The original 1968 Planet of the Apes has to be one of my top ten favorite sci-fi movies ever and no sequel or presequel (a word my friend Renee coined) can ever top it. When I found out that there was yet another sequel to Planet of the Apes coming out this summer - Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I thought to myself "Good grief, another one?" After the original PotA there were many sequels made: Beneath The Planet of the Apes; Escape from Planet of the Apes; Conquest of the Planet of the Apes; Battle for the Planet of the Apes; and let's not forget the 2001 PotA remake starring Marky Wahlberg. Not to mention the 1970's T.V. series PotA. All pale in comparison to the original.
So, I revisited the original 1968 PotA first, (which was a blast!) before going to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I do not have Netflix. My local library didn't have a copy. Luckily, I found a used DVD at my local record store, Bull Moose Music, for $4.00, less than the cost of a matinee movie ticket. And I have the movie forever. Not only did I get the DVD immediately, I also saved shipping and handling if I would had gone to ebay. BUY LOCAL. I found that comparing the original PotA to Rise of the Planet of the Planet Apes with the CGI (Computer Generated Images) is like comparing apples to oranges. The original is about man's destruction cause and result of nuclear war and the latter is about man messing with genetics to create human supremacy and pharmaceutical greed. One is "campy sci-fi," the other "hard sci-fi." Anyway, here's my perspective of the two films.
Original PotA - Aside from the brilliant storyline of a futuristic reverse evolution planet and the outstanding surprise ending, I picked up lots of goofy cool stuff watching it again, fun stuff. Like when the astronauts' spaceship Icarus (love the name, like the myth) fell from the sky didn't they think to themselves "Hey, this place looks like the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River!" or when they saw the cornfields and ocean, "Hey this REALLY looks like earth!" ...fun stuff like that. The three ape judges in the courtroom doing the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" which was ad-lib on the set while filming. And "human see, human do" reference. Just fun-funky-campy-kitschy stuff. Some question marks too. Lots of great memorable lines as well. I'm trying to keep this blog short, as not to lose your interest. But if you want to "talk ape" further....email me. Or better yet read the trivia links below. The list goes on, you'll have to watch it again to see what I mean. Just like I love the campy 1960's T.V. Batman as opposed to the Dark Knight Batman movies. ( Yeah, I know, the original comic book was the "Dark Knight.")
How can you answer to the original PotA All Star line up? Academy Award winning actors, writers, directors - Roddy McDowell, Charlton Heston, director Franklin Schaffner - who won 7 Academy Awards prior to PotA for "Patton," screenwriter Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) who was anti- racist, anti-war and a humanitarian (the whole theme of PotA), and writer Michael Wilson (who also wrote "Bridge Over River Kwai") who never got credit for PotA (until way later posthumously) because he was black listed from Hollywood during the McCarthyism anti-communism crusade...a french gentleman, Pierre Boulle, got all the credit and he also got the credit for the writing the original PotA again in the Rise of Planet of the Apes as the credits roll during the end! Yes, I watch the credits at the end. And if you should go see Rise of, you should too, because after the black-screen credits run, the "presequel" (thanks Renee) show a scene foreshadowing yet ANOTHER PotA movie is probably in the works. Oh joy.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - I went in with an open-mind. The CGI apes were way too computerized for me! Very jerky movements, not fluid. I'll take the human bodies with rubber masks and keep it kitschy please. Let's call a spade a spade. They are not real apes, so don't even try to fake it. Imaginary CGI, like Avatar, is okay, because it's fantasy non-realism from the artist's colorful brush. There was no really BIG surprise ending that made the original PotA so special - thank you Rod Serling for your brilliant screenwriting. That haunting visual image of the Statue of Liberty's torso and head sticking out of the sandy beach of the California coast at the end of the original PotA is one that has stuck with me for many years! I was a kid when I watched the original and it creeped me out, without the blood and gore, how 'bout that? To think, the astronauts were on earth all along, horrors! Charlton Heston's line: “You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!" 50 Best Movie Closing Lines: Planet of the Apes (1968) | TotalFilm.com Even though PotA was campy but cutting edge for its time....what a powerful message to send to humanity as to where a nuclear war will get us all. I didn't see such a message watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and it was supposed to be a "dark" movie, at least that's what I got from the previews.
