Today, Planet of the Apes is a long standing media franchise consisting of films, books, TV series, comics, and more. In 1963 it was a French novel and by 1968 it was a film that shocked audiences. Loosely adapted from the sci-fi novel of the same name by Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes follows astronauts who land on a planet inhabited by nonhuman Apes with humanlike intelligence. The novel was adapted by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone fame and Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. At the time of its release the movie was a success and its ending remains one of the most shocking twist endings of all time. There is a lot to be said of a society built by Orangutans, Gorillas, and Chimps but there is more to be said about the films allegorical nature and why after all these years we are still attached to the story of Planet of the Apes.

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Released during the height of the Civil Rights movement, Planet of the Apes would have a deeper meaning at the time whether it was meant to or not. The film takes a look at Taylor, an astronaut who lands on an unknown planet with two other astronauts. Taylor, the nihilist of the bunch, is forced to face some harsh realities when he is stranded on the planet alone following the death of Dodge and the labotomization of Landon. Previously a man of privilege, Taylor is now at the bottom of the food chain as he is mistreated and imprisoned. Having been shot in the throat, Taylor is unable to speak and all attempts to let the chimps know that he understands speech is thwarted.

Each of the three astronauts are different in the way they approach their mission. Who they are as individuals is shown in their interactions with each other and the environment. Landon represents human positivity, Dodge represents human curiosity, and Taylor represents human nihilism. Taylor’s approach and personality make him favorable for the journey and outcome of the film. Landon challenges Taylor’s nihilism while Dodge’s curiosity about the world they land on is at odds with Taylor’s hostility.

Adapting Planet of the Apes

Prior to the book’s publication, Producer Author P. Jacobs purchased the rights to the novel. Blake Edwards was originally set to direct the film produced by Warner Brothers and the film was announced in 1964. Jacobs later convinced 20th Century Fox to take on the project after the success of his film What a Way to Go! Rod Serling, wrote the original script. Serling’s script, like the novel, featured the Apes as a more advanced society. In order to curb costs they decided to make the society more primitive. In order to do so they brought on Michael Wilson to rewrite the script. He kept the structure of Serling’s script but changed all the dialogue, adding comedic quips. The ending of Serling’s script remained intact and it is hard to imagine this film without it. There was said to be another writer that came on but there is no name that can be put to the lines. Director Schaffner did improvise some moments while on set, such as the hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil moment.

Filming for Planet of the Apes began on May 21 in 1967 and went till August 10. The film cost $5.8 Million to make and was filmed on location in California, Utah, and Arizona. John Chambers created the makeup prosthetics in the film. Chambers’ prosthetics were groundbreaking at the time and are even incredible by todays’ standards. It’s impossible to talk about this film and not discuss the incredible work by Chambers. What makes the prosthetics that much more amazing is how they can move on the face and how the actors’ expressions can come through.

Reception To Planet of the Apes

A critical and commercial success, Planet of the Apes brought in a lifetime gross of $32, 593, 134. Prior to the film’s release, the word was out, Planet of the Apes was a must see movie. Some may have avoided the film solely on the name itself. Roger Ebert shared that sentiment stating that he probably wouldn’t have seen it had if he was not a critic. In the review Ebert said of the film:

It is not great, or significant, or profound. Occasionally it is distractingly cute, as when the apes rewrite one cliché after another: “Man see, Man do,” for example, or “To apes, all men look alike.” But, this is part of the fun. So is that much-publicized ape makeup: it does look real, by jingo, and after a while you really do start thinking of those apes as individuals.

The film remains a critically acclaimed masterpiece with the film’s makeup maintaining its praise through the years. Some aspects of the film has not faired as well. Charlton Heston’s acting and some of the fight scenes have had more criticisms in recent times.

