The Bloody Pit #236 - BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970)

Author Mark Clark returns to start a discussion of the sequels to one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time. It is difficult to convey just how popular the Planet of the Apes series of films was in the early 1970s if you weren’t around to experience the phenomenon. The first film had been a massive hit both commercially and critically while its iconic final scene became part of the zeitgeist inspiring everything from standup comics to television advertisements to most kid’s playtime fantasies of gorillas punching disrespectful humans. The choice to make a sequel to such a well-known and well-regarded film seems like a natural thought in the 21st century but in the late 1960s it was not. And just getting everyone on board for the project was only the first problem the production encountered. We will elaborate. Somewhat.

 

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970) is generally considered one of the lesser entries in the POTA film series and both Mark and I feel this is a ridiculous common opinion. As we relate, even some of the cast and crew were less than thrilled with the final form the story took with both director Ted Post and lead actor James Fransicous trying to shift and alter things until nearly the last few minutes before cameras rolled. While flawed, the film is incredibly compelling and sports some of the best cinematic imagery of a post-apocalyptic Earth of any pre-CGI science fiction. And for those wanting to be intellectually engaged, the film seems intent on slinging idea after idea at the audience in an attempt to craft a similar effect of wide-eyed wonder the first film built. The entire affair is once again locked in place by a cast of fantastic actors giving us brilliant performances often through the award-winning ape makeup appliances. We spend a little time marveling at the villainous James Gregory as General Ursus and remain glad that he got the role instead of Orson Wells.

 

Needless to say, we discuss the film’s downbeat ending in detail so full spoiler warnings are in place! After all – no one was going to want to do another one of these things! Right?

 

If you have questions or comments thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Mark and I will return soon with the next POTA sequel and stir some real controversy then. Thanks for listening. 

The Bloody Pit #223 - Planet of the Apes TV Series (1974)

After avoiding podcasting about the Planet of the Apes franchise for years it is finally time to talk about one of the weakest parts of the classic run. The 1974 television series lasted only fourteen episodes and was one of the most expensive shows produced up to that time. Author Mark Clark joins me to discuss the entire run and we go on for far too long. Bear with us for the full running time as we dig out the interesting elements and lament the missed opportunities of this nearly forgotten show. Is this truncated series of adventures with two time-displaced astronauts and an ape companion worth discovering or revisiting? We make our case.

Seen as part of the ongoing 1970’s journey of the science fiction story from the four sequel films, the POTA TV series is clearly a Cul-de-sac branching away from the established road. The first episode both negates a connection to the previous stories and tries to link it to the original film with an earlier astronaut landing spoken of by the leaders of Ape society. Mark makes a strong argument for how the show could take place in one of the two timelines set up in the films already but I am skeptical. We go through each episode pointing out the usually hackneyed plots and overused clichés that litter the stories being told. Often the scripts could easily have been written as installments of a 1960’s western show and simply repurposed for the world of the apes. But the few times the show leans on its science fiction premise are more interesting even if it inevitably leads to very little.

If you’ve never watched this series, I hope our spoiler filled podcast won’t put you off at least a partial exploration of our favorite episodes. We can’t claim it’s our most loved part of the franchise but it has its points of interest and entertainment.

If you have any comments about the Planet of the Apes TV series or our plans to talk about the sequel films thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address to send them. And if you are interested in the projects Mark speaks about near the end of the show there are links below. Thanks for listening! 

SCREEM Magazine

Jack Hill book 

Planet of the Apes Joke

Maybe I'm just very tired, but this really made me laugh.

 

Review - Death of the Planet of the Apes

I recently read ‘Death of the Planet of the Apes’ by Andrew E. C. Gaska and thoroughly enjoyed it. The idea was to envision the details between PLANET OF THE APES (1968) and its first sequel BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970). BENEATH has always been my favorite of the original film’s follow ups and so I really am the target audience for this novel. It exceeded my expectations and even my hopes.

The book intelligently expands the onscreen story in ways that mostly feel perfect giving us a much better sense of how much time passes between the events of each film. It addresses a number of the odder differences that even casual viewers might notice and folds them naturally into the connective narrative. So now we see how Cornelius and Zira became man and wife after the events of the ’68 film and learn a lot more about the political situation in Ape City that plays out as a fight between science and religion. This deepens our understanding of the divisions portrayed in the sequel and gives expanded reasoning for Zaius to accompany the Ape Army into the Forbidden Zone. Anticipating the way the third film begins, the story smartly sets up the scientist Milo and explains how he was able to miraculously salvage and fly the crashed ship from the first film. The author’s ideas here are ingenious and show an attention to geeky detail that makes me grin with fanboy pride.

