Movie Of The Week: Planet Of The Apes (1968)

 

Welcome to a brand new  Movie Of The Week, a new weekly feature at the Blog!  How does this differ from Trailer Park, well one it is weekly and two I hope to get interaction from YOU, the Comicpalooza fans.  I want you to email me a pick for Movie Of The Week, and I will use them and post those picks as the weeks go by!  Email me your picks at comicpaloozablog@yahoo.com!  Start thinking of your Movie Of The Week and send it to me!

Planet Of The Apes (1968) 


Synopsis:  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.

Released  April 3, 1968
Director:  Franklin J. Schaffner
Domestic Box Office Gross:  $32.6 Million
Running Time:  1 Hours 52 Minutes
Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, and Kim Hunter

Why You Should Watch It: The new reboot/prequel hits DVD/Blu-Ray on Tuesday, so why not revisit the original classic film now and see where the phenomenon all began!

Andy Serkis Returns To The Planet Of The Apes

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes was one of the years biggest and best surprises.  The film was very well received by critics and audiences, and overall just one of the better films this year.  The sequel is finally beginning to be set in motion with director Rupert Wyatt will return and the studio has just inked a deal to bring back actor Andy Serkis to reprise his role as Cesar.  No word on a title or release date for the film, but most likely 2013 at the earliest.

Betrayal Of The Planet Of The Apes!

As Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes continues to do well at the box office, Boom Studios has announced a brand new mini series titled Betrayal Of The Planet Of The Apes.  The four issues series is set to release in November and will take place just before the original 1968 Planet Of The Apes film.  The creative team recently spoke with Comic Book Resources and had this to say:  

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES: As you've mentioned, your miniseries is set just before the first film. What made you want to tackle this era?
HARDMAN: When we first pitched the story, we assumed it would need to be set at the same time as the ongoing. The one big note that came back on our pitch was to set it in the classic movieera and include characters like Dr. Zaius. We didn't need a lot of convincing to make the change. Honestly, we were thrilled. It made perfect sense for our story and I couldn't be any more excited to work with the iconic elements of the films.
BECHKO: Truly, it was serendipity.
COMIC BOOK RESOURCES: What storytelling opportunities does this particular moment in time allow?
BECHKO: As I said before, I love the character of Dr. Zaius. The first film makes it clear that ape society was in a state of flux even before Taylor's crew landed. We now have the opportunity to explore that a little bit, and to see Dr. Zaius as a younger ape in a changing world.
HARDMAN: We also have the chance to expand the world of the original movies, introducing new locations and characters. That said, we are hyper-aware of keeping these new elements true to the feel of PotA. I've always been disappointed by licensed books that aren't able to capture the tone of the originals. We're doing everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen here.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Pays Tribute To The Original Films

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes continues to bring int he money at theaters, but did you know there are several nods to the original series of Planet Of The Apes films in the new version.  The obvious one is Tom Felton's character saying the line "Take your stinkin’ paw off me you damn dirty ape!” is the obvious one.  Hero Complex though has several more you may have missed.  Check out their article here explaining the references in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes!

Director Talks About Possible Sequel To Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

As you may very well know right now Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes was number one at the box office this past weekend with about $54 million and drawing rave reviews from critics and movie goers.  The film was fantastic, hands down the best movie this summer.  Naturally sequel talk has already begun and director Rupert Wyatt spoke with Bleedingcool.com about the direction the sequel may take and this is what he had to say: "There’s so much we could do… The ideas I’ve had are all sorts of things, ranging from FULL METAL JACKET with apes… you could start this story again eight years from where we left off, the next generation of apes, those that have come from our protagonists, perhaps going in to a conflict with humans and showing real fear, in the same way as going into war for young soldiers in this day and age, telling their story. Or how apes are taking over cities, and being moved into human environments and having to interact with them and deal with things that are part of our culture and understand and evolve through them. Spies that are in the employ of the apes, working against humans and humans maybe existing underground, because that’s a way they can avoid the virus, coming up above ground wearing gas masks, and maybe that’s what dehumanises them."  Bring on the sequel as soon as possible as I would love to see more Apes films and soon!

Watch Two Clips From Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes hits theaters on August 5th and check out these two amazing clips from the film introduced by Andy Serkis, who plays Cesar in the film.

Who Knew Apes Could Use Machetes?

The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes viral marketing campaign continues with two new videos.  It seems these apes have learned to use machetes for combat!  To the left is a poster used in European markets where the film comes out August 12th.  Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes hits theaters on August 5th in North America..

Apes Comic Book Prequel Online

Apescomics.com is showcasing a brand new comic book prequel to the upcoming film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.  They are updating every Wednesday with a new page of the story.  The comic is being done by Boom Studios, the same company responsible for the recent hit Planet Of The Apes comic series. Hit the link here to check it out.

New TV Spots For Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes hits theaters on August 5th and here are two new television trailers running on networks now!

Apes Go Viral

These new videos popped up in my email and are part of the viral marketing campaign for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.  Never knew a chimp could play a video game did you?

The Ape Revolution Is Coming With A New International Poster & Trailer

This very cool new international poster for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes has hit cinemas overseas as well as a new international trailer you can watch below.  The new trailer is a bit spoiler filled as it pretty much tells the plot of the film so if you don't want it ruined, then don't watch it! The film hits theaters in North America on August 5th and overseas on August 12th.

New Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Images

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes continues to have it's buzz grow every day it seems.  Now three new images have been released showing off the highly impressive computer generated imagery of the main ape, Cesar.  The film is a prequel/reboot of the original franchise from the 1960's and 70's.  It has nothing to do with the  Tim Burton film and looks to be a refreshing and nice new start for the series from the look at the first couple of trailers.  The film hits theaters August 5th!

International Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes just had a new U.S. trailer and now comes this short but action packed trailer for international audiences where the film opens up a week later on August 12th.  It opens in North America on August 5th!

The Digital Rise Of The Apes

ABC News has this very cool interview up with the director of the upcoming Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes talking about the digital Apes and more.  Very cool stuff!

Rise Of The Apes Gets A New Release Date

Planet Of The Apes is one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time and the original series of films as a whole are well received and very respected.  The Tim Burton re-imagining is not as well liked.  Rise Of The Apes is Fox's "reboot" of the series that was originally due this Thanksgiving but now will hit theaters on August 5th.  The marketing should kick off soon if it's coming to theaters in August and Comicpalooza  will keep you updated!

Planet Of The Apes Returns To Comics

The Apes return to theaters this Fall in Cesar: Rise Of The Apes, and they will be returning to comics this April.  Both the movie and the comic series serve as prequels to the 1968 Planet Of The Apes film.  Boom ! Studios will be releasing in the new comic book series called Planet of the Apes , written by Daryl Gregory and drawn by Charlemagne. The stories take place before the events shown in the first film , when the society of the monkeys reached a new golden era . But there is increasing tension between apes and humans and this tension can lead to chaos!