Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Encyclopedia
Battle for the Planet of the Apes is a 1973 science fiction film
directed by J. Lee Thompson
. It is the fifth and last entry in the original Planet of the Apes
series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs
.
Told in flashback in the early 21st century, with a wraparound sequence by the Great Lawgiver (John Huston
) (set in "North America - 2670 A.D."), this sequel follows the ape leader, Caesar (Roddy McDowall
), a decade after he led the revolution in the previous film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
. In this post-nuclear society, Caesar tries to cultivate peace between the apes and the surviving humans. A gorilla general named Aldo (Claude Akins
), however, opposes this and plots Caesar's downfall. Caesar is married to Lisa (Natalie Trundy
), the female ape of the previous film, and they have a son, named Cornelius (Bobby Porter) in honor of Caesar's father.
Caesar regrets having never known his parents until his human assistant MacDonald (Austin Stoker
) tells him about film archives of his parents, where he can also learn about the future. The archives are located in the Forbidden City, now a radioactive ruin. After obtaining weapons from the armory, Caesar travels with MacDonald and Virgil (Paul Williams
) to the Forbidden City and sneaks in to find the archives. However, there are radiation-scarred humans still living there under the command of Governor Kolp (Severn Darden
). Caesar and his party view the recordings of Cornelius and Zira and learn about the future of the world, but barely have time to study the tapes before they have to escape being captured. Caesar assembles a meeting to report his discoveries at the Forbidden City. Aldo objects when some humans show up, and he leads the gorillas away.
A team of scouts sent by Governor Kolp return and tell him about the Ape City. Kolp considers this covert trip by Caesar an act of espionage. His assistant, Méndez (Paul Stevens
) believes they did nothing wrong and should be left alone, but Governor Kolp stubbornly declares war on Ape City, mustering the humans to destroy the ape society.
Aldo is furious that Caesar wants to co-exist peacefully with humans, and plots a coup in order to become the Ape leader himself. Cornelius overhears this while playing in a nearby tree. Aldo spots him and hacks the tree branch down, critically injuring Cornelius. After a gorilla scouting pair is attacked by the approaching humans (though the gorillas struck the first blow in this case by murdering a human scout beforehand), Aldo orders all humans to be corralled and leads the gorillas to loot the weapons armory. Cornelius eventually dies from his wounds, leaving Caesar devastated, but not without leaving him with a warning about Aldo's coup.
It is at that moment that Kolp's ragtag force launches their attack against Ape City. The initial mutant attack succeeds, forcing Caesar to order the defenders to fall back. When Kolp finds Caesar lying among dozens of apes, he threatens to kill him, but the fallen apes, who were feigning death or hiding on Caesar's orders, launch a counter-attack that captures most of the mutants. Kolp and his remaining forces are killed by Aldo's troops while attempting to retreat.
After the battle, Aldo wants to kill the penned humans, but Caesar shields them. Aldo declares that Caesar should be killed if he shields the humans. Before he can carry this out, Virgil reveal's Aldo's hand in Cornelius' death and the breaking of the ape community's most sacred law ("Ape must never kill ape"). An infuriated Caesar pursues Aldo up a large tree, resulting in Aldo's fatal fall. Caesar then attempts to free the humans, but they refuse to leave the pen unless the humans are being treated as equals. Caesar then realizes the apes are just as despicable as the former slave-owners, and the apes and humans then decide to coexist with one another and begin a new society.
The Great Lawgiver finishes the narration (which takes place over 600 years later) to a group of young humans and apes. Instead of humanity falling and apes rising to take their place, the two species have continued to coexist. When asked by a human child what the future will hold, the Lawgiver states that only the dead know about the future. A closeup of a statue of Caesar shows a single tear falling from its eye.
returns, John Huston
appears as the Lawgiver and veteran actor Lew Ayres
has a cameo
as Mandemus, the casting of this film otherwise showed the diminishing stature and budget of the series. Curiously, France Nguyen, who at that time was arguably a bigger star than most of the top-billed actors, received poor billing in a small role, though the extended DVD cut restored much of her screen time.
MacDonald, Caesar's human friend, is portrayed in this film by Austin Stoker
. A character named MacDonald was played by Hari Rhodes
in the previous film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
. The change in actors was noted in dialog indicating that Stoker's MacDonald was the younger brother of Rhodes' MacDonald. In his novelization of the movie, David Gerrold
identifies the character played by Stoker as the brother of the original MacDonald, who died in the interim.
Another scene towards the end of the film shows the beginnings of the House of Mendez cult, as the humans in the city are about to fire off the doomsday bomb (as seen in Beneath the Planet of the Apes
), but decide not to, as it would threaten the world. In Beneath, one can see many signs of Mendez in the Forbidden Zone, a hymnal on the pipe organ reading "Mendez II", busts of past leaders of the mutant society (such as Mendez XIV), and the mutant leader in Beneath is also named Mendez. It is clear that Governor Mendez is a different leader than his predecessors, Kolp and Breck, since he is more sympathetic to the apes; so long as they do not invade their territory.
