ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Looking for a triple feature that includes Charlton Heston in two starring roles AND a planet filled with apes dinosaurs? Well, look no further!
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Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

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Apes above. Mutants below. What's a planet to do? Can it handle all this? Maybe not.

This begins with scenes of the conclusion of Planet of the Apes (1968) and continues directly after these. I've never liked that for some reason; I suppose it has something to do with a lack of creativity — it's such an obvious way to go with a sequel.

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This first sequel to the '68 science fiction hit, though released a full two years later, has all the markings of something rushed into production. There was no time to craft a story which explores the truly interesting possibilities of astronaut Taylor's continuing odyssey on a future world turned upside down.

The story could have and should have concentrated on the evolving struggle between the ruling class of apes and the backward humans. There were several plots proposed in this area, by Rod Serling and even by Pierre Boulle, the original author, who wrote up 'Planet of Men' — this would have reversed the roles of humans and apes by the conclusion. Maybe such a story would have had events occur too quickly, unrealistic even for sci-fi, and maybe TOO satiric.

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Instead, the filmmakers created a new threat for this film, a secret society of human mutants living underground.

They show up in the 2nd half of this feature and, in prolonged scenes, show off their telepathic powers in torturing the heroes. The heroes, in this case, are another astronaut (James Franciscus) who followed Taylor's trajectory to this other planet and Taylor himself (Heston, reprising his role briefly). Wow, what an original concept — another astronaut, who, in an accelerated version of the first film's events, also finds Ape City, encounters two sympathetic chimps, gets captured and escapes.

Are we watching some kind of a repeat? Yes, this is a precursor to all the film sequels of later decades — if this were 1990, it would be called 'Planet of the Apes 2' and would fit right in with all the other sequels, the franchises of today. At least they titled the sequels more creatively back in 1970.



Rather than expanding on the first film's ideas, the filmmakers attempted to impress the audience with some visuals (again, a fault of most big films these days; it IS a visual medium, but one should have a story to complement the visuals).

In this one, most of the visuals involve the post-holocaust ruins of a city (NYC — surprise!), all buried by this point. And, until the overly extended scenes of the mutants practicing their mind tricks, this isn't dull, I will say. The quick pace of this picture is probably its best aspect; this stresses action. However, the pace is so fast in the first half that some crucial points in geography are sacrificed: getting to the Forbidden Zone from Ape City is just a short walk in a tunnel for some, while others have to trudge for days overhead.

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In a slight nod to the satirical aspects of the original film, we do get to see religion being mocked (the original satirized the social & political anchors of a community). But, it's not a very subtle jab.

The mutants profess to be more intelligent than either the heroes or the apes, which they seem to prove with their advanced mind powers, but they spend most of their time worshiping a nuclear bomb and chanting silly songs, They really picked a strange form of idolatry, but maybe they're simply crazy.

This movie throws together a lot of science fiction concepts on a future world gone wild, but the resulting brew is rather messy; some of it is depressing, some of it is creepy, some of it violent, perhaps even too brutal. It's a decent action piece, not much more.

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_____________ Beneath The Planet Of The Apes


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The main lead, Franciscus, shows he is no Heston; he overacts in most of his scenes, as if he had no clue on how to depict a man realizing where he's actually landed. Bbut then again, he wasn't the skipper on this 2nd ship (the lead officer dies soon after they crash-land); we're not watching a leader but a follower try to carry the picture. Or maybe I was just spoiled by how Heston dominated the first film. I was struck by how Heston towered over Franciscus in their brutal fight scene.

Roddy McDowall is also missing; his role of Cornelius is played by David Watson. I was never clear if that's really McDowall's voice. McDowall is not credited anywhere for this. Maurice Evans & James Gregory are pretty good as the ape leaders, but whoever stuck them in ape suits for the sauna scene should have thought about it a few more minutes.

BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10

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This movie ends everything on a grotesquely conclusive note, but they managed to find a way to continue the story in Escape From the Planet of the Apes.

In regards to the Doomsday scenario, it's presented a bit oddly; narration begins abruptly as Taylor depresses the fateful doom-trigger and ends just as abruptly. When I first saw this on TV in the seventies, I thought the broadcasting station had cut off footage too soon at the end.

As far as the bomb itself, I no longer believe that it actually 'blew up' the entire planet — that would be quite a bomb. Taylor mentions a 'cobalt casing' I think. I think it's more likely that, yes, the explosion was big, but actual planetary death occurred over a period of weeks or months as radiation spread over everything.

_______ Click Here: Beneath the POTA Program to view the film's original program booklet from 1970.

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Beneath the trivia: Actress Natalie Trundy played one of the human mutants here, in the first of her roles in Apes films. She would return as a human in Escape . . . and as an ape in all the remaining sequels.

