Planet of the Apes (1968): 20 Things You Never Knew!

[@noelhernandez363]

Groundbreaking movie with one of the most iconic ending in cinematic history!!

[@mutleymutley7474]

The ending of the film is iconic because the movie was made in the height of the Cold War. Taylor thought he was on another planet (In fact, the audience thought that too throughout the movie). Taylor and the audience didn't realize it was earth until they saw the remaining of the Statue of Liberty. When Taylor says, "Damn you! You finally did it!" He's referring to the US and the Soviet Union finally blowing each other up and the rest of the world with nukes. The aftermath of nukes created a new earth where apes talk and humans were mutes.

[@rotorheadv8]

I saw this movie in the summer of 1968 when I was 9. It blew my mind.

[@paulhudson8321]

Rather see this movie than the remake.

[@johnmc3862]

*Remakes.

[@70saerosmithrules24]

Roddy McDowell absolutely nailed it.

[@SnoMoJoe1]

When this movie came out, I was 5 years old. I don't remember much about the move other than the ending. To this day, I remember the Statue of Liberty ending like it was yesterday.

[@patrickquirk-qz8ri]

Me too, about 12 .

[@tomodonovan5931]

You were young with really no understanding what it was all about, but you knew instinctively that it was not good at all.

[@marciebulsaraorcutt]

SAME!

[@jbratt]

I am the same age and saw it too in the theater with my older friends.

[@stevegood5655]

I was 1, got to see the show. When I 8yrs old. I still like them

[@kratibnoi10310]

The makeup in this film was highly praised for its realism and innovation. Amazing job👏👏👏👏

[@Ron-d2s]

2001 Space Odyssey, same year, better ape makeup and totally overlooked.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

The idea of having astronauts returning to earth but not realizing until much later was used in the Twilight Zone. That episode was written by Rod Serling himself.

[@sandybruce9092]

I’ve seen that Twilight Zone episode quite a few times and even though I knew ending, I still enjoy watching! I’ve watched all the episodes of TW many times including the originals!

[@sureshmukhi2316]

The difference in that episode is that they were in their own time. In POTA they were in the future.

[@dariapoklemba2150]

​@@sandybruce9092rod serling co-wrote the movie from the French book translation to planet of the apes.

[@DavidHowells-d9p]

⁠In the original book the action takes place on a planet orbiting Betelgeuse, but on return to Earth it’s discovered to have been taken over by apes.

[@susannah1066]

The late 60's and the 70's had some of the best Sci-Fi movies:- Planet of the Apes/ Soylent Green/ Omega Man/ Stepford Wives/ Logan's Run/ Westworld & Futureworld. These movies stayed with me for years. Then there was the disaster movies. 😊

[@tolfan4438]

Oh god the disaster movies.

[@thegreenbird795]

You forgot 2001....

[@quarkcypher]

Agree with you. Silent Running was also another favourite Sci-Fi movie from that era.

[@susannah1066]

@@thegreenbird795 I found it boring.

[@kammeres61]

Green Slime

[@TokyoBlades]

Good to see that even after the end of mankind's reign the apes were still able to keep up the water pressure for the fire hose!

[@ronleight9341]

Nice!

[@Doug-nr3gh]

Gerbil powered wheel house behind the scenes eh ?

[@Doug-nr3gh]

Note the alfred e nueman ( mad magazine mascot around 315 here ... This was used for a fred Astaire dance number I believe?

[@gogoyubari366]

One of my favorite movies!

[@tbarney]

one of the greatest sci franchises

[@4002corbe]

Linda Harrison ….pretty lady !

[@rockywatchesmovies]

Yes indeed!

[@RFED2O]

Understatement 💯

[@kar4938]

Loved this movie as a kid. Still like to watch it once in a while. Inspired me to see Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon in person. The scene with the gorilla chomping on a gasser in the jail is so awesome.

[@philpalmares]

Movie is a classic. Simply groundbreaking at the time. Also Nova was nice to look at

[@brentvalentine]

I saw this movie in a theater many decades ago. It was quite intense for my young mind at the time.

[@danielmitchell6940]

loved all the movies and tv series

[@susannahp8107]

Loved the final scene! Another favorite scene was when Taylor first spoke and I'm paraphrasing here but it was something like " take your rotten dirty stinking paws off me". The look on everyone's faces was priceless!!

[@chopperking1967]

YES! "Take your dirty paws off me you damn stinking ape!" A FANTASTIC scene!

[@dariapoklemba2150]

​@@chopperking1967....you, damn dirty ape!

[@roquefortfiles]

Huge fan of this film. The quiet way that it opens on the spaceship. Classic stuff!! Apes is a great movie.

