Escape from the Planet of the Apes
| Year: | 1971 |
| Studio: | 20th Century Fox |
| Director: | Don Taylor |
| Writer: | Pierre Boulle |
| Cast: | Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Natalie Trundy, Ricardo Montalban |
Spoiler!
By the nature of the setting and story in Escape From the Planet of the Apes, the sci-fi aesthetic that made the first two films so brilliant was lost, and it was more of a chase drama.
Having escaped the destruction of the world at Taylor's hands and returned back through time to the modern day, Cornelius (McDowall) and Zira (Hunter) are welcomed as heroes, enjoying a life of luxury at the hands of a fascinated public and media.
But the story they tell of their own time - where apes dominate the planet while humans are the jungle-dwelling animals - sets off warning bells, and when the couple announce their pregnancy, a United Nations committee decides it can't be allowed.
The duo go on the run, aided by kindly circus owner Armand (Montalban), and even though the law catches up with them on the deck of an abandoned battleship, Caeser survives, escapes and is bought up by Armand to set the course of history after all.
The last two films recaptured something of the iconic Planet flavour, especially depicting the (far off at the time of the film's release) year of 1991, when the foretold virus has wiped out the dog and cat populations, apes are the slave class and the world has become a brutal police state for them to rebel against.
Having escaped the destruction of the world at Taylor's hands and returned back through time to the modern day, Cornelius (McDowall) and Zira (Hunter) are welcomed as heroes, enjoying a life of luxury at the hands of a fascinated public and media.
But the story they tell of their own time - where apes dominate the planet while humans are the jungle-dwelling animals - sets off warning bells, and when the couple announce their pregnancy, a United Nations committee decides it can't be allowed.
The duo go on the run, aided by kindly circus owner Armand (Montalban), and even though the law catches up with them on the deck of an abandoned battleship, Caeser survives, escapes and is bought up by Armand to set the course of history after all.
The last two films recaptured something of the iconic Planet flavour, especially depicting the (far off at the time of the film's release) year of 1991, when the foretold virus has wiped out the dog and cat populations, apes are the slave class and the world has become a brutal police state for them to rebel against.