolutionary link
08:46between man and apes, the all-knowing orangutan leader, Dr. Zaius, turns this down, knowing
08:53the true evil of man, and how he despised them.
08:57It's not long before Taylor sees the true horrors of the ape civilization, and what he
09:03eventually discovers is a nightmare beyond his wildest imagination.
09:08The film is based on the 1963 science fiction fantasy novel, La Planète des Singes, by French
09:16author Pierre Boulle, best known for writing the acclaimed World War II novel, The Bridge
09:22Over the River Kwai.
09:24His novel was clearly different from the film, where it has apes living as modern people would,
09:30using cars and other different types of transportation, and with the exception of a different ending.
09:36It wasn't long until this science fiction chiller caught the attention of 20th Century Fox producer,
09:42Arthur P. Jacobs, known at the time for financing big-budget musicals like What a Day to Go and
09:49Dr. Dolittle. Jacobs knew that in order to sell a film like this, he needed a big-name star for
09:56the main lead.
09:57Charlton Heston was offered the role from the very beginning, knowing in mind how he will
10:03fit the character, which differed from historical roles, such as Moses in The Ten Commandments,
10:09or Ben-Hur.
10:10Those roles greatly differed from apes in general, because here he's tossed around in a loincloth,
10:20hit a couple of times, and mistreated like a basic animal. And for the role of Taylor, it
10:28was much more difficult, because you have, you know, a man that deems the human race just,
10:32you know, nothing spectacularly interesting.
10:38And so when he lands on the planet of the apes, he doesn't care that he's stranded there
10:42at first, because at first he thinks it's just a barren wasteland. But when he discovers
10:47other humans on that planet, he thinks because he's so smarter than them, he'll run the place
10:51in a few months. But when he discovers that humans are the lower species of animal on the
10:58planet, and the apes are higher, and how they treat humans, he starts to slowly defend humankind.
11:04Like, humans are better than this. We've built cities. We've built weapons. We've done everything
11:12possible, but the apes don't believe him. And that's an interesting change for me. He starts
11:17out hating mankind, but once he discovers all these terrible things on this planet, he starts
11:23to become a leader, the leader of mankind. He wants to defend mankind. And I really like
11:30that sort of change.
11:32He has to save himself, and he has to use violence to do it. So, go figure, if you take a vegetarian
11:42and stick them in the forest with a knife, guess what they're going to be eating after about
11:47a week.
11:47It's not a very easy character, considering how he goes from someone trying to save society
11:53to, in the end, realizing that all this time, he was nothing more but a mere tragic hero.
12:01And as much as he attempts to show how sophisticated his race is, in the end, it all comes full circle
12:08as, you know, we realize that humanity itself has an ongoing conflict that will never be resolved,
12:17no matter how much you try to salvage it.
12:20I think this might be one of Heston's. This is up there, I think, with Ben-Hur, in terms of ranking Heston's performances.
12:28And there is a power to his work here. You really sort of feel his character and what he's going
12:36through, even though I assume none of us have been in that situation. We can sort of relate.
12:41I mean, we are looking through the film. We are looking at the film through his eyes.
12:45He is essentially the protagonist, and we're looking at it from his point of view.
12:49So, it makes sense that the audience relate to him, and I think they do, in some sort of way.
12:54I mean, this is, I think, almost everyone's worst nightmare.
12:58Aside from Heston's appearance, another interesting addition was the way the movie itself was created.
13:05From the start of production, 20th Century Fox was worried about how the apes and the ape world would appear on screen.
13:14Early in development, the film's first script by Twilight Zone creator Rob Serling was incredibly fateful to Pierre Boulle's original novel,
13:23But with the expenses needed in building and filming futuristic cars, helicopters, and the ape city,
13:30the production team began to worry that the apes were too evolved.
13:35So instead, they decided to rewrite the script and make the ape society seem more primitive-looking,
13:42with stone houses and buildings, and would use horses and wagons as the primary mode of transportation.
13:48Though they would still use modern weapons, such as guns.
13:53The other thing to worry about was the apes' makeup.
13:57At that point in Hollywood, no one would take a man in a gorilla suit seriously,
14:02due to such B-movies as Konga, Gorilla at Large, Africa Screams, and King Kong vs. Godzilla.