[@hugo2216]

Pure genius, best film ever! Blew me away as a kid. Scotland, UK

[@Shaundalfthegrey]

Loved these movies as a kid. Saw them many times before I was old enough to pay attention to the credits. When I saw Rod Serling's name,the light went on,and I realized it was a feature length "Twilight Zone" ...

[@beeman2075]

Excellent deep dive into the film and its production. I enjoyed the 1968 film and (most of) the adaptations since, but can't help but wish the budget had been sufficient for the first film to treat us to the world portrayed in Boulle's novel and Serling's screenplay with simians completely at home with 1950s or thereabouts modern developments including cars, clothing and buildings. A scene in the novel has simians climbing and swinging their way across a huge monkey bars 'walkway' above and across a city road intersection, and this being completely normal for them in their daily transit. Scenes like this in a film with stunt performers or good CGI would help towards bringing that world to life in a really wonderful way.

[@rockywatchesmovies]

Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment! I totally agree that it would have been intriguing to see the world Boulle envisioned in his novel.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

The feeling I got from the film was one of the Apes overriding wish to avoid following the path that humanity had taken thereby retaining a simpler way of life.

[@andrewthomasfinney752]

It's nice to know that the American studio that put the money up went for the ending they did. I read somewhere, and we see it all the time, U.S. studios generally don't like film endings which are negative and prefer to have them happy and upbeat.

[@lewisschaffer9707]

This was a different time. People didn't want to see a happy ending

[@morgandude2]

Still a great film.

[@haroldseaman4243]

The ending is still so cool as a kid seeing this left me with so many questions great film!!!

[@sonsofliberty75]

This is a sci-fi classic! I have this in my top five sci-fi films!

[@t.j.payeur5331]

Thanks, buddy, this was great..saw it at the drive-in 50 years ago...

[@peggywoods4327]

I saw it when it first came out at the drive-in also 😊

[@Doug-nr3gh]

Me too

[@HailAnts]

Regarding 3:51 and _"...a chimpanzee in a tuxedo"_ that's no way to describe Walter Matthau! 🤣

[@singlecatt]

Been a fan every since I saw this film in the cinema. The ending the first time i saw it, just blew me away.

[@hughbegg274]

One of my favorites!

[@johnmassoud930]

This movie freaked me out as a child. I honestly thought they were talking apes.

[@Doug-nr3gh]

Saw this at the drive in theatre in Edmonton in my pjs as a little kid ... Now all the teens are in their pj bottoms and a tee shirt ha ha

[@johntabler349]

It's no coincidence how many great classics were shot on limited budgets. Having to create believable storytelling with limited resources demands discipline and creativity.

[@Zebra_3]

cast + script = winner

[@Starteller]

LOL, I watched the movie numerous times and never noticed the 3 monkeys of wisdom

[@ronaldbarton1107]

An observation some of you may have missed. The astronauts thought they were on another planet, that's why the ending was so iconic. But after they landed, ran around, got captured, escaped, ran around some more... This took time. Don't you think during all that time they would have looked up and saw the moon and realized that they were actually on Earth? Think about it...

[@grogtgs]

Other planets can have moons but I read a prequel story in which the Earth's moon was destroyed a few years before Taylor arrived

[@briancampbell179]

Best idea I've ever heard. Regarding the astronauts stuck on the ISS, let's organise 8 billion ape costumes and play the prank of the century.

[@CALLMESIR...]

I found the boxed set of 5 movies at a thrift store for 10 bucks. Was great watching them again.

[@gispel7058]

Summer of 1967 I was 11 years old and spending my summer as usual at my aunt's house. This time my mom was there too. One weekend we went to the beach . We went to Malibu . When we got there the entrance was blocked off. Beach Closed signs around. So mom and Auntie were busy turning the car around. I noticed people in ape suits milling about it the parking lot. Also many trailers and equipment. So we were on our way to the alternative Zuma beach when I told them I saw people dressed as apes. They thought I was crazy.

[@cdouglashall]

I appreciate your work, sir. Thank you.

[@mraims2plez]

I always wondered how the top half of the Statue of Liberty got from Ellis Island to that beach.

[@willyboyw.5771]

And on the West Coast!

[@AtheistOrphan]

The other way around, the harbour silted up so the land extended out. (Or so I’ve always been told!)

[@ernestdesimone2234]

The Statue of Liberty is on Liberty Island, not Ellis Island, which is next door. It is hollow, a storm could have swept it along.

[@BeccaJoyDowdaBriscoeMoorehead]

This earth was nuked up the wazoo! It WAS liberty island!

[@johnmc3862]

I love it, youre so good the Oscars have to invent a new category for you.

