New Acquisitions:
Planet of the Apes Legacy Collection (2006) Call Number: LD11-0747 parts 1-5
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Image courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Charlton Heston gets the ball rolling in the original 1968 film of this five-long franchise, crash landing on what he thinks is an alien planet inhabited by super- intelligent apes. A thrilling and oft parodied twist ending ensured the films status as a science-fiction classic.
From here, the series takes a sideways leap, following the exploits of two astronauts who also crash land and discover human survivors living ‘Beneath the Planet of the Apes’ (1970).
In the third film, ‘Escape from Planet of the Apes’ (1971) the series jumps back in time to the seventies where the co-existence of human and ape is threatened by those who fear the shift in evolution.
Things go from bad to worse (for both the films and the fictional characters) in the final instalments 'Conquest of the Planet of the Apes' (1972) and 'Battle for the Planet of the Apes,' (1973) as the relationship between apes and humans deteriorates, foreshadowing the apocalypse only hinted at in the first film.
While they may not all be as classic as the original, the sequels were nevertheless more warmly received by fans of the series than Tim Burton’s critically panned 2001 remake Planet of the Apes.
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Image courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Fraser Mckissack
Audiovisual Library