In 2006, the Planet of the Apes movies were re-released separately and in a new box set. This version was earlier released as a bootleg and has been widely acknowledged by Apes fans as the definitive version. Listed are the additional scenes:
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
directed by J. Lee Thompson
J. Lee Thompson
John Lee Thompson , better known as J. Lee Thompson, was an English film director, active in England and Hollywood.- Early years :...
. It is the fifth and last entry in the original Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (franchise)
Planet of the Apes is a United States media franchise with seven films , two television series, and comic books. The series began with the 1968 science fiction film Planet of the Apes, which was based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle.-Background:The original series of...
series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs
Arthur P. Jacobs
Arthur Jacobs was a twentieth century film producer responsible for numerous classic films of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Planet of the Apes series, Doctor Dolittle, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Play It Again, Sam and Tom Sawyer...
.
Plot
This synopsis is based on the extended version of the film released to network TV in the late '70s and more recently on DVD and Blu-Ray.Told in flashback in the early 21st century, with a wraparound sequence by the Great Lawgiver (John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
) (set in "North America - 2670 A.D."), this sequel follows the ape leader, Caesar (Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
), a decade after he led the revolution in the previous film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. It explores how the apes rebelled from mankind's ill treatment following Escape from the Planet of...
. In this post-nuclear society, Caesar tries to cultivate peace between the apes and the surviving humans. A gorilla general named Aldo (Claude Akins
Claude Akins
Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
), however, opposes this and plots Caesar's downfall. Caesar is married to Lisa (Natalie Trundy
Natalie Trundy
Natalie Trundy is an American actress, and the widow of movie producer Arthur P. Jacobs.She made a sizeable contribution to the Planet of the Apes movie series during the 1970s. She appeared as the telepathic mutant Albina in the first sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, as Dr...
), the female ape of the previous film, and they have a son, named Cornelius (Bobby Porter) in honor of Caesar's father.
Caesar regrets having never known his parents until his human assistant MacDonald (Austin Stoker
Austin Stoker
Austin Stoker is an American actor known for his role as Lt. Ethan Bishop, the police officer in charge of the besieged Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter's Howard Hawks-inspired, 1976 film, Assault on Precinct 13...
) tells him about film archives of his parents, where he can also learn about the future. The archives are located in the Forbidden City, now a radioactive ruin. After obtaining weapons from the armory, Caesar travels with MacDonald and Virgil (Paul Williams
Paul Williams (songwriter)
Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
) to the Forbidden City and sneaks in to find the archives. However, there are radiation-scarred humans still living there under the command of Governor Kolp (Severn Darden
Severn Darden
Severn Teakle Darden, Jr. was a comedian and actor, and an original member of The Second City Chicago-based comedy troupe as well as its predecessor, the Compass Players...
). Caesar and his party view the recordings of Cornelius and Zira and learn about the future of the world, but barely have time to study the tapes before they have to escape being captured. Caesar assembles a meeting to report his discoveries at the Forbidden City. Aldo objects when some humans show up, and he leads the gorillas away.
A team of scouts sent by Governor Kolp return and tell him about the Ape City. Kolp considers this covert trip by Caesar an act of espionage. His assistant, Méndez (Paul Stevens
Paul Stevens (actor)
Paul Stevens was an American film and television actor.Stevens played Colonel Charles R. Codman in the 1970 film Patton. He appeared in the 1960 film Exodus and the 1969 film Marlowe...
) believes they did nothing wrong and should be left alone, but Governor Kolp stubbornly declares war on Ape City, mustering the humans to destroy the ape society.
Aldo is furious that Caesar wants to co-exist peacefully with humans, and plots a coup in order to become the Ape leader himself. Cornelius overhears this while playing in a nearby tree. Aldo spots him and hacks the tree branch down, critically injuring Cornelius. After a gorilla scouting pair is attacked by the approaching humans (though the gorillas struck the first blow in this case by murdering a human scout beforehand), Aldo orders all humans to be corralled and leads the gorillas to loot the weapons armory. Cornelius eventually dies from his wounds, leaving Caesar devastated, but not without leaving him with a warning about Aldo's coup.
It is at that moment that Kolp's ragtag force launches their attack against Ape City. The initial mutant attack succeeds, forcing Caesar to order the defenders to fall back. When Kolp finds Caesar lying among dozens of apes, he threatens to kill him, but the fallen apes, who were feigning death or hiding on Caesar's orders, launch a counter-attack that captures most of the mutants. Kolp and his remaining forces are killed by Aldo's troops while attempting to retreat.
