Planet of the Apes
Short description
In the year 2029, astronaut Leo Davidson trains chimpanzees to pilot spacecraft aboard an orbiting station. When one of the animals is lost in a spatial anomaly, Leo disobeys orders and sets out after him, only to be pulled through the same disturbance. He crashes on an unfamiliar world where apes speak, build civilizations and treat humans as livestock and slaves. Taken captive, Leo is helped by Ari, a chimpanzee sympathetic to the human plight, and joins a small band of rebels. Their escape is hunted by the gorilla army of the ruthless General Thade and his commander Attar, and the group's only hope lies in reaching a sacred site in the planet's forbidden zone.
Tim Burton directed the film, the eleventh of the twenty-two features he has made in chronological order, following Sleepy Hollow and preceding Big Fish. William Broyles Jr., Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal wrote the screenplay, and Richard D. Zanuck produced. Mark Wahlberg plays Captain Leo Davidson, with Tim Roth as Thade, Helena Bonham Carter as Ari, Michael Clarke Duncan as Attar, Paul Giamatti as Limbo and Estella Warren as Daena. Made for about 100 million dollars, it took roughly 362 million dollars worldwide.
Ratings sit in mixed territory: on IMDb it holds 5.7 from around 241,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.8 from over 4,500 votes, close to the critics' score of 6 out of 10 from 201 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Tim Burton shot five different endings to the film, from which he subsequently chose the best. He also wanted to include a sexual scene between a human and an ape, but the management of '20th Century Fox' refused, resulting in a major scandal.
- The film is based on Pierre Boulle's novel "Planet of the Apes" (La Planéte des singes, 1963).
- The remake's budget increased approximately twentyfold compared to the original.
- The film was shot in the USA (Hawaii, California, and other states) and Australia. The battle scene between the monkeys and people in the deserted forbidden zone was filmed in Trona, California. The film "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) was also filmed there at one time. Location shooting was done near Lake Powell (Utah), in the same place where "Planet of the Apes" (1968) was filmed.
- The helmet on the ape policeman in the final scene was taken from the props of "Starship Troopers" (1997) and painted black.
- Filming began on November 6, 2000, but after it was completed – from June 19 to June 30, 2001 – some scenes had to be reshot.
- In 1995, Oliver Stone was considered a potential director of the film. In 1997, a rumor circulated that James Cameron would direct the film, and Arnold Schwarzenegger would play the lead role.
- In one of his interviews, Tim Burton, when asked about such an unusual and not entirely logical ending to the film, stated that "apparently, someone landed on Earth before Captain Leo Davidson." However, it should be noted that the ending of this film is closest to the original literary source – the novel of the same name by Pierre Boulle.
- During filming, Michael Clarke Duncan sprained his ankle and was sent to the nearest hospital still in his gorilla costume.
- The US Air Force's space astrophysics base "Oberon" is named after the selfish King Oberon from Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and the military leader Tayde (Tim Roth) is named after the Japanese Minister of War Hideki Tojo, who in 1941 intended to declare war on the United States.
- The warlord Tade initially was conceived as a large albino gorilla, but Tim Burton insisted that he be a chimpanzee, as this species of ape is more aggressive.
- Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison are the only actors from the entire cast who appeared in the first adaptation of "Planet of the Apes" in 1968. Linda Harrison was given an episodic role as a woman in a carriage, and Charlton Heston played the role of dying Zaius, the father of General Tayde.
- Tim Roth turned down the role of Professor Severus Snape in the first Harry Potter film in favor of this movie.
- In Tim Burton's view, the scariest monkeys are chimpanzees.
- Mark Wahlberg agreed to participate in the film immediately after speaking with Tim Burton. Moreover, Mark was willing to play any role.
- The director was suggested to make the apes computer-generated characters, but Tim Burton unequivocally rejected this proposal.
- Tim Burton broke a rib during filming.
- The working title of the film was "The Visitor".
- Actor and makeup artist Rick Baker, an authoritative creator of the ape appearance in this film, himself played an ape in the film 'King Kong' (1976), and also developed makeup for primates in the films 'Gorillas in the Mist' (1988), 'Mighty Joe Young' (1998), 'Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes' (1984), for the Bigfoot in 'Harry and the Hendersons' (1987), and for the anthropomorphic Jack Nicholson in 'Wolf' (1994). Moreover, in this film, in an episodic role, he appeared again as an old ape.
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