6. “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” (Ted Post, 1970)
The original “Planet of the Apes” is a hard act to follow, and “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” isn’t really up to the challenge. The movie begins right after the big reveal that capped off the first movie, with Taylor (Charlton Heston, who supposedly donated his sizable check for what amounts to a “guest appearance” to a charity of his choosing) venturing further into the Forbidden Zone. After the earth starts to crack and flames shoot out of the ground, Taylor disappears, leaving the mute (but incredibly hot) Nova (Linda Harrison) to find help. It turns out she doesn’t have to look far, because Brent (James Franciscus), an astronaut who has traveled into the same portal looking for Taylor and his crewmates, shows up. This is problem #1 with “Beneath the Planet of the Apes:” James Franciscus is fucking awful. He looks sort of like Heston, something producer Richard Zanuck later said was a deliberate attempt to confuse the audience, but none of his gravitas or gruff charm. (His beard is pretty good though.) The movie is rather plodding, with Brent going through the same motions that Taylor did, although there are some delightful flourishes: James Gregory as warmongering gorilla commander General Ursus (who utters the immortal “The only good human is a dead human!” line); a long, unbroken tracking shot of the gorilla training camp; and more upfront political commentary, like when the apes, bound for battle, encounter a group of peace-loving chimpanzees with signs that read “Unity in Peace.” (The movie’s lively last 30 minutes, when Brent encounters an underground society of mutants that worships an atomic bomb, and runs into Taylor, is pretty trippy too, if completely nonsensical.) Still, in addition to Franciscus’ wooden performance, there are a number of things that make “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” one of the least engaging entries in the franchise: the large crowd scenes, where extras are clearly wearing Halloween-style plastic masks, the wonky pacing, the lack of Roddy McDowall (he was directing a project in England at the time) and the bleak ending which tries to top the shock of the first film (and doesn’t) and seems to have been designed almost exclusively so Heston wouldn’t have to show up for another sequel.
5. “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” (J. Lee Thompson, 1972)
The “Planet of the Apes” films had always been political, but with “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,” things got angry. And it was awesome. Continuing the tradition of the sequels having bigger canvases but smaller budgets, “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” takes place in the nebulously phrased “North America – 1991” and was filmed in the newly opened, starkly modern Century City, an urban tangle built on land formerly owned by 20th Century Fox. In the years since “Escape from the Planet of the Apes,” a virus has killed off most of the domesticated pets on earth, leaving apes to supposedly fill that role (and so much more). These apes are basically slaves, and so it’s up to Armando (Ricardo Montalban, back again, this time sporting some wispy facial hair) to protect the super smart child of Cornelius and Zira, Caesar (Roddy McDowall, this time playing his own son, something he described later as “a unique acting challenge”). Of course, Caesar is found out and put through the process the rest of the apes face, a kind of training program/internment camp, which serves to militarize him, until he eventually leads a violent ape revolt against the human oppressors. McDowall is, once again, flawless, and one of the most touching moments in the entire franchise is when he discovers that the human government has murdered Armando. As tears roll down McDowall’s make-up-coated cheeks, there’s no doubt that this character is 100% real. Shortly before “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” was released, the studio got skittish about the movie’s level of violence and its incendiary political subtext (which referenced everything from America’s history with slavery to more contemporary issues like the Watts riots), and softened the ending, which had Caesar leading an all-out execution of the human prisoners (“Ape management is in the hands of the apes”). That version has been beautifully restored for the Blu-ray release and is the essential incarnation of “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes,” which has its share of cheap drive-in moments but is also surprisingly cerebral and dark. It also set the stage to a truly explosive finale to the series, which unfortunately ended up not coming to pass (see ‘Battle‘ above).
4. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (Rupert Wyatt, 2011)
With ‘Dawn’ by all accounts eclipsing the first entry in the rebooted franchise, it would be easy to undervalue “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” by comparison, but that would do an injustice to just what a Herculean task Rupert Wyatt’s film achieved. Bursting out of the gates from the standing start of a moribund franchise whose last attempt at rejuvenation (Burton’s 2001 film) had become more or less a punchline, where it was remembered at all, ‘Rise’ had a seemingly insurmountable mountain to climb to claw back any relevance to the modern filmgoer. But two major factors allowed it to do just that: an industry in which the fields of motion-capture technology and computer generated imagery had made exponential strides forward in achieving photorealist creature effects, and a cracking script that makes the characters of the apes, particularly Caesar, as unforgettably performed by mo-cap superstar Andy Serkis, among the most complex and rounded of recent blockbuster protagonists. Again, perhaps the human characterization suffers a little by comparison—James Franco is not on quite the sleepy-eyed autopilot he is elsewhere but he’s not an especially interesting human foil, and we instantly forgot Freida Pinto was even in this—but perhaps that’s all the better for us to become invested in the apes, not just Caesar but the Maurice the orangutan who knows sign language, Buck the gorilla and the bitter bonobo Koba. For the majority of its run time, the film is a complex, absorbing piece of work, as we watch the watchful Caesar progress from observation to comprehension to the planning and organizing that indicate vastly superior intelligence, all through the minutest of performance details. Indeed the almost-silent-movie-style heist sequence in which Caesar leaves his “prison,” to steal the intelligence-enhancing gas is as fine an example of pure cinema as the tentpole has yielded recently, all culminating in that first, shocking spoken word–“No.” In fact, ‘Rise’ could even have outflanked 1971’s ‘Escape’ and even maybe the 1968 original on this list were it not for its final battle scenes which become suddenly a bit daft by comparison: as action scenes they’re well staged and exciting, but it’s hard to maintain the same level of intellectual engagement when you’re watching a gorilla make a twenty foot jump off the Golden Gate bridge and into a helicopter. Still, ‘Rise’ largely delivered the last thing any of us were really expecting—an intelligent, thrilling ‘Apes’ movie that must surely go down as one of the most successful and welcome franchise reboots ever.
You can stream all Planet of the Apes Movies, TV series and animated series at planetoftheapes.tk
Btw great article
I know I\’m late to this party but I just ran across this article. I have not yet seen the newest films but have watched the first six numerous times. I would rate them 1 Planet
2 Conquest
3 Beneath
4 Battle
5 the Burton reboot (if only for casting Heston as an ape)
6 Beneath which is rock bottom due to absence of Roddy McDowall Coupled with general stupidity of the rest of the film.
Boy, can opinions about Planet of the Apes movies be so different. My favourites are (as a tie) Beneath and Conquest, followed by Escape, then Battle, and only then the original (which is too simple), and ending with its Burton\’s remake. I haven\’t seen the other XXI century sequel. I must go back and proclaim my surprise for the praise of the original PotA. It\’s too plain, too simple, nothing to make you think about (except the interesting ending).
Don\’t you just hate commentors like the above Dr.Zaius? Guess no one can have an opinion on the internet. Go start a blog and write your own.
It\’s not a bad list, and to be honest I\’ve only seen the first 3 films of the original series, Burtons POTA, and the two reboots of the series. So despite not seeing all the movies, my list goes like this:
1) Planet of the Apes
2) Dawn
3) Rise
4) Escape
5) Burtons (I actually enjoyed this film, Tim Roth alone was worth the price of admission)
5) Beneath
1. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) – This is my favorite by far. Great use of a limited, pre-made, functional environments to create a believable futuristic police-state environment. I also love brutalist architecture, and you get to see great examples of it that actually exist and are used! Most of it was filmed at a business park UC Irvine. You also really get to see the apes riot, which is fun.
Planet of the Apes (1968) – I just put it 2nd because it is the original.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) – I thought it was cool to see a different, secret part of life in the Planet of the Apes world. Did anyone else notice the nods to this in the new movie?
Rise of the planet of the Apes (2011) – I liked it because James Franco and it was based off of my favorite movie, although the coolest elements (the sets) were not there.