[@Oldag75]

The book's author Pierre Boulle also wrote the novel, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" -- which was crafted into another legendary movie. At the end of the "Planet of the Apes" book, Taylor somehow gets on a space flight back to Earth. When he lands at the airport in Paris, he is greeted by a gorilla. An interesting vignette in the book had Taylor in a jail cell, and a group of apes came by to look at him. He caught the eye of the leader, and used a finger to roughly sketch in the sand a diagram of the Pythagorean Theorem, showing a right triangle with squares added to each side. As the group moved on, the leader quickly rubbed out the sand drawing. They should have used that in the film.

[@4002corbe]

They did .

[@stew4267]

Still stands proud in my dvd collection

[@donwarnick1089]

Saw this at about age 7. Talk about growing up fast.

[@jacktribble5253]

I was never a fan of the movie or any part of the franchise. But I do enjoy your presentation of the history and technical aspects. Your work is quite educational even if the movie in question is in question.

[@rotorheadv8]

To a 9yr old in 1968, it was incredible.

[@rockywatchesmovies]

Thank you so much

[@towdjumper5]

Great Stuff!

[@Cha-y412]

My Uncle Nick was one of the 100 makeup artists .

[@libertycowboy2495]

First saw it at a drive in with the first two sequels. I was complaining hooked

[@pravinshingadia7337]

I first watched this when about 7 years old and the ending absolutely freaked me out.

[@davidreed3165]

I was 8 when it came out. I don’t remember seeing the movie but I had the TOPPS trading cards.

[@houseoftone8939]

Loved this movie above all the others that followed, something about sheer escapism but with a thread of reality that always makes me shudder "Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death.”

[@foetwenny]

Grew up in the 70s watching Planet of the Apes movies every Saturday morning on local tv in NY, along with Abbott and Costello, monster movies and Hong Kong cinema. Good times 😊

[@nvkulk]

Soylent green is made of people !!

[@laurabailey1054]

I remember seeing this in the tv when I was under 10 years old. My mum and I saw it in tv.

[@davejordan7272]

Best ending ever from a movie

[@gigigalaxy1395]

Good video! The Statue of Liberty was way too small in comparison to its actual size.

[@dalemartens2962]

2024 is exactly the same as planet of the apes! They even look the same as Chicago.

[@kronos5385]

I'm unaware that Arthur Jacobs was the originator of the Statue of Liberty ending. Everything I have read on this it was Rod Serling's idea and one of the few things that he wrote that survived to be in the movie. It's a classic Twilight Zone twist at the end.

[@damonhall7116]

One of my favourite films yet it’s obvious to even the most stupid out there. Taylor, an astronaut who should be fairly intelligent, has landed on a planet he believes to be orbiting Betelgeuse in the earth constellation of Orion. Yet, when the apes show up they are capable of speaking North American English. Surely he must have figured it out then.

[@cejannuzi]

We all want world-building, but sometimes you just have to let go.

[@mariekrikava2294]

I was scared watching this . I was 13 years old

[@airspro5666]

Thanks

[@dexterfurman9118]

I had always heard it was Rod Serling who came up with the Statue of Liberty ending. Its his style to come up with a twist like that.

[@ricardojordanjordan2216]

Classic

[@jimtimmins1119]

Linda Harrison ❤❤❤

[@Dionysius.D.LVersteegh-gv5ic]

Thanks for telling us that. I always thought they used real apes for that movie, you learn something every day, don't you

[@dsolosan]

There was talk of having a human/ape hybrid child in the story, and they even did a concept makeup test. That was the interspecies nooky that they were opposed to. I think it was supposed to be Zira's child, but am not certain.

[@David-yw2lv]

Many fans of Pierre Boulle's novel were not fans of the movie because it strayed so far from the book

[@timetraveller9321]

A great film, saw this when Isax about7 ,I enjoyed all of the ape films they were great, superb story 😂

[@chrishackett554]

After the fifth movie was released, sometime in the early 70s, a local drive-in theater had all five movies in one showing. Myself, two friends, and two mothers went. The mothers made it through two and half movies lol I’m 58 now and still consider this series one of the best sci fi adventures of all time. Can’t stand the newer CGI features. They suck 😅

[@JohnSwindells-zm4sq]

FANTASTIC movie

[@tolfan4438]

Self segregation shows true human nature. Birds of a feather

[@newlam7958]

I was too young to see Planet of the Apes when it first came out, but I remember the bubble gum cards of the movie.

[@calvarymarketing]

It's still a great film even by today's standards 😊

[@newlam7958]

Charlton Heston also had the flu during the filming of "Ben Hur" during the scene where he is trying to escape the Roman dungeon. Kind of ironic two scenes where he was trying to escape and was sick on both instances!

