Planet of the Apes Collection Planet of the Apes (1967) Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971) Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
The original movie was cowritten by Rod Serling, based on Pierre Boulle's novel about an apparently parallel world where apes have evolved intelligence and Man lives in wild tribes. There were several sequels and a one-season tv series. Only Roddy McDowall starred in both the movie series and the tv series.
The stunned trio discovers that these highly intellectual simians can both walk upright and talk. They have even established a class system and a political structure. The astronauts suddenly find themselves part of a devalued species, trapped and imprisoned by the apes. But one, Taylor, manages to break out and, aided by a pair of compassionate chimps, makes his escape to an uninhabited section of land. However, during the trek Taylor makes a startling, unsettling discovery about the planet -- and realizes he's come full circle when he sees something on the beach ...
Exteriors filmed in Utah and Arizona National Park.
Academy Award Nominations: 2, Best Score, Best Costume Design. Edward G. Robinson was originally slated to play the role of Zaius, but had to pull out at the last minute due to health problems. He and Heston would finally work together in Soylent Green (1973), based on the novel "Make Room Make Room!" set in the year 2022. Robinson did one of the best dying-scenes ever, then died 2 days later in real life. Soylent Green was made by, for and of the people...
By the way, Charlton Heston agreed to make a cameo (as an ape) in the new Apes movie the summer of 2001. It is not called a remake because the script is based on the original book, not the 1967 script.
In the tv series Roddy McDowall played ape Galen in the distant future when apes rule. Two more astronauts, played by Ron Harper & James Naughton, have crash-landed and live a life of fugitives with Galen as their only trusted friend. Zaius (Booth Colman) is an orangutang, one of the ruling elite, while Urko (Star Trek's Mark Lenard) is one of the brutal gorillas in the military class. The series started 13 September 1974 and was cancelled the same year after the 27 December episode, though the few unaired episodes were seen in Britain. It is not being rerun anywhere as far as I know and none of the episodes are available on video.
TV Series Episodes:
Escape From Tomorrow
The Gladiators
The Trap
The Good Seeds
The Legacy
Tomorrow's Tide
The Surgeon
The Deception
The Horse Race
The Interrogation
The Tyrant
The Cure
The Liberator
Descriptions & cast lists of episodes
There was also a tv-series about the same time based on Westworld
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News about the Planet of the Apes movie (2001)
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