Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape!

10/30/2013

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape!

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Incredible chaos and battle scenes are teased on this packed, exciting poster for J. Lee Thompson's Battle for the Planet of the Apes

Battle for the Planet of the Apes is the last of the five films in the original Fox Apes franchise. Most people think that this is the worst of the sequels, but I think it is the best. (Of the sequels mind you. None of them can top Franklin J. Schaffner's original Planet of the Apes (1968).)

Apes have gained control of Earth, but Caesar, the leader of the apes, wants humans and apes to live in peaceful coexistence. But with polemic, hateful and powerful groups on both sides, will this dream be possible?

That is the story of Battle, a film which was scarred by a writers' strife, a disgruntled director (due to an unfinished script and a small budget), and was later reviewed much in light of this by many critics, including the late Roger Ebert.
- Not fair, because Battle is actually a fine and entertaining film. Alright, the plot has some (expected) hurdles; among other things that raise an eyebrow or two, the apes have developed speech and intellect in a mere 20 years. But if you disregard these minor things, Battle is a good film, told with a fitting frame, and it has John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, director)) as the Lawgiver ape. SPOILER It is also the only film in the series to end on an optimistic, pacifistic note, rounding the groundbreaking science fiction franchise off with style.
It is directed by great English filmmaker J. Lee Thompson (Murder Without Crime (1950)), who also directed the inferior, preceding Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). The script is by John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington (The Omega Man (1971, both)), with Paul Dehn (Orders to Kill (1958)) contributing story elements.

Related posts:

The Apes franchise: War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) - Reeves and Co. astonish with truly spectacular film that finishes the Ape circle

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) or, Ape 3.1: Mad Apes!
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) or, The Ape Uprising
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) - The enjoyable if farfetched second Apes sequel
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) - Decent follow-up to the SF milestone
J. Lee Thompson: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) or, The Ape Uprising

Cape Fear (1962) - Great suspense in effective home invasion thriller

The Guns of Navarone (1961) - Thompson's wonderful war-adventure classic

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 1.7 mil. $
Box office: 8.8 mil. $ - North America only
= Some uncertainty: A big hit based on North America alone and almost certainly a huge hit with other markets (projected return of 7.35 times the cost)

[Battle for the Planet of the Apes was released 15 June (USA) and runs 93 minutes. Shooting took place around January 1973 in California. My projected final world gross is a low-set 12.5 mil. $. Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The franchise then lay dormant until Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001). Thompson returned with Huckleberry Finn (1974). Roddy McDowall (The Legend of Hell House (1973)) returned in McMillan & Wife (1973, TV-series), Love, American Style (1973, TV-series) and theatrically in Arnold (1973); Claude Akins (Murder, She Wrote (1984, TV-series)) in 15 TV credits prior to his theatrical return in Tentacles (1977). Battle for the Planet of the Apes is rotten at 36 % with a 4.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Battle for the Planet of the Apes?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

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10/30/2013

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape!

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