I did laugh some during Rise of at the mean neighbor guy always "getting it" and the headline on the newspaper on the curbside "LOST IN SPACE" reference to the popular '60s sci-fi TV series which was around the same time the first PotA was conceived. There were some sad sentimental scenes in Rise of, as well. But nothing too emotionally stirring for me. Sorry, I couldn't get past that the apes were computerized. Caesar's nickname is "Bright Eyes" in Rise of, as is George Taylor's in the original. And oh yeah, my favorite PotA line and scene recycled in Rise of the Planet of the Apes: "Take your stinking paws off of me you damn dirty ape!" Loved it, in both movies, the astonished looks on both apes and humans faces are hilarious (see posted video clips from both movies below.) Little nuances like that were cool. The domed cages in both, the power hosing down in the cages, leashes for humans and apes were neat mirror imaging from the original PotA. It's evident that the writers did their homework. The 1960's were an exciting time in the US for the promise of space exploration and our Space Program, lots of sci-fi pop-culture happening. Planet of the Apes, fit like a hand and glove during this glorious era. Lots of "what ifs." Today we have diseases, tumultuous political times, terrorists, wars, and a failing economy to look forward to......not so exciting, which is why Rise of the Planet of the Apes didn't excite me.
Good film, like good art, is made to make us see, feel and think. Rise of the Planet of the Apes falls flat. Nice "nods" to the original Planet of the Apes though, which kept me from falling asleep.
I give Rise of the Planet of the Apes - One Paintbrush Up.
PotA Trivia: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063442/trivia
PotA Film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063442/
Rise of the Planet of the Apes: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/
I'm the first person to comment on your very first blog post! Yay! So, I liked your analysis of the movie, and I, too, think that the first PotA movie can't be beat. But I don't think this movie WAS trying to "beat" it. It was more like "hey, here's an idea for a summer popcorn movie, explaining how our planet came to be ruled by apes". I loved the movie! Being a scientist, it did annoy me that James Franco's actions were unbelievable and inexcusable (injecting his dad with the gene therapy virus, aerosolizing the untested new virus, bringing Caesar home with him), but you do have to suspend your sense of disbelief somewhat when going to watch a movie called "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"! I thought they did a really good job with the CGI apes. It was James Franco's relationship with Caesar that was the real emotional heart of the movie, and I admit I cried when they took him to that awful primate facility (with mean ol' Tom Felton - his agent needs to get him some parts playing the good guy!). If they hadn't done such a good job with that, the movie could have easily dissolved into camp, which it didn't. I remember watching the first PotA and thinking "wow, they did such a good job with the make-up"! Back then, that movie was cutting edge. It's only now, 40 something years later, that it's kind of campy, and still, it holds up pretty well! Sure, the messages of this movie - animal testing is bad and dangerous, and big pharma is greedy and evil - aren't as "heavy" as the "nuclear war and racism are bad" messages of the first movie, but I was still highly entertained by the movie. I also loved the little nods to the original as well. (Tom Felton's character's name is Dodge Landon, the astronaut in the first movie who gets lobotomized!!)
ReplyDeleteSo, 1 paintbrush up out of how many? (I would rate it higher than one!)
Oh, and I loved the comic relief circus orangutan!
Sweet! Thanks for your post Renee! Yeah, I think how the apes took over the planet was already addressed in one of the many sequels to the original. Not sure which one, and I really don't feel like watching the sequels. You are right, "Rise of Planet of the Apes" was a 21st century answer and homage to the original. And for you, being a Biological Scientist, the whole unethical messing around with genetics and animal testing must have struck a chord. And wow, you have a good memory! I didn't even pick up on the "Dodge Landon" parody! Cool. Another nod to the original, I am sure there are many!
ReplyDeleteMy rating system is a take-off on Siskel & Ebert's "Two Thumbs Up." So, the stuff I blog about either gets: One Paintbrush Up (Just So-So Good Stuff,) Two Paintbrushes Up (Really Good Stuff.) Trying to keep it light and positive. My friend Rob, suggested I add a rating - "One Paintbrush Up without Bristles, How am I supposed to paint with this?" rating. I like it.