14:09So the production team decided to do a makeup test with then-Fox Studios makeup specialist Ben Nye,
14:17who also worked on the original 1958 version of The Fly.
14:22The test film featured Charlton Heston and acclaimed actor Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius,
14:29though he would eventually be replaced by Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans,
14:34due to him disliking the lengthy makeup process.
14:38Though the test film assured the studio's confidence in the movie,
14:42the production team felt the makeup wasn't good enough.
14:45So another experienced makeup artist was brought in, John Chambers.
14:50Chambers was best known for his latex applied makeup work on television shows,
14:55like The Munsters, Lost in Space, and even designed Spock's famous ears for the original Star Trek series.
15:02Not only was this truly iconic over time,
15:06but groundbreaking with an interesting use of latex mask,
15:10unlike anything seen before,
15:12and inspiring such modern makeup effect artists as Tom Savini, Stan Wilston, and Rick Baker.
15:19You know, when people thought of, you know, monkeys back then being the villains,
15:26they would always see them as these very poorly done cheap effects,
15:32where they have, you know, some man in a giant, you know, ape costume,
15:35and it would look all fake and ridiculous.
15:37Here for apes, they wanted to go beyond that,
15:39and, you know, the key thing was not having the makeup be laughable.
15:44And they really did succeed when they had the screen test with Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zayas.
15:53And the thing about it was just how it differed from all of the past special effects work.
16:01They were just so, so elaborate.
16:03They were almost lifelike and, you know, human-like.
16:06And that's what made it work so well, because you weren't distracted by the quality of the makeup.
16:12You just couldn't believe how you were seeing a living, breathing creature.
16:15And that's the magic of special effects makeup work.
16:20They always bring typical creatures to life in ways you just can't really imagine.
16:26I think the makeup is an important part of making us believe in these characters,
16:31and as well as sort of seeing them.
16:34It's sort of because of, I think, the seriousness in the makeup.
16:37We don't necessarily laugh at the situations.
16:40Like, oh, monkey wearing clothes, and, you know,
16:44I mean, it's not a fine situation, and the makeup is able to convey that well.
16:49Because if the makeup looked ridiculous, well, we wouldn't exactly take the authority of these apes very seriously, I think.
16:54So the makeup is very well done, I would say.
16:57A lot of, you know, effects films from the 60s, effects don't hold quite that greatly,
17:02but it permeates different situations.
17:05Very good makeup effects for planning it, I think.
17:08So, again, it's key to the film's success.
17:11Aside from the makeup, I really love the costumes that the apes wear.
17:15The orangutans wear these orange coats, sort of like priests or a government.
17:26The chimpanzees wear these green sort of jumpsuits, sort of like a scientist would wear.
17:32And the gorillas wear black and dark purple armor, like in a military.
17:39Or they just wear these purple suits, like regular laborers.
17:42Still, other than a creative plot and impressive makeup effects,
17:48what makes this movie work is a handful of memorable characters, humans and apes alike.
17:54Without them, there's no motive to explore or see what lies on this new and unique planet.
18:02So many good characters to choose from.
18:06They're just so, so tough to even talk about.
18:09You have one being Taylor, the tragic hero of the entire story.
18:14If we were to enter in a situation, we would probably react the same way.
18:18You know, sort of fighting back from the authorities.
18:20And it's like, what is this world?
18:22And just be completely genuinely confused.
18:24And he portrays that really well.
18:25And I think, and his chemistry with the gorilla ape, it feels real.
18:29Again, a lot of it has to do with Heston's performance.
18:31But, it works.
18:35And I give a lot of credit in that area.
18:37Because Heston and the Taylor character feel real.
18:43Even though they could have written them in, you know, a comic.
18:46Or in sort of an over-top manner.
18:48And Heston forms a little bit over-top.
18:50But, he feels like we would be in that situation.
18:57So, I think Taylor is my person.
18:58Again, it's a good, the ape's a good, but I think Taylor is the best character in the thing.
19:03In my humble opinion.
19:05I think in terms of ape character, I'd probably have to say Dr. Zaius.
19:11I mean, Cornelius is a good character, too.
19:14And, you know, Zero aside, being the scientific chimp-panzees, of course.