After the battle, Aldo wants to kill the penned humans, but Caesar shields them. Aldo declares that Caesar should be killed if he shields the humans. Before he can carry this out, Virgil reveal's Aldo's hand in Cornelius' death and the breaking of the ape community's most sacred law ("Ape must never kill ape"). An infuriated Caesar pursues Aldo up a large tree, resulting in Aldo's fatal fall. Caesar then attempts to free the humans, but they refuse to leave the pen unless the humans are being treated as equals. Caesar then realizes the apes are just as despicable as the former slave-owners, and the apes and humans then decide to coexist with one another and begin a new society.
The Great Lawgiver finishes the narration (which takes place over 600 years later) to a group of young humans and apes. Instead of humanity falling and apes rising to take their place, the two species have continued to coexist. When asked by a human child what the future will hold, the Lawgiver states that only the dead know about the future. A closeup of a statue of Caesar shows a single tear falling from its eye.
Casting
While Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
returns, John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
appears as the Lawgiver and veteran actor Lew Ayres
Lew Ayres
Lew Ayres was an American actor, best known for starring as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front and for playing Dr...
has a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as Mandemus, the casting of this film otherwise showed the diminishing stature and budget of the series. Curiously, France Nguyen, who at that time was arguably a bigger star than most of the top-billed actors, received poor billing in a small role, though the extended DVD cut restored much of her screen time.
MacDonald, Caesar's human friend, is portrayed in this film by Austin Stoker
Austin Stoker
Austin Stoker is an American actor known for his role as Lt. Ethan Bishop, the police officer in charge of the besieged Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter's Howard Hawks-inspired, 1976 film, Assault on Precinct 13...
. A character named MacDonald was played by Hari Rhodes
Hari Rhodes
Hari Rhodes was an American author and actor whose career spanned three decades beginning around 1960....
in the previous film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. It explores how the apes rebelled from mankind's ill treatment following Escape from the Planet of...
. The change in actors was noted in dialog indicating that Stoker's MacDonald was the younger brother of Rhodes' MacDonald. In his novelization of the movie, David Gerrold
David Gerrold
Jerrold David Friedman , better known by his pen name David Gerrold, is an American science fiction author who started his career in 1966 while a college student by submitting an unsolicited story outline for the television series Star Trek. He was invited to submit several premises, and the one...
identifies the character played by Stoker as the brother of the original MacDonald, who died in the interim.
Extended Cut
The syndicated television version adds a few scenes cut from the theatrical release. One scene takes place after Aldo chases teacher Abe, where MacDonald reminds him why humans should not say "no" to an ape.Another scene towards the end of the film shows the beginnings of the House of Mendez cult, as the humans in the city are about to fire off the doomsday bomb (as seen in Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
), but decide not to, as it would threaten the world. In Beneath, one can see many signs of Mendez in the Forbidden Zone, a hymnal on the pipe organ reading "Mendez II", busts of past leaders of the mutant society (such as Mendez XIV), and the mutant leader in Beneath is also named Mendez. It is clear that Governor Mendez is a different leader than his predecessors, Kolp and Breck, since he is more sympathetic to the apes; so long as they do not invade their territory.
In 2006, the Planet of the Apes movies were re-released separately and in a new box set. This version was earlier released as a bootleg and has been widely acknowledged by Apes fans as the definitive version. Listed are the additional scenes:
- Near the end of the opening credits, the score continues to its original ending for 25 seconds, with extra footage of General Aldo approaching on a horse.
- The chase of the teacher of the apes is longer by 20 seconds.
- The mutant chief is walking around in his HQ, and has more dialogue.
- The entry into the ruins of the Forbidden City of the ape scout party with Caesar is 40 seconds longer, with more dialogue.
- The escape from the Forbidden City shows more footage and dialogue involving the apes.
- The scene where Cornelius is "shot" by a human boy begins slightly earlier, making it clear that the shooting is a game — which makes more sense, since no mutant party had yet even approached the ape city.
- DELETED SCENE: In this edited scene, Governor Kolp tells his lieutenant to fire an atomic missile on Ape City when he gives the signal.
- The mutant assault is 45 seconds longer. In this sequence there were three more smaller cuts that reduced the battle scene by 40 additional seconds, and originally there was no musical score.
- The scene where the Governor Kolp calls "Sergeant York" is missing.
- There are additional shots and dialogue before the mutants lay down the smoke screen.
- 355 more seconds of the battle were cut.
- The scene where Aldo kills Governor Kolp and his followers in the school bus has been restored.
- The fight between Aldo and Caesar is longer.
- DELETED SCENE: The new Governor Mendez talks the mutant lieutenant out of firing the atomic missile. As they argue, they discover it is the ALPHA-OMEGA bomb from Beneath the Planet of the ApesBeneath the Planet of the ApesBeneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
. Only with this sequence reinserted, the odd cut from the Caesar conversation involving the humans to the ending sequence makes more sense.