[@cijmo]

Some of the filming was done in Simi Valley which, later on was the Ingalls' homestead in Little House.

[@davehenry7262]

If I was Taylor after being paired up with Nova? "Ok, maybe being stranded on this planet ain't so bad after all."

[@RonOside]

Saw this movie at the Drive In. The speakers could not handle the audio of the movie and the drum beats during the slave chases came across as static. Not until I saw it on TV years later could I hear the soundtrack clearly.

[@rondougherty5481]

I remember watching this in a classic movie theater, I believe it was the the capital theater in calgary and across the street from the palace theater. The best line in the movie I like was the gorilla general saying " A good human is a dead human." If that wrong someone can correct me on this

[@robertshank8412]

The soundtrack for the movie is one of the strangest you'll hear.

[@LilMissSmartyPants.922]

what an ending to a movie, like a long TZ episode. no wonder it was a hit

[@tuvia4082]

cool

[@ronaybarkay2414]

Nova was well fit.

[@rentslave]

Despite seeing this movie in '68,they still ended apartheid.

[@sureshmukhi2316]

Apartheid in SA ended much later.

[@vanadrian5408]

I never knew that there were people in the apes costume. I always thought they were real apes. 😅

[@italosblogtalkradio4279]

I’d love to see the Rod Serling version of Planets now 😂😂😂

[@nickmele9968]

Saw it in Radio city New York

[@irish66]

Hmm. Another guy with 10 things you didn't know about this movie says the twist ending was part of Serling's script.

[@ffjsb]

The only bad thing about the end scene is the rock cliff on the beach. The geography is wrong for NYC. It should be flatter. That's always bothered me. Still a great movie though.

[@JohnPepp]

That didn't bother me since this event takes place in the future, and geography changes over time. It’s not too far-fetched to think that NYC could have become beachfront property, especially after a nuclear war.

[@ffjsb]

@@JohnPepp I just know too much about geology. it's already waterfront, there just wouldn't be cliffs like that, that would take at least hundreds of thousands of years.

[@ernestdesimone2234]

@@ffjsb The north end of Manhattan Island has some pretty high cliffs.

[@ffjsb]

@@ernestdesimone2234 I don't think Ellis Island does though.

[@EdwardDevin]

I think it describes a nuclear attack, but I agree with you it's odd.

[@paulhohn-b1v]

Spaceballs

[@rockywatchesmovies]

Coming soon

[@AtheistOrphan]

# ‘Doctor Zaius, Doctor Zaius’

[@hiredgun7996]

Hilarious Simpsons episode!

[@marcmaschal2897]

Well done but there's nothing on here I hadn't heard before.BTW it was Serlings idea to end with S of Liberty scene ,not Jacobs.

[@douglasquaid4518]

The movie or the planet - Troy McClure Simpsons

[@daytripperhd]

you appear to give the director too much credit for the surprise ending, but it was Rod Serlings idea from HIS original script. They got rid of the high tech and went for low tech, but kept his surprise ending. or so i read.

[@RussellMorash-m8w]

Allot of cinematic leeway had to be be use in order for people to understand it people often criticized that the apes spoke English or that alot of the background looked so much like eart

[@thomasjohnson6665]

If they’d never even made it it’d eventually would’ve been made in time

[@allcatz]

The first film was the best. I didn't like any of the sequels.

[@LilMissSmartyPants.922]

like Jaws

[@kayequinn7146]

Saw one sequel,boring don't remember it. This was classic.

[@kayequinn7146]

Agree

[@Shaundalfthegrey]

Have to defend the sequels. They are following a coherent storyline over the course of five films,with a relatively optimistic ending. Of course,there are diminishing returns over the course of the franchise, but overall, undeserving of the hate. That being said, "Beneath" is the only one I find truly bad. The rest range from pretty decent (Escape) to meh (Battle).

[@roccidisopa661]

I liked the ending… but how did the Statue of Liberty get to Zuma Beach?

[@DavidBayliff]

i love the movie the ending is great and screw up ms. liberty half bury crazy but neat ending

[@rogerlynch5279]

8:23 MERCHENDAISING - you are joking right. Things like that were common for movies even before World WAR II. Me I had a lot of merchendaise from the KARL MAY movies and from TV shows like DAKTARI and LARAMY when I was a kid

[@justin8894]

Robinson? The guy who played Garrack?

[@donsmeltzer4083]

Malibu State Park was also the filming location for the tv series M*A*S*H.

[@kg4024-z2z]

I understand its sequel was the first sequel to make more money than the original.