19:21But, Zaius sort of has this interesting quality to him.
19:26He's more than just a simple professor that, you know, has hidden secrets or skeletons in the closet.
19:33He is one that is doing more than just burying evidence of a past race.
19:38He has this constant fear that's always coming to him.
19:42This, you know, thoughts on humanity and lifestyle, which reflects sort of the negative aspect of human nature and how much he despises it.
19:53And, in a way, it's basically a metaphor representation of how much we hate ourselves.
19:58There are points where we think of a decision we did, and we say to ourselves,
20:02Oh, I don't think that's a good thing that we did.
20:04And, you know, right on and on and on.
20:06And I think the interesting thing about it is just how Zaius is always proving one step of the way how, you know, bad humans are.
20:17And just how he does it in sort of an apish form, but yet, you know, retaining his evolved self.
20:27And it's very interesting to note that in numerous scenes.
20:31My favorite character in the movie would definitely have to be Cornelius.
20:35I mean, Ronnie McDowell is one of my favorite actors of all time.
20:38He can play any kind of character in the movie.
20:40He can be evil.
20:41He can be good.
20:42He can be a comic relief.
20:44He can even do voice work in animation.
20:45I think that's a terrific range for an actor like him.
20:48What I really like about Cornelius is that he's an archaeologist, meaning he's a scientist.
20:52And he wants to prove his theories of man and apes being related, like Zira.
20:58But at the same time, unlike Zira, he's afraid to because it's considered heresy in the ape society.
21:05And heresy leads to the death penalty.
21:09He doesn't want to die.
21:10He's afraid of death.
21:11But at the same time, he wants to prove it so bad.
21:14It's just that death is holding him back.
21:17I especially like the scene where he is talking with Zira inside his house.
21:23And Zira's like, what about your theory?
21:25The theory about apes and men being related.
21:27And he's like, Zira, you want to get my head chopped off?
21:30And when she keeps talking about how they'll believe his theory, he laughs it off like, oh, no, they won't.
21:37Because he knows the orangutans.
21:39And he knows a terracy.
21:40And up to that point, he's funny and he's sweet.
21:43But I think his most serious part in the movie is when he's asked to read one of the scrolls of the ape law.
21:53And how he delivers it is just spot on, deadpan serious.
22:00And I just can't help but stare in awe at it.
22:02Every time I hear that speech delivered by this Shakespearean actor in ape makeup, I'm just overwhelmed.
22:14Another element that made Planet of the Apes work so well was the film's soundtrack by award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith.
22:26Instead of using a traditional brass and string orchestra, Goldsmith composed the score using strange and new instruments that successfully reflect the uncomfortable and unexpected tone of the feature.
22:40I always pay attention to music when I watch movies now.
22:45And it's definitely a score that puts you in the atmosphere.
22:51What you have is a very desolate world, and what you need to accommodate that is music that sounds vaguely tribal, I should say, in some parts.
23:05But in order to give that desolate feeling, the music needs to be waylaid.
23:12It has to be remotely desolate as well.
23:15You look at big budget fantasies, half of the presentation is in the music.
23:20Like Lord of the Rings, there's always music playing.
23:23And with something like this, you don't need much music.
23:27It's all very simple.
23:28Jerry Goldsmith was a very interesting composer.
23:32And for Apes, he did a lot of new things, a lot of challenging aspects that we never thought we would hear in a science fiction film like this.
23:42It was sort of like something primitive, something we've never heard of before in our life.
23:47And I think that's what made the film greatly unique.
23:50It was sort of alien, and it had this discomforting tone to it.
23:55And in a way, it matches the set of the film, because we're going to a new planet, a new place, a new scenario, and we don't know what it's going to look like.
24:03We don't know what it's going to be.
24:05There's this mystery to it, and that's what the musical score adds to it.
24:10It's this churning, discomforting feel of you don't know what to expect, and you just can't believe how it's unlike anything you've ever seen or heard in your time.
24:22It's different, and it's very strange and bizarre.
24:27If I had to pick a favorite piece of music from the film, I would have to pick, like, two favorites.
24:33First being when Taylor and the other astronauts come upon the oasis and they see the scarecrows.
