Planet of the Apes (1968)

0:03 Calarogus Shark Media. Welcome back to TV in the Basement, the podcast where we dig up classic movies and TV shows from yesteryear. I'm your host Journey Joe Mitchell, and today we're going ape for the groundbreaking nineteen sixty eight sci fi film Planet of the Apes. Planet of the Apes is a landmark science fiction movie that spawned a massive franchise including four sequels, a remake, a reboot series, TV shows, novels, comics, and endless merchandise. But it all started with this provocative original film that blew audience's minds with its closing twist ending. The movie stars Charlton Heston as astronaut George Taylor, who crash lands on a strange planet over two thousand years in the future along with his crew. They soon discover that on this world, intelligent apes are the dominant species, while primitive mute humans are hunted, enslaved, and experimented on.

1:03 Taylor is captured and studied by chimpanzee scientists Zira and Cornelius, played by Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowell. He convinces them of his intelligence and forms an alliance while fending off the hostility of the guerrilla military led by Doctor zaias played by Maurice Evans, but trying to prove Man's former superiority leads to a series of dark revelations about the planet's history. The climactic twist where Taylor discovers the ruins of the Statue of Liberty and realizes he was on Earth all along, is one of the most famous endings in movie history. It's a powerful commentary on mankind's destructive potential, leaving audiences stunned. The cast is excellent, with Charlton Heston perfectly embodying the brash all American hero who finds his worldview shattered. Roddy McDowell brings empathy and wisdom to Cornelius, kicking off a long association with the Apes franchise, and Maurice Evans is commandingly imperious as doctor zais veen of the Ape's status quo. The Ape makeups by John Chambers were groundbreaking at the time, allowing the actors to emote through the prosthetics. The ape makeup and costumes in Planet of the Apes were truly groundbreaking achievements that played a pivotal role in bringing the film's Simian society convincingly to life. The Ape makeup was the brainchild of Chambers, who began experimenting with pioneering foam latex pieces years before production began.

2:25 He designed unique appliance masks that covered the entire face and sculpted highly detailed, photorealistic ape features over top the actors. This was a major innovation compared to the simple plastic noses and mouthpieces used for EPE makeups previously. Each mask was an extraordinarily intricate work of art, with hand laid hair meticulously applied strand by strand to create a naturalistic fur texture. The masks were then individually hand painted with specialized techniques to achieve the varied skin tones and distinctive facial expressions of the different Ape character. Equally crucial were the Ape body suits designed by Elizabeth Ingele to complete the illusion. Made from dyed wool cotton and alpaca hair, they had individual muscle striations sculpted in to give a naturalistic ape like physique.

3:15 Every suit was custom tailored to each actor's proportions, with hooded cowls to allow a seamless blend with the mask appliances between the masks and costumes. Each main Ape character took up to four hours per day just to get into their full prosthetic makeup and bodysuits. All this painstaking effort paid off by creating shockingly lifelike depictions of talking, intelligent apes that were utterly convincing throughout the film. The ingenuity of Planet of the Ape's makeup and costuming cannot be overstated. It raised the bar exponentially for what was thought possible with screen prosthetics at the time. Those arresting visual accomplishments ensured this Semian civilization would be unforgettably etched into the minds of audiences forever. Planet of the Apes works as both thought provoking science fiction and entertaining adventure. Director Franklin J. Shaffner keeps the pacing brisk and exciting.

4:06 The action scenes are visceral, like the terrifying hunt of the humans and Tailor's attempted escape, and the Orwellian parallels of the ape's cast system offer intriguing social commentary. By upending our assumptions about man's role in nature, the film forces us to question our own society. Some fun facts about Planet of the Apes. The famous ending wasn't in the original book or script, but came from a suggestion by co star Charlton Heston. Roddy McDowell had such difficulty eating with his ape makeup on that he started losing unhealthy amounts of weight during the shoot and had to drink meal replacement shakes. The film's now dated score was actually quite innovative for the time, an unsettling avant garde mix of ape noises and tribal percussion. The crash of the astronaut's ship into a lake was the most expensive single special effects shot ever at the time. A scene was written but cut explaining the ape society arose after a plague wiped out the dogs and cats, letting apes become pets and then servants and finally masters. To create the apocalyptic look of the Forbidden Zone, filmmakers shot among the striking rock formations in Utah's Glen Canyon. Planet of the Apes was hugely successful, holding the box office record for over a month. It tapped into the social upheaval and racial tensions of the nineteen sixties, serving as a potent allegory. Some saw the apes treatment of humans as a parallel for racism and segregation. Others viewed

5:39 it as a Vietnam War commentary on the danger of underestimating a technologically inferior enemy, but some critics felt it played on white paranoia of a black uprising overthrowing society. Planet of the Apes went on to receive two prestigious honors that year. First, it was nominated for the Outstanding Dramatic Motion Picture by the Writer's Guild of a America, recognizing the excellent screenplay adapted from the novel by Pierre Boule. While it didn't win that award, the film did take home an Oscar for Best Costume Design at the nineteen sixty nine Academy Awards ceremony. Costume designers John Chambers and Elizabeth Ingle were lauded for their ingenious ape mask designs that brought this simian society chillingly to life on the big screen. The incredible artistry and thought provoking narrative of Planet of the Apes left an indelible mark on cinema history. Those landmark costume designs became iconic images that still resonate with fans today over fifty years later. While modestly awarded at the time, this daring and innovative film certainly earned its place as a celebrated science fiction masterpiece. The film's themes remained socially relevant, and it still widely analyzed today. Even the most outlandish sci fi can serve as a mirror on our own world. Planet of the Apes uses a fantastical premise to deliver hard truths and warnings about his human nature, and that's the mark of truly visionary science fiction. It's a film that still has the power to provoke and unsettle over fifty years later, and cements its status as a stone cold classic. What's your take on Planet of

7:14 the Apes? Does the ending still pack a punch? Can it be viewed as an allegory for modern day issues? Until next time? Stay tuned and I'm Journey Joe Mitchell and this is TV in the Basement.