Planet of the Apes (1968): I knew this was going to be tremendous from the very first scene. Charlton Heston cutting a monologue (well, a message to Earth, but nobody's listening Charlton! You may as well not bother!) and chewing the scenery. His performance in this film is so completely and utterly over the top that that particular idiom doesn't cover it. He didn't just chew on the scenery. He extensively prepared it, cooked it through, garnished it, poured a bit of gravy over the top and dove right in, consuming the entire thing. The production team were absolutely furious. That, I should note, doesn't have a negative effect on the film. It really helps it. Here you have this strange caricature of a man struggling to get to grips with this absurd world where the monkeys are running the show and it just seems appropriate. The other performances are alright but have no doubt. Charlton's yer main man.
I was particular impressed with the production of the film. It really didn't seem particularly dated. The ape makeup looked very good, not ropey in the slightest, even when they began talking. I wouldn't have much of an issue with it from a production standpoint if it came out today. It's most definitely not just a film with people wearing monkey suits, some on horseback with shotguns. Apparently the last shot (SPOILER ALERT) (BTW, WON'T SPOIL WORLD WAR 2 EITHER) of the Statue of Liberty was done by blending in a painting of the scenery with the actual filmed shot, which is incredible. It doesn't stand out at all. Apparently the later movies in the series have less funding and, while they'll inevitably be worse, I'm hoping for something that resembles a 1980s British television show. Yes. People wearing monkey suits. Two thumbs up.
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