24:44Right when they climb the mountain, up until that point, the music's been soft.
24:49It's been like, you're going somewhere, but you don't know where you're going to end up.
24:53But right when they go to the oasis, that's when the music starts to build up.
24:56To hell with the scarecrows.
24:58And right when they discover the oasis, the music starts to calm down.
25:28And then it starts to become happy, like, hooray, we found this perfect oasis.
25:34Now we don't have to walk in the desert anymore.
25:36The other favorite piece of music that I like from the film would have to be the hunt in the cornfield.
25:43Because I think that's one of the most exciting pieces in any movie.
25:47I mean, first, it starts out quiet.
26:10When you finally see the apes on horseback, you hear this blaring horn that just keeps
26:37going on and on, and the more times it keeps blowing, the more scary it becomes, and I
26:44really like that.
26:46Plus, you also hear like bongo music and all these strings, and it becomes very primeval
26:51and jungle-like, and that's really, really cool.
26:55I really love that.
26:59When first watched, Planet of the Apes has moments that are so dramatic and memorable
27:04that we can't help but think about how they stand out in our minds.
27:09They either can be lighthearted and humorous scenes, or grim and dramatic moments that
27:14makes us question about not only our society, but ourselves.
27:19I have a lot of favorite moments from Planet of the Apes, but if I had to pick one, it would
27:25have to be when Taylor first escapes from his cage and he's running through Ape City.
27:30I mean, everywhere he goes, apes are staring at him and they're afraid of him, because
27:34basically it's like a wild animal on the loose.
27:36And as he runs through the city, he discovers more and more of their culture.
27:40I mean, he discovers their religion, he discovers what they do with the dead humans that they
27:44kill.
27:44I mean, they stuff him in these museums.
27:47And when he goes into the museum, he sees these humans, like, they're stuffed, they're
27:51basically, you know, posing and like, eating apples and killing each other.
27:54And one of the most frightening parts of that scene is where he discovers one of the dead
27:59astronauts, Dodge, in the museum, stood up erect and stuffed and his eyes were placed with
28:05glass eyes.
28:06And that's just scary.
28:08That's just a horrifying scene, seeing this friend of yours, basically stuffed, dead, with
28:15this blank expression on his face and these white marbles where his eyes used to be.
28:20That's just terrifying.
28:21And as we go along, during the end of the sequence, he's finally recaptured.
28:28And up to that point, earlier in the film, during the hunt, Taylor was shot in the neck.
28:34Not directly in the neck, just so he was able not to speak.
28:38And up to that point, he was a silent character.
28:41But when he was recaptured again, and they were trying to bring him back to where he belongs,
28:46when the gorilla grabs him, he finally, like, his throat's healed, and he finally screams
28:51out,
28:52Take your sticking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!
28:57Yeah, it's a terrific line.
29:00Yeah, I know, it's interesting.
29:01Because of all the great moments of Plenty Apes, it all comes down to one line.
29:07But, it's a very important line, I think, in film history, certainly.
29:15The music is great in that scene, too.
29:17Like, in one sequence, when Taylor has, like, a rope wrapped around his neck, you hear that
29:23whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, kind of like an ape grunting.
29:27Well, in real life, those are the sounds of an instrument called a Brazilian Kuka.
29:32Basically, if you rub it, it sounds like an ape's grunting.
29:40And that's what I love about that sequence.
29:42Uh, the actions, the music, and of course, the unforgettable quote.
29:48There's at least two factors as to why I liked the trial sequence so much,
29:54where they're questioning, um, Taylor's value of humanity,
29:59and proof of how there's no other humans out there that are just like him.
30:03And there's two major things that I like about it.
30:06Uh, one is a very interesting story, where they were setting up the sequence.
30:11And, uh, believe it or not, it was actually, uh, Charlton Heston's first, uh, nude scene.
30:16And, um, according to, uh, what Heston witnessed, um, the coffee lady was coming around,
30:21and, you know, she was watching how the scene was present.
30:24And after the, the take, she, uh, walked up to him and said,
30:27Mmm, nice buns.
30:28You know, a little comical joke.
30:31I mean, the cast and the crew are always on to each other.