Rife with symbolism and allegory, The Hollywood Reporter reviewed the film and said this:

Eminently successful on its primary level, the film has its weaknesses in the crowding of allegorical meanings. At one time or another the film deals with race relations, war and pacifism, church inquisition, senate investigation and suppression of thought, sexual myth, the credibility gap in official statements of position, the selective deductive processes of historians, the generation gap, blind allegiance to the status quo, the imperative right of dissent, social structure and the caste system. As a means of mirroring the totality of civilization in the totality of another, this is certainly defensible. Dramatically, it is cumbersome. Since the film sets up an anti-war stance at the outset and builds to an overwhelming symbolization at the climax, a number of the tangential commentaries might have been sacrificed toward the unity of that theme, which in fact encompasses a good many of the other problems alluded to.

The Guardian didn’t look too favorably on the film:

promising idea, and yet ultimately too cute: it is a one-to-one allegory, and this much of the film is spent exploring this not very rewarding vein. For example, the priests refuse to believe in the evolutionary theory that apes might just possibly have developed from man, and a nice young chimpanzee social worker’s idea that our hero (Charlton Heston in his usual top form) might be a “missing link” is jeered as heresy.

Social Hierarchy

The belief that humans are inherently superior to other living beings is a theme that permeates through the franchise. Planet of the Apes, released in 1968 holds tight to this theme, introducing a time where humans are placed in the position that their fellow Apes were in for so long. The actions taken by the apes are similar to the actions of humans throughout history. In the film, Apes hunt down, imprison, and run experiments on humans. They lock them up in zoo like cages.

Human Animal Conflict

One of the leading causes of death for some animals is human animal conflict. As the area in which animal’s lives gets smaller and the places humans lives grows larger, animals and humans find themselves interacting more. This leads to humans “defending,” their homes from the animals. We know that the reason why animals encroach on our living spaces is because they call outside home. Humans often overlook the boundaries that cause us to interfere with the space that they live. While this isn’t an intentional look at human animal conflict it does shine through in the interactions between ape and human.

Caste System

In the film Apes adhere to a caste system that sees the various species in different positions. The Apes in question are Gorillas, Chimps, and Orangatangs. The original film did not include Bonoboos, though they would probably be put in the same position as Chimps. In the film….

Orangoutangs: Hold political office, religious power and represent bureaucracy.

Chimpanzees: Academics and scientists. They challenge norms and work towards scientific discovery.

Gorillas: Work in the Military, law enforcement, and do daily labor.

If I were writing the script today based on what we know of the apes present in the film, I would switch the places of Orangoutangs and Chimps. I would also add Bonoboos in there with Orangoutangs. Because of the matriarchal society in which Bonoboos live in today, I see them working in child care and other work that patriarchal societies have placed on women. Because Chimps seem closer to humans in temperament it makes sense to me that they would be in more political and religious situations.

Taylor, the white male protagonist of the film, finds himself at the bottom of the social chain. Treated as an animal, he not only gets treated the way our fellow apes have been treated but also in the way marginalized people have been treated throughout the world. Planet of the Apes was made and released at the hight of the civil rights movement in the US. Since its release many scholars and critics have brought up its allegorical nature, particularly how it depicts race in the context of Jim Crow and chattel slavery.

The depiction of a caste system, the dehumanization of each other, and humans depict the conflict between cultures, races, genders, and all those that are othered. The historical context of the film puts into perspective the horrific treatment of people all over the world. Through an American lens it depicts through allegory the treatment of Black Americans and the horrors of slavery.

It is in the best interest of the oppressor to maintain their power over the oppressed. For Taylor, he is met with a new order, one that sees him in the position of “lesser than”. A caste system is not something that we in the US use but its use in the film showcases the divide against races and classes in a way that would in other ways be harder to depict. We are able to see the way the world works through the caste system.

When we come to the end of Planet of the Apes, we are met with one of the greatest twist endings of all time. One that shocked audiences and horrified Taylor. Since landing, he thought that he was on another planet but the truth reveals itself on a beach when he comes across a relic from a lost world. The world in which humans were once at the apex of the food chain. Partially buried in the sand is the Statue of Liberty. Taylor is not on some distant planet, he is on earth, years in the future where human civilization has fallen and non-human apes rule the world.