Channel: MovieNight

Category: Film & Animation

Tags: pierre boulleescape from the planet of the apesdon taylorthe planet of the apescorneliusscience fictionsci-fichimpanzeeoriginal planet of the apesactioncircusroddy mcdowalllos angelesescape from the planet of the apes reviewricardo montalbántime travelziraplanet of the apes reviewapesla planète des singeskim hunterfutureearthplanet of the apes 1968planet of the apes

Description: • Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971) - Amusing and thought-provoking picture, 8/10. WATCH full episodes of "Movie Night" -- bit.ly/JogJPMN READ my un-filmed reviews / scripts: bit.ly/JPMNNotFilmed FOLLOW me on Letterboxd to see what I'm watching / rating: bit.ly/JonLetterboxd ~~ Movie Night ~~ Your host, and film critic Jonathan Paula reviews everything from opening day releases, recent DVDs, upcoming trailers, and classics from years past. Each "Quick Review" is an excerpt from a full episode, which airs on the Jogwheel channel every week. ~~ Watch More Reviews ~~ Browse By Year ----- bit.ly/MNYear Browse By Rating --- bit.ly/MNRating Trailer Reviews ------- bit.ly/MNTrailers ~~ Other Channels ~~ Jogwheel (Main channel) --- bit.ly/Jogwheel Jon's World (2nd channel) -- bit.ly/JonWorld The Microwave Show --------- bit.ly/TMSArchive uStream Live Shows ---------- bit.ly/JogLive ~~ Social Media & Merch ~~ Twitter ---------------------------- bit.ly/JonTW Facebook ----------------------- bit.ly/JonFBFan Instagram ----------------------- bit.ly/JonInsta Patreon -------------------------- bit.ly/JonPatreon Letterboxd ---------------------- bit.ly/JonLetterboxd T-Shirts -------------------------- bit.ly/JogStore ~~ Credits ~~ Created by ------ Jonathan Paula Camera ---------- Panasonic HMC-150 Microphone ----- Sennheiser ME 66 Software --------- Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015 Computer ------- bit.ly/JonPaulaPC • Jogwheel Productions © 2017 • ~~ Truncated Script ~~ Completely different, but really fun. This Don Taylor sci-fi film earned more than $10 million more than its $2 million dollar budget after its release in May of 1971. The more socially-minded narrative follows a trio of talking apes who travel back in time to 1970s Los Angeles and shock the world with their intelligence and desire for equal rights. Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter reprise their roles as the warm-natured chimp couple who find themselves experiencing a reversal of fortune of the original movie's plot. The result is an easy-going and more satirical story than the darker and serious films that came before. McDowall and Hunter are both fantastic in the lead roles, balancing their scientific curiosity with cautious hesitation remarkably well. They may be monkeys, but they end up being the most human characters in the entire film. Remarking on the deceitful nature of man, Hunter explains, "We've meet hundreds, I trust three." Okay, rant time. Where the hell did the monkeys get a time traveling spacecraft? In the first film - which takes place just a year prior - the apes didn't even understand the concept of fight... Heston threw a paper airplane across the room and it blew their minds. But now they're piloting a rocketship?! I get it, the writers (at Heston's behest - hey that rhymes!) painted themselves into a corner with that whole, "blow up the entire planet" ending of the previous film... so going back in time prior to its destruction was really the only place a sequel could have gone. And since time-travel was a major linchpin of the original movie - it's a reasonably fair plot-device here. But to suggest that some random, heretofore unseen monkey was intellectually or physically capable of retrieving and restoring a spacecraft from the bottom of a lake given what we know about their relatively simplistic culture is utterly preposterous. Even more frustrating is that all of this takes place off-camera! This opening-scene twist is the literal foundation of the entire five-picture series - but it's a completely unearned moment that insults the intelligence of the audience. Once you get past the monumentally frustrating twist however, the scene itself is actually pretty bitching way to open a film; apes in spacesuits and some awesome music from Jerry Goldsmith. ... Thanks to lasting imagery this is easily the second best feature in the five-picture series... but it's also tonally inconsistent and built on an unforgivable plot hole. Ultimately, "Escape From The Planet Of The Apes" is a genuinely amusing and thought-provoking picture. It's a GREAT film. ~