--- title: "Planet of the Apes" year: 1968 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/planet-of-the-apes" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 13 published: "2026-09-19T16:42:01.475070+00:00" updated: "2026-09-19T16:42:18.893784+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Planet of the Apes (1968) Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner · 1h 52m · MPA G · Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama, Action **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 86 from 13 reviews *In a sentence:* Charlton Heston crash-lands among the apes and is furious to find them better organised than his own species > Schaffner’s adaptation of Pierre Boulle’s novel is the best film to carry the name: a lean, hostile adventure that puts Charlton Heston in a cage and lets the apes do the talking. The satire is broad and sometimes cute. The ending is not. ## Synopsis An American spacecraft comes down in a desert lake. Three astronauts survive: George Taylor (Charlton Heston), a cynic who left Earth glad to be rid of it, with Landon (Robert Gunner) and Dodge (Jeff Burton). They walk out across rock and sand into scrubland and find a tribe of mute humans stripping a cornfield, and then the hunters arrive: gorillas on horseback, with rifles and nets. Taylor is shot in the throat and caged in an ape city, where the chimpanzee scientist Zira (Kim Hunter) and her fiancé Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) take an interest in him, the orang-utan Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) wants him kept quiet, and a woman called Nova (Linda Harrison) is put in his cage. Taylor wants his voice back, and then to be believed. ## Review Franklin J. Schaffner’s film, released in Britain on 19 April 1968, is a simple story told with unusual nerve. An astronaut comes down on a planet where the apes talk and the humans do not, and he is treated the way we treat animals: netted, caged, hosed down, examined and considered for gelding. Rod Serling and Michael Wilson adapted Pierre Boulle’s novel, and the sequels, remake and reboots that followed have added money and lost the point. At 112 minutes it makes its case about who belongs on which side of the bars and gets out. The satire is broad and the storytelling lean. Leon Shamroy shoots the opening trek as if these were the last three men alive, which for all they know they are. Salt flats, red rock, a sky with nothing in it, and three small figures in silver suits walking across it, kept tiny by the width of the frame. Jerry Goldsmith’s score has almost no tune in it; it is clatter and scrape and something like a horn blown badly on purpose, and it starts up only when the men stop talking, so the country sounds hostile before anything in it is. The first half hour is close to a silent film, and it is the best half hour. Then the hunt. The mute humans are stripping a cornfield when the horns sound, and the first gorilla comes through the stalks on horseback with a rifle across his lap. We knew it was coming; everyone does; and we still sat back in our seats. Hugh S. Fowler cuts it as noise and hooves and torn corn, and when it is over Schaffner shows the hunting party lining up over a heap of the dead to have their photograph taken. Taylor is shot in the throat during the chase, so Heston spends the next stretch mute in a cage. We laughed at that, and then we stopped, because a man who cannot say he is a man is what the film is about. The apes are the reason the film is still watched, and the make-up is the reason they work: the faces move. Roddy McDowall’s Cornelius can look embarrassed, Kim Hunter’s Zira can look fond, and you read them as people within a minute and forget to be impressed. Morton Haack dresses the three species so you know the pecking order at a glance: gorillas in dark leather doing the shooting, chimpanzees in green doing the science, orang-utans in orange running everything. Maurice Evans gives the best performance in the film as Dr. Zaius, who knows a good deal more than he is saying and says what he does say beautifully. Hunter is warm and funny, and McDowall’s nervous decency carries the middle hour. The middle hour is also where the film is weakest. The argument between faith and evidence is put into a courtroom, with James Whitmore presiding and James Daly prosecuting, and the courtroom stops the film so that everyone can make speeches. The three orang-utan judges cover their eyes, ears and mouths in turn; it is funny, and then you notice that the most serious scene in the film has a sight gag in it. Heston plays Taylor the way he plays everybody, all teeth and tendon, and once his voice comes back he uses it mostly to shout. Linda Harrison’s Nova is given nothing to do except stand near him and look worried. Schaffner directs this without fuss and with a good eye for scale. The satire on race, religion and men who prefer scripture to fossils is real, but it is written in capitals. What lasts is the simpler thing underneath: how quickly a confident man becomes a specimen, and how reasonable the people holding the hose sound while they do it. The final minutes are famous, and we will not describe them. If you have reached this page without knowing how it ends, do not read anything else about it; watch it now, on the biggest screen you have. If you do know, it still holds, because the film has earned it by then, and you can spend the last reel watching Heston’s face instead. *Fi1m score 84, published 19 September 2026.* ## What the critics say All 13 reviews are positive, and the praise clusters on the same things. Most critics treat the film as a political allegory first and an adventure second, and admire it on both counts: the satire of race, religion and class is repeatedly singled out, as is the Rod Serling and Michael Wilson script for blending humour with dread. Charlton Heston’s Taylor draws consistent credit, as do the pioneering ape make-up, Schaffner’s direction and the score. The closing twist is named again and again as the reason the film lasts. The spread is narrow, and the mild reservations come mostly from 1968. The Guardian finds the film ingenious but too allegorical and too cute, and The New Yorker rates it highly as entertainment while insisting it is not art. Time Out, more recently, files it as a minor classic rather than a major one. Later critics tend to grade it upwards partly by comparison with the sequels and the Burton remake, which several dismiss outright. ### Reviews we read (13) - **Radio Times**, Jeremy Aspinall (5/5): The critic hails the original as the benchmark for the entire franchise, crediting its clever allegory, satire and excitement. It particularly praises the script by Rod Serling and Michael Wilson alongside strong performances and haunting score. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-n82o43/planet-of-the-apes/) - **Slant Magazine**, Bill Weber (90/100, inferred): The film boldly confronts racial animus in 1968 America through its explicit allegory of intolerance and power structures. It succeeds as both a crafted adventure yarn with memorable sequences and a thematically rich work whose twist ending retains mythic and apocalyptic impact. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/planet-of-the-apes/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, John Mahoney (90/100, inferred): The film succeeds on multiple levels as rare entertainment that appeals to imagination, intellect, and action while remaining relevant to its era's issues. It features strong direction by Schaffner, a solid Wilson-Serling script, and an outstanding Heston performance. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/planet-apes-1968-review-i-original-movie-973869/) - **The Times**, Stephen Dalton (90/100, inferred): Calls it a landmark in simian sci-fi, gripping and unsettling with rich political and social allegory; far better than the Burton remake. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/article/planet-of-the-apes-reviews-6cwmqghdccx) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (90/100, inferred): The review describes the film as an amazing political-sociological allegory blending chilling satire, optimism, and pessimism. It praises the script adaptation, direction, suspense, surprise ending, cast performances in makeup, and score. [Read](https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/planet-of-the-apes-2-1200421584/) - **Empire**, Andrew Collins (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's enduring power through Charlton Heston's performance as the misanthropic Taylor, who evolves from hating humanity to damning it after confronting ape tyranny. The review highlights the script's mix of humour and terror, the iconic ending, and the technical achievements in makeup and direction that bring the political allegory to life. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-planet-apes-review/) - **Little White Lies**, Stephen Puddicombe (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's sharp satirical edge as a response to 1960s social upheaval and counterculture. It highlights the innovative New Hollywood style, apocalyptic themes reflecting nuclear fears, and subversive allegory for race relations and generational shifts. [Read](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/planet-apes-of-the-apes-1960s-counterculture) - **Time Out**, TM (80/100, inferred): The review calls it a minor sci-fi classic that retains wit and visual impact despite later sequels. It singles out the striking use of Utah and Arizona locations to build isolation, menace and the film's central enigma. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/planet-of-the-apes-2) - **The Guardian** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film ingenious but ultimately too allegorical and cute, confirming Schaffner's talent but revealing its limits; praises the plot and photography. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/1968/mar/22/features) - **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a very entertaining movie and one of the best science-fiction fantasies from Hollywood. She singles out the clever plotting, Charlton Heston's performance as the hero, and the wide-screen direction and photography for praise while noting it is not art. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1968/02/17/apes-must-be-remembered-charlie) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A): The critic calls the film one of the best and most enduring sci-fi entries, praising its cynical and subversive social commentary that still resonates. The review singles out the iconic ending and the exploration of religious devotion overriding scientific truth as particularly powerful elements. [Read](https://collider.com/planet-of-the-apes-review/) - **Digital Spy**, Jamie Graham (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a classic that still speaks loudly decades later. They single out its satirical commentary on society, religion, class and race along with the iconic twist ending and Heston's performance. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a583515/re-viewed-planet-of-the-apes-1968-talking-monkeys-they-speak-loudly/) - **Eye for Film**, Stephen Carty (90/100, inferred): The 1968 original is the only worthwhile entry in the franchise and remains a classic genre piece. The critic singles out the pioneering makeup design and the script's clever social analogies for praise, along with the iconic twist ending. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/planet-of-the-apes-film-review-by-stephen-carty) ## Details - **Director:** Franklin J. Schaffner - **Director:** Franklin J. Schaffner - **Screenplay:** Michael Wilson, Rod Serling - **Novel:** Pierre Boulle - **Cinematography:** Leon Shamroy - **Editor:** Hugh S. Fowler - **Music:** Jerry Goldsmith - **Costume design:** Morton Haack - **Producer:** Arthur P. Jacobs - **Cast:** Charlton Heston as George Taylor; Roddy McDowall as Cornelius; Kim Hunter as Zira; Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius; James Whitmore as President of the Assembly; James Daly as Dr. Honorious; Linda Harrison as Nova; Robert Gunner as Landon - **Runtime:** 1h 52m - **Certificate (MPA):** G - **Release (the US):** 7 February 1968 - **Genres:** Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama, Action - **Budget:** $6 million - **Box office:** $33 million ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-19.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1969: Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Original Score, no Musical (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Rise of the Planet of the Apes* (2011), Fi1m 80: The one later entry that found a new angle: the apes’ side, from the start. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes.md) - *La Jetée* (1962): Still photographs, a man sent through time, and an ending that follows you home. - *Soylent Green* (1973): Heston again, older and sadder, in a New York that has run out of food. - *Fantastic Planet* (1973): French animation in which humans are kept as pets; stranger and crueller than it sounds. - *The Incredible Shrinking Man* (1957): A man shrinks in his own house and finds out how it feels to be prey. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. 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