Planet of the Apes (1968)

planet-of-the-apes-mondo-poster

An astronaut crew crash lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved. (IMDb)
Heston’s suave melodramatics here firmly take hold the reins of this pointed sci-fi, right from his great opening monologue to his anguished final cry on the beach. The story’s commentary on science, faith, and culture, while smart, is a tad heavy-handed, but it’s offset by a trio of apes, who with Taylor give us characters to care about amongst the many ideas to ponder. A variety of interesting camera angles and a mysterious soundtrack add further flavour to the straight-forward script.
7/10 (Good)