CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: In Which The Gorillas Become Guerrillas
The success of Escape From The Planet Of The Apes demanded another sequel and this time, producer Arthur P. Jacobs and sequel screenwriter ace Paul Dehn were fully prepared. The latter parts of the prior film laid out conceptual thoughts that connected the events of the past to the futuristic world presented in the first two Apes movies. Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes offers a fuller exploration of the events that form that link - and the result is unexpectedly incendiary in both tone and content.
The storyline jumps forward about 18 years into thefuture after the events of Escape, focusingon the character of Caesar (Roddy McDowell), the now-grown son of chimpanzeeheroes Cornelius and Zira from the prior films. He pretends to be aconventional chimp under the care of kindly circus owner Armando (RicardoMontalban) in a future where a virus has killed conventional house pets,leading to apes being bred to take their place and ultimately converted into aform of cheap, easily abused slave labor.
Caesar's fortunes take a dark turn when Armando gets introuble covering for him and Caesar is forced to hide amongst a group of apesbeing trained for domestic service. He quickly learns how dire life is for hiskind outside the circus, particularly with Governor Breck (Don Murray), the cruelhead of Ape Control, ruling over primate life in a vicious, dictatorial manner. Seeing the cruelties visited upon hisprimitive brethen fills Caesar with rage and he uses his superior intellect toorganize a rebellion. The terrifying results of his actions will determine thefuture of both man and ape.
There is a tradition of subversive themes andpolitical/social commentary in the Apesfilm series but Conquest Of The PlanetOf The Apes pushes this element to its ultimate extreme. Dehn's scriptrealizes the middle part of the series mythology that was hinted at in Escape From The Planet Of The Apes,using Caesar's struggles in a hostile human-dominated world to as a directallegory for the struggle of mistreated minorities in a society where theruling class embraces totalitarian methods.
No symbolism is presented lightly here. Breck isunambiguously presented as a fascist operating out of fear. A direct connection is drawn between theabuse of the apes in the film's world and slave-era brutality in Americanhistory: we see ape training centers reminiscent of slaver compounds, usingfire and beatings to instill "lessons," and a sequence where an apeis sold to the ruling elite that is presented as the futuristic version of aslave auction. The climax of the film shows the vicious side of Caesar'srevolt, particularly in the film's unedited version, but sides with his band ofrevolutionaries by presenting it as the inevitable outcome of human cruelty.
The hard-hitting approach of Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes gets a boost from the direction ofJ. Lee Thompson. He digs into both the stylization and the political content ofthe film: despite a modest budget, he creates an impressively stylized futureworld via inspired use of Century City business complex locations andcolor-coded uniforms reflecting the regimented, caste-driven mindset of thefilm's future society. In a telling touch that reflects the film's"confrontational pulp" approach, Breck and his squad of Ape Controltroops wear black uniforms that evoke the look of the Gestapo.
Thompson also brings a kinetic verve to the film'svisuals. For example, it opens with an impressive handheld camera sequence thattakes us through the cruel, clinical routine of ape training. He establishes a tense tempo in the film'sediting early on and isn't afraid to use dramatic flourishes like zooms orquick cutting to accentuate the way the film's world can suddenly put thescrews to characters on the wrong side of the fascist regime. When the time forrevolt arrives, Thompson brings these techniques to a boil in a series ofimpressively staged battle sequences that represent the bloodiest, most violentfinale any Apes film. The resultshit even harder because of their politicized tone: it's like The Battle Of Algiers in monkey masks.By the credits roll, the viewer is likely to be winded from the sturm und drangthat Thompson displays here.
Finally, Thompson gets strong performances that fit inwith his visceral approach. McDowell shifts to a new characterization here andreally digs in: he does an impressive job of charting how cruelty and theanguish it brings shape Caesar into the fiery, fierce revolutionary he becomes.He was skilled at giving a complex performance while in full makeup by thistime and communicates the depth of his character's rage in an impressivemanner, particularly in the speech that Caesar gives at the finale. Murraymatches him for energy with his turn as Breck, creating a character who hastotal belief in his cruel methods and is driven to maintain his status quo at allcosts. Montalban lends a nice touch of humanity in his scenes and there's alsonoteworthy work by Severn Darden as a Himmler-ish secret police type and HariRhodes as the only Ape Control staffer capable of understanding the apes' pain.
In short, ConquestOf The Planet Of The Apes is the best of the Apes sequels, daring in bothaction and rhetoric, but also one of the most subversive mainstream films ofits time. It's hard to imagine a major studio having the guts to make a filmlike this today.
Blu-Ray/DVD Notes: this film was so intense that Fox studio execs forced the filmmakers to recut and redub the finale to soften its final blow. Thankfully, modern DVD and blu-ray releases include the original version of the film. Schlockmania recommends that you stick with the uncut version because it's the only one that matters.