Planet of the Apes
Comprehensive Examination
Reading List
Place on List:
IV. Special Area: Literary
Social Criticism
3. Primary Texts: Film
Franklin
J. Schaffner.
Planet of the Apes.
Supporting References:
Planet of the
Apes, directed by Franklin Schaffner and released in 1968, was
almost singlehandedly responsible for elevating cinema's science
fiction genre from traditional "B" movie budgets into the
lavish and expensive blockbuster art form.
Schaffner's Planet of the Apes,
based on Pierre Boulle's novel La Panete des Singes (1963),
portrayed misanthropic George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his fellow
astronauts' deep-space mission to find other forms of life. These
voyagers program the ship's computers to wake them from their
hibernation some 2,000 years in the future, when they expect to be
light-years from Earth but in the same physical state due to the
effects of travelling at the speed of light. Upon awakening, the crew
guides their spaceship to a remote planet, barren and seemingly
devoid of life. Soon, though, the astronauts encounter a race of
reasoning and talking apes that hold court over a complex
aristocratic ape civilization. They also discover a rogue group of
primate-like humans, against whom the apes make war. Upon discovering
Taylor, the ape leader Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) reacts in horror and
demands his death. The apes Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) and Zira (Kim
Hunter) risk their lives to protect Taylor; in the process, they
uncover the damning secret of the planet's history.
Previous science fiction films such as
The Man From Planet X (1951) and The Day the Earth Stood
Still (1951) had been big boxoffice hits despite their shoddy
low-budget depictions of futuristic worlds and beings. Planet of
the Apes, with its expensive makeup and costumes, demonstrated
the economic viability of big-budget science fiction fare to
Hollywood studios. The following three decades were characterized by
a host of similar blockbuster futuristic productions. By the late
1990s, the big-budget science fiction film had become one of the most
popular styles of filmmaking and also one of the surest returns on
studio investment.
Planet of the Apes became such a
cultural phenomenon that it spawned four sequels—Beneath the
Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes
(1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), and Battle
for the Planet of the Apes (1973)—as well as a live action
(1974) and an animated (1974-1975) television series.In addition, the
film occasioned its own merchandising line, as children of the 1970s
could purchase Planet of the Apes action figures and lunch
boxes. The film's cultural resonance continued into the 1980s and
1990s. Greenpeace, for instance, seized upon the film's image of
Taylor kneeling before the fallen Statue of Liberty as the basis for
a series of antinuclear posters. White supremacists have embraced
Planet of the Apes as well, reading the film's ape dominance
as a coded warning against increased racial tolerance.
As of late 1998, Twentieth Century Fox
was considering another Apes -related production to capitalize
on the film's continued cultural appeal and also to honor its
contributions to science fiction filmmaking by treating it in the
context of elaborate production costs and special effects, both of
which the film made possible.
- Birch, Dinah. "Boulle, Pierre." The Oxford Companion to English Literature. : Oxford University Press, 2009. Oxford Reference. 2009. Date Accessed 3 Sep. 2013
Boulle, Pierre
(1912–94). French author (born Avignon) who drew upon his wartime
experiences for The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952). His
wry and philosophical Monkey Planet (1963) was adapted for
the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, which saw several sequels
and other adaptations.
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“Franklin J. Schaffner has often been
referred to as an "actors' director." A former actor
himself, he spent over a decade directing television drama before
making his first film. This experience proved invaluable when he
arrived in Hollywood. All his films starred well-established
professionals such as Fonda, Heston, Brynner, Scott, Hoffman, Peck,
and Olivier.
“Schaffner's first film, The
Stripper, was based on William Inge's play A Loss of Roses.
Producer Jerry Wald died while it was being made, and after
completion the film was taken out of Schaffner's hands and re-edited.
As a result the character of the "stripper", played by
Joanne Woodward, was sadly lacking in contrast. Schaffner's
experience working on political television programs proved beneficial
when he directed his second film, The Best Man, a story of two
contenders for the presidential nomination at a political convention
in Los Angeles. Set mainly in hotel rooms and corridors, it could
have become very static. But Schaffner accepted the challenge and
turned out a compelling drama.
“After the intimacy of The Best
Man came the vastness of The War Lord. A medieval costume
picture, the film was a complete change for Schaffner, but he
succeeded in capturing the visual splendor of the outdoor
sequences—particularly in the first few minutes—and the
excitement and gusto of the battle scenes. Although an "action"
film, it had a literate script—but once again Schaffner's film was
cut by the studio. The director's next work was The Double Man,
an average spy drama. His first big financial success was Planet
of the Apes, in which he had to produce realistic performances
from actors in monkey suits. Handled by another director, it could
easily have been turned into a farce, but Schaffner's craftsmanship
made it a science fiction satire.
“In 1970 Schaffner directed George C.
Scott in the role of General Patton. Twenty-seven years earlier
Schaffner himself had taken part in the landings in Sicily under
Patton. The film was shot in 70mm, but he insisted on cutting it in
35mm to avoid being influenced by the scope of 70mm. Scott's
performance was widely praised, but he refused an Academy Award
(Schaffner accepted his).
“It was his interest in history that
first attracted Schaffner to Nicholas and Alexandra. Here he
told what was basically an intimate story of two people, but two
people surrounded by the overflowing retinue of the court and the
boundless expanse of the countryside. Schaffner used the contrast to
great effect, and the film was nominated for an Oscar.
“Papillon is
the only film which Schaffner directed in sequence, and this was not
by choice. Dalton Trumbo was rewriting the script as the film was
being shot, often just managing to keep up with the production. This
film marked the second time that Schaffner hadPage 873 |
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of Article worked with cinematographer Fred
Koenekamp, and they were teamed again for his next feature, Islands
in the Stream. This time he faced the problem of space and
isolation, having to fill the large screen for a long time with just
one man. He also found it necessary to use two cameras for some of
the action sequences, something which he never did if he could avoid
it. Several studios turned down The Boys from Brazil because
it was impossible to cast, but Schaffner thought it would work if he
cast against type. So Gregory Peck, always known as a "good
guy," played Mengele—the German doctor intent on producing
clones of Hitler. Olivier, who had earlier played a German war
criminal in Marathon Man, was the Jewish doctor trying to
track down the Nazi. In the early 1980s Schaffner made Sphinx,
an adventure story set amongst the pyramids, and Yes, Giorgio,
his first "musical," with Luciano Pavarotti.
“Schaffner had a reputation for
getting the best out of his actors and coping well with intimate
dramas. Yet he also achieved success with large-scale epics and has
been compared with David Lean because of the beauty of his
compositions and the breadth of his dramatic power. He reveled in
films about men struggling to achieve a certain goal. A craftsman, he
did his homework and prepared each scene before arriving on the set.”
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