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Escape From The Planet Of The Apes [1971]
![Escape From The Planet Of The Apes [1971]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51N1KERF1AL._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £2.65 (subject to change)
Only for unconditional fans of Hans Gudegast- aka Eric Braeden!
Review date: 2008-08-15 Rating: 4 out of 10
This is where the "POTA" franchise takes a very definite turn for the worse. After the memorable debut, and the acceptable follow-up, we get this anaemic third episode. Only really worth having, as such, if it's part of the complete film box-set. (So long as it's not too pricey, of course.)
"Escape From The Planet Of The Apes" retains a certain curiosity, for me, in that it features a rare cinematic appearance of Eric Braeden. After having been known as Hans Gudegast in "The Rat Patrol" and prior to him becoming a mega soap star as Victor Newman in "The Young And Restless". Hardly, however, something which is likely to draw in the casual purchaser of such an ordinary film!
Similar Products
- Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes [1972]
- Beneath The Planet Of The Apes [1970]
- Battle For The Planet Of The Apes [1973]
- The Planet of the Apes Collection (6 Disk Box Set) [1968]
- Planet of the Apes -- 35th Anniversary Special Edition (2 discs) [1968]
Reviews
Oh dear.....
Review date: 2008-03-20 Rating: 2 out of 10
Essentially its the first movie all over again, here it is in a nutshell:
Zira, Cornelius and Dr Milo we discover have managed to escape from the "doomsday bomb" detonated by Heston in the last movie after salvaging Hestons spacecraft from the first movie.
They land on Earth (having travelled back in time) only to discover they are now in a time where humans rule the planet. Initially caged in a Zoo (where Milo ironically gets killed by an "un-tamed" gorilla) they are later accepted in society and bizarrely, pampered like celebrities (even taking up a suite in a high end hotel). However its not long before Zira & Cornelius end up on the run from a paranoid group of government officials after it emerges that Zira is pregnant, which will lead to simians evolving into the dominant species and eventually destroying planet Earth.
Aided by 2 human psychiatrists they escape long enough for Zira to give birth and find shelter in a circus run by Senor Armando. However its not long before all the presidents men catch up with them on an abandoned ship. Hasslein (a scientist determined to put an end to simian evolution) shoots Zira and her baby, Cornelius shoots Hasslein and the Marines shoot Cornelius. Everyone watches as Zira tosses her baby overboard before crawling to her husband to die by his side.
We later learn that the REAL infant ape was switched before they all met their fate at the ship, and Senor Armando is now taking care of it at his circus, thus preserving the possibility for a future evolution of apes.
The movie ends with the infant ape saying "mama" repeatedly in a child-like voice.
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Now, if it sounds like fun - it isn't. The setting is dull and the "apes turning celebrities" storyline is cringe-worthy.
The overall storyline is weak and awash with flaws. In the first movie Cornelius & Zira dismiss Hestons claims of how he "flew" to their planet. Yet here we are lead to believe that Z & C along with Milo have salvaged Heston's wrecked spacecraft - somehow locating and recovering it from the bottom of a lake, fixed it and taught themselves how to pilot it. Not only this, but they managed to do it all in a relatively short space of time (between seeing off Brent and Nova and the atomic bomb being detonated in which seemingly only a few hours would have passed). Furthermore, what would have prompted them to take off anyway? Had they have been on the planet when the atomic bomb went off they would have never made it out alive, not to mention that they almost certainly had no idea that the bomb even existed - or what its potential was.
"Its only a movie" you cry, sure. But when something starts off so great like the first and second POTA's, why waste any effort making something this poor...
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Bradford Dillman
Eric Braeden
Natalie Trundy
Roddy McDowall
Kim Hunter
Creators:
Roddy McDowall (Primary Contributor)
Kim Hunter (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036022842
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2005-08-22
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 93 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1971
Language: English (Original Language)