‘Conquest of the Planet of the Apes’ Still Tells a Tale of Revolution

June 14, 2022

In 1968, Planet of the Apes was released, and it is not only considered a great film, mixing sci-fi, action, and social commentary beautifully; it unknowingly, at the time, gave birth to what now sits at a nine-film franchise. The fourth film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, was perhaps the darkest entry of the franchise at the time, with anger spilling over from the comments it was making about the state of mankind at the time to the action sequences that gave us the visual representation of the frustrations many were feeling in 1972.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes put Apes producer Arthur P. Jacobs and his studio partner Fox in uncharted waters. In today’s market, sequels for hit films are not uncommon and almost expected. But, even though Planet of the Apes was both a box office and critical hit, nothing like this had ever been attempted before. Jacobs and company were telling an ongoing story; a complicated, intertwining, and complex story, over these four movies that were not simply about making some cash and capitalizing on the success of the original.

Caesar (Roddy McDowall), the child of Cornelius (also McDowall) and Zira (Kim Hunter), who was killed after traveling back in time to 1973, is now grown up and thriving, thanks to circus owner Armando (Ricardo Montalbán). It’s 1991, and the world has changed, with the U.S. Government in a state of totalitarianism. After a space-borne virus killed off the planet’s population of cats and dogs, humans turned to apes as pets, but after realizing their potential, turned them into a slave race. It is here that Caesar discovers his first bit of horror and outrage, and the seeds are planted for him to eventually lead a revolution.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes was Paul Dehn’s third screenplay in the Apes series, following Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Escape from the Planet of the Apes, and really made no effort to hide how politically charged it was. The other Apes films definitely touched on different issues. This one drew partially from true events; the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles, which made the tension feel more amplified, and the ape revolution feel that much more real. The last act of the film was very intense and dark, with director J. Lee Thompson seemingly embracing everything about the story and pushing the boundaries as far as he could.

Your donation goes directly to this writer!

This film is dark, brooding, angry, and violent, as it should be. Any type of revolution or uprising is always bloody, and it was no different with the apes in this movie or any other in this franchise. McDowall’s performance as Caesar was exactly what Thompson and Dehn needed to make this part of the franchise feel passionate and believable. His speech about how humans will ultimately turn on themselves was magnificent and powerful, everything you would expect from a leader of a revolution. It’s interesting that the ending was re-worked, as it was deemed too controversial, and everyone involved was eager to avoid the first R-rating in the series.

While in the new ending, the film had a more sympathetic Caesar, truly embracing his new role. It was shot rather clumsily, as there was no time for reshoots. The Blu-ray offers the original version as well, which is interesting to watch and compare, making one think of how things might have changed for the franchise if the more tolerant Caesar hadn’t won out.

There are some parts of the film that don’t make sense, or where the masks/costumes just don’t look as good as they should, but regardless of that and the different endings, the film is a powerful entry in the series. It’s emotionally strong, includes powerful themes, and gives birth to one of the great leaders in the history of big movie franchises. The trilogy reboot series that started ten years ago owes much to this film, giving it fertile ground to launch a very successful series, and further entrench the Apes franchise as something truly remarkable, even after five decades.