Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, and is directed by J. Lee Thompson with Paul Dehn returning to write. Actor, Roddy McDowall, returned to the franchise but not as Cornelius but as their son Caesar. It makes sense and enables him to come back to the franchise, which is nice to see. It's worth noting how this is Roddy McDowall's best performance as the two Simian characters he have played, it's brilliant. The film also stars Ricardo Montalbán, Don Murray and Natalie Trundy, the former of them had a small but important role in Escape of the Planet of the Apes. Whilst this film is much darker and extremely bleak at times, there's still some of the cheesiness from its predecessor, but the tone is just right as something else would have never made for a great story being told. Conquest is underrated and is now 50 years old, actually quite vital now more than it was when it came out in 1972.
In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.
Thompson staged every scene with attention to detail, such as highlighting the conflicts with color: the humans wear black and other muted colors, while the apes' suits are colorful. Don Murray suggested to Thompson his wardrobe with a black turtleneck sweater, and rehearsed his scenes after translating his dialogue into German "to get this kind of severe feeling of the Nazis". Screenwriter Paul Dehn wrote the film incorporating references to the racial conflicts in North America during the early 1970s, and Thompson further highlighted by shooting some scenes in a manner similar to a news broadcast. I think these themes were perfect for the movie and where they are in the timeline, the racial conflict and slavery. J. Lee Thompson, you created a Planet of the Apes movie, also a film that is remembered 50 years later. I think "Conquest" would have flopped if another director would've been chosen.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes have its fair share of flaws, but the overall production is quite impressive, too bad J. Lee Thompson's didn't get to see his vision through regarding the much darker ending. I actually think the first half of "Conquest" is quite excellent and the second half had the potential to be great, but I thought there were too much action and less what I think these films is about, philosophy and not dumbed down action. But I do understand why the long action sequence had to happen, as it sets up the final film. I do wish I would have bought the blu-ray version to see the un-rated version (with original opening and ending) but the theatrical cut worked quite well. To conclude my review I want to quote a film critic: Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "may be the best since No. 1, 'Planet of the Apes'," calling it "a self-contained allegory in which man's cruelty to beasts becomes symbolic of man's inhumanity to man. It is a simple but powerful premise, thoroughly developed with a good balance between dialog and action by Dehn and splendidly directed by J. Lee Thompson."
In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, Caesar, the son of the late simians Cornelius and Zira, surfaces after almost twenty years of hiding out from the authorities, and prepares for a slave revolt against humanity.
Thompson staged every scene with attention to detail, such as highlighting the conflicts with color: the humans wear black and other muted colors, while the apes' suits are colorful. Don Murray suggested to Thompson his wardrobe with a black turtleneck sweater, and rehearsed his scenes after translating his dialogue into German "to get this kind of severe feeling of the Nazis". Screenwriter Paul Dehn wrote the film incorporating references to the racial conflicts in North America during the early 1970s, and Thompson further highlighted by shooting some scenes in a manner similar to a news broadcast. I think these themes were perfect for the movie and where they are in the timeline, the racial conflict and slavery. J. Lee Thompson, you created a Planet of the Apes movie, also a film that is remembered 50 years later. I think "Conquest" would have flopped if another director would've been chosen.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes have its fair share of flaws, but the overall production is quite impressive, too bad J. Lee Thompson's didn't get to see his vision through regarding the much darker ending. I actually think the first half of "Conquest" is quite excellent and the second half had the potential to be great, but I thought there were too much action and less what I think these films is about, philosophy and not dumbed down action. But I do understand why the long action sequence had to happen, as it sets up the final film. I do wish I would have bought the blu-ray version to see the un-rated version (with original opening and ending) but the theatrical cut worked quite well. To conclude my review I want to quote a film critic: Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "may be the best since No. 1, 'Planet of the Apes'," calling it "a self-contained allegory in which man's cruelty to beasts becomes symbolic of man's inhumanity to man. It is a simple but powerful premise, thoroughly developed with a good balance between dialog and action by Dehn and splendidly directed by J. Lee Thompson."