Dawn of the planet of the Apes (2014) – This was a gripping, intense movie. There were also a lot of parts that I found funny, but no one else in the theater seemed to. A little too video-game tropey for me though.
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) – As I recall, I think I thought this was too dark and scary. The 2014 version is based off of this. The ending is nice but totally cheesy.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) – I donât really remember this one except for the end, but re-reading the plot – it sounds cheesy as hell. I remember the end was really sad and too violent 🙁
did not see 2001 version
I LOVE the whole series, but my list would be
1) PotA 1968 (in a movie series it is all but impossible for any movie to replace the original. Even if it is a better movie–if– the original is the innovator and originator and nothing beats that IMHO.)
2) Rise. Maybe not as well-made of a movie as Dawn but, to me, far more satisfying and exciting. It also is far more an enjoyable movie as Dawn is not just pessimistic but dreary throughout.
3) Dawn. Great f/x, very moving. But not as much action as was warranted, too much talking in static shots (Jason Clarke packing his bags, Jason Clarke writing in a book, the boy from Let Me In drawing), and the next battle is the one we want to see. I would have liked to see more scenes with the humans dealing with what has happened to humanity and struggling to prevent anything worse, more action with real consequences and 20 less minutes of talking and the opening hunting scene.
4) Conquest- the uncut version. Not a great movie (and how could apes have evolved so quickly by 1991??), but exciting and fun and fills in much desired gaps in the Apes timeline
5) Escape. Dated and cheesy. The soundtrack has a very 70's sound and the subplots of feminism and the shopping montage bring this movie down. Great opening scene, though, and the ending would be thrilling and chilling if the scene of the chimp weren't so obviously looped.
6) it's a redo of 1, but most sequels are. A pretty bad movie but I actually love the ending (pretty ballsy–spoilers– to not only destroy all of the main characters but destroy the entire planet with it. End spoilers. The mutants, the anti-war politics and the telepathy just make this awful.
7) PotA remake- absolutely no story, weird bestial romance allusions, weird female ape make up and the grossly overrated Marky Mark. The only good things are the make up, the f/x, and the fact that the Apes series was alive again, albeit briefly.
8) Battle. Looks so cheap it could have been filmed in someone's backyard. All talk and lofty ideals drag down this entry. The big scene amounts to people in motorcycles and school buses driving through fields. The only good things are Roddy was in it and it apparently helped free American hostages in Iran.
.
1. The original (not just because it's a great movie, but because of it's calculated impact)
2. Dawn of (powerful in almost every way…#2 only because it borrowed–and in many ways improved–in what's gone before)
3. Rise of (very well done reimagining)
4. Beneath the (everyone here seems intent on putting this on the bottom of the list…well except for the Burton abomination…but it's so full of cheesy political allegory that I prefer it to the rest)
5. Escape from (charming and funny)
6. Conquest of (still fun, but bordering on bad without trying to be…which is what "Beneath" felt like)
7. Battle for (also still fun, but again–seems like it took itself too seriously)
8. Nothing at all.
9. Burton's Crapper
1. The Original Planet of The Apes
2. The Prequel/Reboot Series
3. The Planet of The Apes Sequels
4. The Tim Burton Series
1. Planet
2. Conquest
3. Dawn
4. Rise
5. Escape
6. Beneath
7. Burton
One other bit of Apes related content you forgot is Planet of the Apes the Musical starring Troy McClure.
"I hate every ape I see. From chimpan-A to chimpan-Z"
I love how all the comments have people saying "you're wrong" and "you're crazy for putting this movie in so-so position" like somehow your opinion is more relevant or correct. It's just the author's opinion.
One of the many messages in all these movies has to do with arrogance with individuals thinking their way or opinion is the right one whether its humans or apes. It's what leads to all the conflicts in these movies.
It's alright to have an opinion but be respectful of others as well.
Having Dawn as the best of the bunch clearly shows that this list was primarily compiled to garner interest for the new film. I agree with MIKHAIL KAUFMAN, it felt rather empty and I left the theater wondering why anyone would watch it.