30:34And I think the one thing that definitely stands out of the trial sequence,
30:38um, this is the second factor as well,
30:41is just how the apes, in general, try to act so sophisticated and human,
30:46but there's just a couple of things that still make them so monkey-ish,
30:51and retain back to their primitive state.
30:55Like, when Zira is pleading her case, and you see a shot of the orangutans doing the little, um, hand motion motif,
31:02uh, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
31:06And, believe it or not, that was actually, uh, improvised on the set, this little motion.
31:11And, uh, they thought they were going overboard with it, but, uh, as a result, they said,
31:17You know what, we really like this, we'll keep it in.
31:19And they questioned how far it was going in terms of, you know, social commentary.
31:24And they, they were actually going to cut it out, because they felt it was too silly.
31:27But, you know, I'm glad they kept it in.
31:29Because it shows that the apes, in general, may be, you know, intelligent, but they're still apes, no matter what you call them.
31:39Yeah, that was just great.
31:41However, after seeing the mysterious world and the horrors through Taylor's eyes,
31:48no one would expect to have their questions of how a world of evolved apes could exist be answered in the final moment of the film,
31:57which lives up today as one of the biggest and shocking twists to be seen on the big screen.
32:11Oh, my God.
32:28I'm back.
32:31I'm home.
32:34All the time.
32:34Please.
32:37We finally really did it.
32:41You maniacs!
32:44You blew it up!
32:47Oh, damn you!
32:50God damn you all to hell!
33:11I clearly remember watching Planet of the Apes for the first time, and I did not see that twist ending coming.
33:22I thought it was basically a world of apes, and then right when that sequence began,
33:28that's when, immediately, I realized, my God, we were standing in front of it the whole time.
33:40The significance of that one sequence, and how horrifying and nightmarish it is, is how it's a clear slap in the face that we were walking in circles this whole time.
33:55It's basically what will happen to us in time, this horrifying reality of knowing that the world in general is not what it is at the moment.
34:09You know, you think, you know, from the title, Planet of the Apes, you know, on a different planet, and then you find out, no, it was Earth all along.
34:18And, you know, I always thought the theory of, oh, you know, the apes have taken over, and, you know, they, of course, decide to take all the man-made monuments and just take them down.
34:34And that's one of the last remnants.
34:37But, you know, I've heard different interpretations. That's how I've interpreted it.
34:40Anyway, but I've heard different interpretations of the ending.
34:44But, you know, it's just a general shocky ending, and you feel the same shock as Taylor does when he sees the Statue of Liberty.
34:57So it's very much an iconic ending.
35:01It's very much an iconic ending.
35:02We wind up fighting wars from time to time, or even all the time.
35:11There's wars going on right now that we probably don't know about.
35:15And that's what this movie confronts us with, is our own tendency towards war.
35:28It's also unique, because in the original book, the Planet of the Apes was just that.
35:34It was another planet with apes, with apes living on it.
35:39In the ending of the original book, the main character actually takes a rocket and goes back to Earth.
35:47But when he goes back to Earth, it's ruled by apes as well.
35:52And I think if people, if they used that ending, I don't think it would have made a lot of sense.
35:59Some people would get it, some people wouldn't get it.
36:02And that's why I think the Statue of Liberty ending works so well, because it's both shocking and subtle at the same time.
36:10I mean, here is this iconic image of liberty and American freedom.
36:16And it's just sitting on the rocks, half buried in sand, decaying and rusting and falling apart.
36:24That's just a depressing sight to look at.
36:27Here's a statue you've known all your life that symbolized everything that America stands for.
36:32And it's just rotting there, like something in a landfill.
36:37That's very depressing.
36:39But with the new films today, plot twists don't seem to have that same quality as they did back then.
36:47I mean, you had films like Star Wars or Friday the 13th.
36:53You had dozens of great, you had like hundreds of films that had great plot twists,
37:00or even twists in the film in general, not just relating to the plot.
37:06But nowadays, you just, they just don't seem to have that same quality anymore.
37:12I mean, just, at times there might be some differences,
37:17but even people that we know who were at once, you know, once in their time was great with twists,
37:25like M. Night Shyamalan, who was a major example, with his film Sixth Sense.
37:31Nobody knew that was coming.
