Rated
G
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 37 Minutes
Cast:
Roddy
McDowall-Dr. Cornelius
Kim
Hunter-Dr. Zira
Sal
Mineo-Dr. Milo
Natalie
Trundy-Dr. Stephanie Branton
Bradford
Dillman-Dr. Lewis Dixon
Eric
Braeden-Dr. Otto Hasslein
Ricardo
Montalban-Señor Armando
William
Windom-President of the United States
Directed
by Don Taylor
 |
| Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter make for an endearing and sympathetic couple in "Escape from the Planet of the Apes." |
Note: Part of the "Planet of the Apes" 40-Year Evolution Blu-Ray Collection.
Despite
killing off everyone as it was
intended to be the last of the series, “Beneath the Planet of the Apes”
performed solidly at the domestic box office despite tepid reviews, convincing
20th Century Fox to green-light another sequel.
A simple telegram was reportedly sent to writer Paul Dehn in England: ‘APES
LIVE! SEQUEL REQUIRED!’ For the third film, much of the cast and crew had
already departed with the exception of producer Arthur P. Jacobs, art director William
Creber, Academy Award winning makeup artist John Chambers, and cast members
Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter. As the rule of diminishing returns in cinema
dictates, the third part in a franchise is almost always the worst but 1971’s
“Escape from the Planet of the Apes” defies this and proves the third time’s
the charm. Dehn turns the original concept on its head, crafting a sequel
that’s more character driven and offers up philosophical musings as strong and
relevant as the first film. “Escape from the Planet of the Apes” is by far the
best of the sequels as it is the one that successfully captures what made the
first film such a classic piece of science-fiction story-telling to begin with.
Two years have passed since astronauts George Taylor and John Brent have
disappeared in space, their whereabouts unknown. Military personnel are
scrambled when a strange spaceship is found floating off the coast of Los
Angeles. When the three astronauts emerge from the wreckage and take off their
helmets, everyone is shocked to discover that they are apes! Transported to a
secluded area in the Los Angeles Zoo, the apes are put under the observation of
two scientists, Stephanie Branton (Natalie Trundy) and Lewis Dixon (Bradford Dillman),
who perform a series of simple tests on the female ape. However, she shocks
them by beginning to talk, inadvertently revealing that they have the power of
speech. We learn that the apes are none other than Cornelius (Roddy McDowall),
Zira (Kim Hunter), and Dr. Milo (Sal Mineo). Correctly deducing that they have
arrived in Earth’s past (specifically 1973), Milo argues that it is best for
them to remain silent for the time being but he is accidentally killed when an
agitated gorilla grabs him by the neck. A Presidential Commission is formed
where Cornelius and Zira are questioned before the public. They reveal that Dr.
Milo salvaged and repaired Taylor’s spaceship and used it to travel back to
Earth’s past. With their friendly and out-going nature, the two apes are
welcomed as guests and quickly become worldwide celebrities. Zira reveals she
is pregnant, much to the joy of Cornelius. However, Science Advisor to the
President Dr. Otto Hasslein (Eric Braeden) is suspicious and uses every trick
to discover what the apes know about the future of humanity. Learning that man
will one day regress to a primal state to be dominated by simians and that the
Earth will be destroyed in a cataclysmic explosion in 3955, Hasslein takes
matters into his hands to change the future by plotting the deaths of Cornelius
and Zira to prevent the birth of their offspring.
I was surprised at how much I
enjoyed “Escape from the Planet of the Apes,” with its sympathetic main
characters and a script that at times rivals that of the original film. This
second sequel intelligently reverses the concept of the first film, with the
apes arriving at the height of man’s power in 1973. As such, certain scenes
mirror the original, such as the initial disbelief that the apes are
intelligent and the interrogation by the Presidential Commission. Where it
begins to differ is the humans’ treatment of the apes as Cornelius and Zira
quickly become celebrities, capturing the hearts and minds of the public. The
first half is quite humorous, which might seem out of place given the serious
nature of the previous two films. The ape couple is helped by Stephanie and
Lewis as they settle into this new world but their fame is short-lived. Dr.
Otto Hasslein represents humanity’s fear of the unknown and upon learning of
the terrible fate that will befall his race he decides to attempt to change the
future. The central question the film asks is whether knowledge of the future
gives you the right to change it. There’s an interesting exchange between the
U.S. President (William Windom) and Hasslein, where they discuss the
implications of such knowledge. An analogy is made where if we were to
encounter Adolf Hitler as an infant. Knowing the man he will become, would it
be right to kill him right then and there? The answers aren’t so simple. This
was actually explored in an episode of the 2002 revival of “The Twilight Zone.”
Man’s hypocrisy is also revealed when Zira, under the effects of a truth serum,
admits that she experimented on humans in the future, but Hasslein is taken
aback despite the fact that they’ve
done the same to animals. While the previous installments contained action, it
was low-key but this film is completely character driven and we really
sympathize for the ape couple’s plight. What’s ironic is that Hasslein failed
to change the future but instead sealed it, all because he was afraid and
driven by misguided intentions.
Performances are strong as Roddy McDowall and
Kim Hunter manage to overcome the restrictive makeup to create an endearing
couple in Cornelius and Zira. Their fish-out-of-water experiences of the human
world generate quite a few laughs but they also capture that sense of
desperation and isolation when faced with so much hostility. Natalie Trundy and
Bradford Dillman is essentially a human mirror of the apes’ roles in the
original film, almost immediately accepting them as friends. Eric Braeden is
very effective as Dr. Otto Hasslein, exuding a cold logic in a selfish bid to
save his race by killing three innocents. I appreciated that the film allows us
to understand where he is coming from but also condemns his actions. Ricardo
Montalbán (Khan from “Star Trek II”) also appears but his role is relatively
small.
Arriving on Blu-Ray as a separate release or part of the 40-Year
Evolution box-set, “Escape from the Planet of the Apes” looks the sharpest by
far with strong depth to shadows and a pleasing natural color palette to
textures. While it won’t win any awards, audio is fine, driven more by dialogue
compared to the previous films but Jerry Goldsmith’s score can be unusually
loud. Special features are disappointingly lacking again with only a brief,
sixteen-minute featurette on the making of the film.
“Escape from the Planet of
the Apes” was released on May 21, 1971 to positive reviews with a current score
of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found it ‘more character-driven than the
previous films, and more touching as a result.’ Requiring little to no
elaborate sets or effects, the production budget was low at $2.5 million but it
ended up grossing only $12 million, or approximately $67 million when adjusted
for inflation, a far cry from the previous installments. One of the reasons
given by producer Arthur P. Jacobs was that since it was a more intimate
picture, the spectacle audiences were expecting was missing. Still, as the ending
was deliberately left open-ended, another
sequel would follow a year later, with continuing diminished financial
returns and an increasingly reduced production budget. “Escape from the Planet
of the Apes” lacks the shocking impact of the original but it does recall what
it did right and follows in its footsteps, resulting in a sequel that feels
surprisingly fresh both thematically and emotionally.
Final
Rating: 4 out of 5
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