Much time is spent detailing Taylor’s journey once he is separated from Nova and this is where Gaska shows his skill and deep knowledge of the larger POTA world. He includes elements that were introduced to the POTA universe in the classic Marvel comics published in the 1970’s cleverly adding them to the film’s story. This seamless blending together of the films and the larger world built over years around this franchise is unexpectedly satisfying and highly entertaining. It might seem crazy to suddenly have living brains in jars and grotesque human-ape hybrids running around the underground spaces occupied by the Mutants introduced in the second film but it all comes together so well that it feels organic. Each piece plays its part to get us to the all too well-known final moments of BENEATH.

All this playing about in the original works scratches the itch of people like me who love to see the continuity holes and odd narrative choices justified in ways that make some kind of sense. I know that a lot of people find the fascination with this kind of thing silly or a childish holdover from reading too many comic books in youth but I’m a proud fan of this kind of storytelling. Efforts like this book are an inventive exploration of a fictional world that continues to inspire this kind of engagement because the stories are compelling on multiple levels. Like the best of these kinds of ancillary works it draws out more of what makes the story capable of supporting the weight of both big and small ideas. I recommend this novel to fans of the original movies and to those curious about how to do this type of franchise expanding writing well. 

 

Trailers From Hell - ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES (1971)

Dana Gould is one of the world's biggest fans of the original POTA series and his love shows in this commentary over the trailer of the third film. Turns out it was the first film he ever saw at a theater and it was a drive-in! 

Planet of the Apes Magazine Covers

I just can't stop! 

 

Planet of the Apes Merchandise!

A few of these things I would have had no interest in owning but, nevertheless, I'm impressed with the range. 

Belts? I remember belt buckles being a thing but..... 

 

PLANET OF THE APES Series Artwork

I'm feeling like it's time for a run through the first five films again. 

Jerry Goldsmith Scores for Science Fiction Classics

While editing the most recent episode of The Bloody Pit I was reminded of how much I love the soundtrack music composed by the great Jerry Goldsmith. In the show I mentioned his amazing PLANET OF THE APES (1968) score and his award winning music for THE OMEN (1976) but he wrote so many incredible pieces of music I forgot about his work on ALIEN (1979). I really don't think that film would have had it's massive cinema altering influence without his score. Goldsmith was so talented that I often find that his music was the only thing I liked about some movies. The man was a genius!

PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Poster Art

Still one of my all time favorite films! 

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (2017) - Thoughts on Silence

The first thing I noticed about WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES is the silence. At first I feared that the quiet opening and subdued aural composition of the first few seconds of the film was a technical glitch but then the natural sound effects of people walking through a forest became audible and I realized that it was intentional. Soon it was clear that sound was going to play a major role on the way the story was going to be told.

The rest of the movie demonstrated that director Matt Reeves fully understands how to use sound to tell his story as well as draw an emotional response and a quickening of interest in the viewer. Often he drops specific, expected noises out from underneath images in such a way that it draws attention to violence or action. He is cleverly using his soundtrack to underline character traits the same way a visualist will use costuming or lighting to color our perceptions. At one point a character is crouched in snow with tears trickling down his face and what we hear is his slightly stifled sniffle. This shows his pain better than any conversation could. At another point two antagonists scream while attacking each other as slow motion machine gunfire tracks across a floor and wall seeking a target but all we hear is breathing and the score. The tension is unnerving and I don't think I could have had a more emotional response if all the fury and rage were blasting my ears.

This use of silence often  seems wholly natural because of the wintertime setting. Given that the majority of the story takes place in the harsh cold it's easy to suppose that the general hush over the story comes from that choice alone. I would be curious to know if the filmmakers chose to set the film in the colder months or if it were mere happenstance. Silence over snowy landscapes and cold frigid vistas is a standard movie visual but Reeves and his team clearly know that silence is also something useful in both contemplative sequences as well as scenes of frantic action. On more than just the one occasion described above gunfire, explosions and screams all drop away and we're left with only the music or incidental sound effects giving us an expressive and often profound  view of the emotional content of the violence on screen. This isn't the first film to use silence in this way but, as a technique, I thought it had gone the way black & white photography. I'm glad to see a modern director employ the lack of sound creatively where bombast seems the standard.

Trailers From Hell - BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970)

Even though - as usual - Landis refers to the film as 'trash' he also evidences some real fondness for this 'fun' film. It's my favorite of the sequels. 

Planet of the Apes TV series lunch box!

I remember seeing this when I was a kid but I never had it.