37:33But when his new films came out, they just sucked and sucked and sucked.
37:38Nothing was salvageable about his newer films.
37:43And I don't even think his new film, Devil, would even be his saving grace.
37:49It wasn't with The Happening, and it sure as hell wasn't with The Last Airbender, so.
37:58You know, but at least we still have films that still have their great twists.
38:06Especially, you know, with Planet of the Apes.
38:09The film that basically redefined twists in general.
38:13When it was released on February 8th, 1968, Planet of the Apes proved to be a major box office success,
38:22captivating audiences and critics alike, grossing over $30 million on a near $6 million budget.
38:30This science fiction tale became a landmark in film history,
38:34with two Academy Award nominations for Best Score and Costume Design,
38:39and John Chambers was given an honorary award in Outstanding Makeup Achievement.
38:45Over the years, Planet of the Apes would not only revolutionize sci-fi,
38:50but even the franchise genre,
38:52as Fox Studios took the opportunity to create four sequels,
38:57each successful and more creative than the last.
39:01However, it wouldn't be until July 2001,
39:04when a remake directed by Tim Burton would be released to a mixed reception
39:09and found unfavored by fans.
39:12Many criticized it for being less of a social satire the original was
39:16and going more for an action-adventure approach.
39:20And with a reboot soon to be out on summer 2011,
39:23only time can tell if the new installment,
39:26Rise of the Apes will stick out to the dark social commentary
39:30of the original or become unwanted popcorn entertainment.
39:35I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for saying this,
39:39but when I was very young,
39:42I actually had plans to remake the Planet of the Apes movies.
39:46I was 11 back then, keep this in mind.
39:50And I had the weirdest way of doing it.
39:54And basically, the scientists would be experimenting with some sort of gelatin
40:01and somehow it would form into apes.
40:05And I don't know how jello and apes got in my head.
40:08I think it might have been something from Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.
40:12But when I began outlining each one in my own head,
40:19I'd be like, oh, this would be a great idea.
40:20You know, this underground society with all these jello-made apes
40:24taking over the planet and trying to travel back in time
40:28and take over and stuff like that.
40:29It was a weird, weird idea I had.
40:31And I think what might have killed it was seeing Tim Burton's version.
40:37Needless to say, again, I'm going to get a lot of flack for this one,
40:41but it was actually the first DVD that I got.
40:47And I remember seeing it.
40:49And my first thoughts were, I actually kind of liked it.
40:54I thought the makeup was great.
40:58There were some things about it I thought they were okay with.
41:02You know, I was young back then.
41:04I didn't know any better.
41:04But growing up now and hearing all this flack and negativity
41:10and revisiting Tim's planet again,
41:14I guess I can say that there were a lot of things
41:18I really wish they sort of stuck true to.
41:21The 2001 remake actually did some things very creatively.
41:25They did some nice things with the new special effects
41:31and they took the story in a different direction.
41:34Problem is, Tim Burton reimagining things
41:39is really a hit-and-miss scenario.
41:44With me, at least.
41:46But it's okay.
41:48I mean, it's a genuinely entertaining film
41:50for the first two-thirds of it.
41:51And Rick Baker's makeup, I cannot praise enough.
41:56The makeup, say what you will about it,
41:59but Rick Baker's makeup trumps the original, in my opinion.
42:04And Tim Roth is a great villain, too.
42:07But, of course, it has its problems.
42:10I mean, Mark Wahlberg, who is an actor I usually like,
42:13in fact, I like him pretty much almost anything,
42:15except Planet of the Apes.
42:17He's just kind of there in Planet of the Apes.
42:20And Mark Wahlberg, he's a great actor,
42:23so I don't know what went wrong there.
42:27And the ending.
42:28Not just the ending when he arrives in Washington, D.C.
42:31I mean, right when we reach the third act,
42:35it just kind of becomes a mess.
42:37And it's not like Burton cannot direct action scenes.
42:40I mean, Batman is proof enough that
42:42Tim Burton knows how to direct action scenes.
42:44But it's just, I don't know.
42:46There's something that doesn't work
42:47in the final third Planet of the Apes.
42:50But it's an okay film.
42:52It's an okay film.
42:53But the thing I don't like about the film
42:56is that all the social commentary from the original are gone.