Beneath is the worst of the bunch. Far too bleak and cold. At least Burton's film had really fantastic make up work and some solid set pieces. It's really the ending that truly buried the remake. The original Planet of the Apes film is yet to be surpassed. As hugely successful and acclaimed as the current film is, it is still stunning you would rank it higher than the iconic original.
I'd be with you if it weren't for Jason Clarke… a solid performance there, and the new film has the weight it's designed to have. The guy just let really rich emotional material drop into the abyss time and time again. Clive Owen? Someone, not that guy. Terrible performance.
Almost totally agree with this list, but for a few exceptions.
1. Planet (Original)
2. Escape
3. Rise
4. Conquest
5. Dawn
6. Planet (Remake)
7. Beneath
8. Battle
Not sure why Dawn is so highly praised here and elsewhere. I found it rather empty from an expositional standpoint, which is mainly due to the lack of a good human element, and the apes mainly just grunting and signing. I also didn't think it set up the next film very well. It looks to be a 2-hour war scene (a la Matrix Revolutions), from this point, but we'll see. On a side-note, it seemed as though Beneath never intended to be an Apes movie to begin with, but I'm very happy it led to the often hilarious and almost bitingly satiric Escape. Also think Conquest was super heavy-handed, but very underrated.
I agree Dawn of the planet of the apes is definitely number one its the BEST MOVIE EVER!
Th newest is amazing bt I'm sorry there's NO WAY it's better than the original. Not even close. Very badly played.
they really should have stayed in the spirit of the org.. because these new ones are horrible remakes….
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I've always loved Beneath the Planet of the Apes the most of the sequels. It has its faults, but I appreciate how it starts out like a rehash of the first film until the latter half where it gets really out there. It also has to be the darkest, most nihilistic film ever released with a G rating.
"And the fellowship of the holy fall-out be amongst us" (from "Beneath"), no matter how often i hear that line (or see it written down) it always makes me fall about laughing.
Tim Roth is a pile of shit specifically because he is British.
I want to bugger Nova, what a gorgeous bird she was.
Roddy McDowall was a fairy, the bloody disgusting woofter.
How can anyone pick Rise of the Planet of the Apes as a top pick? Its banal. This author has NO sense of what the Planet of the Ape films are about-which are commentaries on race, the Cold War, and America's growing military and most importantly nuclear arsenal. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, though clearly suffering from budget shortfall, is one of the most provocative and interesting social commentaries through science fiction on slavery, Black Power, and the urban riots of the 1960s. Although the studio executives forced the director to reshoot the end with a conciliatory tone, the true end of the film is an unforgiven allegory of America's violent racial history. In a society that refused to make films on slavery, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a hallmark film of deep social critique. The new films are droll and boring in comparison with no real social commentary whatsoever–all action and very little thought.
You're insane if you think Dawn is the best one. Rise and Dawn are great but they're very straightforward. There's not much going on beneath the surface. Here's my list…
1. Original
2. Escape
3. Conquest
4. Dawn
5. Rise
6. Beneath
7. Battle
8. Burton's (the makeup is amazing and Elfman's score is incredible but the movie is garbage)
What about Dunston Checks In?
Great article. I'd go with:
1. Escape ("meet baby Milo who has Washington terrified!")
2. Planet
3. Conquest
4. Battle ("Ape has never killed ape…let alone an ape child")
5. Dawn
6. Burton's version (mind blowing Tim Roth performance)
7. Beneath
8. Rise (terrible, almost no ape action)
enjoyed the review. well done. i agree with rankings 5 through 10 but I don\’t know if i\’d rank 1 through 4 in the same order. my first impulse is to rank planet of the apes as number 1, but i\’m not sure if it\’s because that\’s what i really think or if it\’s sentimentality speaking. honestly i don\’t know if I can rank the films in the 1 through 4 position. it\’d be a competition, and i don\’t always want to be critical enough to rate and rank films that i really like. it would take away from the enjoyment of the films themselves. guess i\’d never make it as a film critic!