Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
| Planet of the Apes | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Franklin J. Schaffner |
| Produced by | Arthur P. Jacobs |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on |
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
| Edited by | Hugh S. Fowler |
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Production
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5.8 million |
| Box office | $33.4 million (North America) |
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. It stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison. The screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling was loosely based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle. Jerry Goldsmith composed the groundbreaking avant-garde score. It was the first in a series of five films made between 1968 and 1973, all produced by Arthur P. Jacobs and released by 20th Century Fox.
The film tells the story of an astronaut crew who crash-land on a strange planet in the distant future. Although the planet appears desolate at first, the surviving crew members stumble upon a society in which apes have evolved into creatures with human-like intelligence and speech. The apes have assumed the role of the dominant species and humans are mute creatures wearing animal skins.
The script was originally written by Rod Serling, but underwent many rewrites before filming eventually began. Directors J. Lee Thompson and Blake Edwards were approached, but the film's producer Arthur P. Jacobs, upon the recommendation of Charlton Heston, chose Franklin J. Schaffner to direct the film. Schaffner's changes included an ape society less advanced—and therefore less expensive to depict—than that of the original novel. Filming took place between May 21 and August 10, 1967, in California, Utah and Arizona, with desert sequences shot in and around Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The film's final "closed" cost was $5.8 million.
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