43:00I mean, it's just a straight-up action film,
43:02like you see on a Saturday matinee.
43:04And it's just a popcorn flick.
43:08Now, for the reboot coming up,
43:11or the prequel, Rise of the Apes,
43:14that seems interesting because
43:15it seems like they're going to go back
43:18to the original tone of the original Apes films.
43:22And there will be social commentary in it.
43:25I hope.
43:26I've seen the actors list so far,
43:29and it doesn't look disappointing.
43:30I mean, yeah, they won't use makeup anymore.
43:33They will use CGI.
43:35But maybe the CGI will be good,
43:36like something you see in Avatar.
43:38Maybe, maybe not.
43:41It could be a good film.
43:42It could be a bad film.
43:44I don't know.
43:45But I'm going to go see it nonetheless.
43:48And then I'll tell you what I think.
43:52I think one thing that worries me the most
43:54about the upcoming reboot in 2011
43:56is how it can distance itself
43:58from the franchise in general
44:01because there can only be one,
44:03one ape in general,
44:05and that's, of course, the original franchise.
44:08Here, they're actually taking one of the sequels
44:11and saying,
44:13we're going to start anew
44:14by actually showing the Apes take over the world.
44:18Well, there goes a remake of Planet of the Apes,
44:20that's for sure.
44:21Seriously, James Franco as a scientist
44:25harboring an intelligent ape
44:29done through CGI
44:31with Andy Psychus as the Caesar role.
44:38I think I'll wait until it's a rental.
44:41I'm not going to watch it.
44:43I think in terms of Tim Rothman
44:46and 20th Century Fox in general,
44:48I think they're just focusing on,
44:50you know, we need a project out
44:52to fill the void.
44:54We need something to get the audience's attention.
44:58You know, back then, in comparison,
45:00in the 1960s,
45:03they were all about story, character,
45:06and how the audience will react to it.
45:12Today, it's all about,
45:13let's make a movie so
45:15we can get an audience.
45:17We don't care about flaws
45:20or anything of that much.
45:23Who cares?
45:24You know, we're just going to
45:25send a feature film out there,
45:27see how it does,
45:28make money, you know,
45:29and that's the sad thing.
45:30Because back then,
45:31it was all about storytelling,
45:33doing something no one's ever done before,
45:35and now today, it's all about
45:37to hell with originality.
45:40Let's just do something.
45:44As long as it doesn't mean
45:45sitting on our duffs
45:48for 3,000 years
45:51trying to come up with the next
45:52big thing.
45:54We already come so far with Avatar,
45:56so, you know,
45:57how farther can we get?
45:59But, I feel that
46:01if you're going to go see
46:02an Apes movie,
46:03watch the originals.
46:05They're great,
46:06they're provocative,
46:07they have a very well-meaning
46:08commentary to each one of them.
46:11I think it won't work with,
46:13you know,
46:13whatever you remake
46:15or reboot it,
46:16because it just won't have
46:18the same impact
46:19as the original did.
46:21The original was much more
46:23than a B-movie.
46:24It was an intelligent
46:26and sophisticated
46:28science fiction film,
46:29and that's where I think
46:30most people misinterpret
46:33and lose within,
46:37you know,
46:37the numerous new versions
46:39that come out each year.
46:41And I think that's the true tragedy
46:43of remaking
46:44Planet of the Apes
46:45these days,
46:45because there's no way
46:46you can capture
46:48just how impressive it was
46:51back then
46:53when it was first released
46:54in 1968.
46:56It's timeless,
46:57it's never dated,
46:58and to this day,
47:01its message still horrifies
47:02the audience
47:03in ways you just can't imagine.
47:09If it's one thing
47:10that will never change,
47:12it's how Planet of the Apes
47:13proves to be
47:14entertaining
47:14and warn the audience
47:16at the same time.
47:18It's a classic
47:18science fiction tale
47:20that satires
47:21our own society
47:22and shows what will
47:23happen to our lives
47:24if we don't stop
47:25for a moment to think
47:26about how matters
47:28are being run today,
47:30or else
47:30we will make a monkey
47:32out of ourselves.
47:33or else?
47:33or else?
47:38Cut.
Comments