The faces of the mutants were inspired by a photo in a medical textbook, Gray's Anatomy (hey, isn't there a TV series by that name now?). The other prominent actors playing mutants were Victor Buono, Jeff Corey, Don Pedro Colley (of THX-1138), Gregory Sierra and Paul Richards as the mutant leader.

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The term "Franciscus" had been appropriated by certain fans to describe an inferior actor replacement; as an example: "Roger Moore as James Bond was really a Franciscus." I've never used the term myself and believe it to be overly insulting. The term came up in the film Free Enterprise (1998), but I haven't seen it used much lately. James Franciscus was also cast, reportedly, due to his physical resemblance to Heston, and Franciscus was regarded by some as a smaller version of Heston. I've never seen this resemblance myself, so go figure.



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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The Omega Man (1971)

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This is one of my personal favorites from the seventies. As with a few other films, some of this may be due to it being one of the earliest science fiction films I've seen (I began to view these in earnest in the seventies).

Many are fans of the picture simply for the sight of a gun-toting Charlton Heston, who seems enamored of such weapons. But, the weapons are merely tools — a methodology by which Heston's character, Neville, expresses his approval of individualism. Sound far-fetched? More on that later.

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This is the Last Man on Earth story done with gusto and panache, especially the first half of the picture. Many fans of this picture are often placed in the position of defending it or feeling guilty about admiring it, mostly due to the liberties taken with Richard Matheson's original novel (I am Legend).

Yes, some of these liberties seem unnecessary and silly — what else is new in Hollywood? Someone thought the sight of albinos dressed as monks would be a great, scary visual and provide impressive-looking adversaries for Neville (Heston). Oops. However, with some minor exceptions, there is very little else wrong with the film.


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Upon a 2nd or 3rd viewing, certain plot points don't hold up well under scrutiny.

One very minor one is near the beginning, something I noted from way back when I first watched it. Neville sits in an empty theater, watching Woodstock. It's one of the most memorable and effective scenes in the film. But, this is a dark theater, right? It's an ideal spot for his enemies to sneak up on him. He sits in the center, very blase, not worried at all. This is at odds with his later concern about the sun setting. I would've, at the very least, sat in the back seats, against a wall. Neville seems to have done this many times before, without problems; of course, the first time he heads down into a dark cellar, he gets bushwhacked.

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Towards the end, his new girlfriend (Rosalind Cash) goes for a last time of shopping and stays at it forever. In fact, she goes at it for so long, it's dark by the time she's walking back to Neville's home.

Huh? Again, all of a sudden, there's a complete lack of concern regarding the lack of sunlight.

Even if her brother hadn't made his fatal move, and she did not revert to albino-mode, it sure seems like things would've ended badly for her anyway due to such careless behavior.


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_____ CHARLTON HESTON is the last man.
________ ROSALIND CASH is the last woman...
_____ ______PAUL KOSLO is the last college student.
_____ _________ANTHONY ZERBE is the last newscaster...

________________ Omega Man - News Report


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But, these clumsy moments aside, this film remains in many ways the ultimate Heston role. This was his rugged individual persona taken to the nth degree.

As he says, no one — not Matthias (Anthony Zerbe) or his band of mutates or any other organization — will force him out of his home until he's good and ready to leave. The will or the whims of the majority do not necessarily hold sway here. Neville has staked out his claim, his piece of property, his land . . . and that's it. That is it.

This says that without individual rights, we have nothing. Heston, of course, enforces this point of view in his own particular style and a lot of it is unforgettable. Needless to say, he doesn't mess around. I watched this again recently, and most of it still holds up quite well, against expectations.

________________ The Omega Man soundtrack

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BoG's Score: 8.5 out of 10

Omega Trivia: The earlier version of Matheson's novel was The Last Man on Earth in 1964, starring Vincent Price. The 2007 remake I Am Legend was released on DVD in 2008. Neville's adversaries were now taken to the other extreme as fully superhuman horrors rather than the clumsy robed figures of the seventies version. But, it was too much — they looked like video game creations, ping-ponging up and off the architecture. And the ending was far too abrupt, having no resonance; I caught myself thinking of Heston's final scene instead. Maybe they'll get Matheson's version right in the year 2035 (unless it really happens by then).


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970 England)

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This was like a follow-up to One Million Years BC (1966) but with Jim Danforth providing the stop-motion FX instead of Ray Harryhausen. When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth has some whacky turns in the plot, like the climactic scenes on the raft during a tidal wave (I think the filmmakers were just unable to figure out a way to film it plausibly).

In this prehistoric reality, being blonde-haired is problematic (a good chance of getting sacrificed to some sun god) and there is no moon (as yet). There is no English dialog, just a caveman speech, as in the older film.

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Besides seeing Vetri in all her glory (there's supposedly a G-rated version on DVD, but I have the unedited one and am not sure about the tamer one's existence), the only reason to watch this is Danforth's work, including comparing it to Harryhausen. It's interesting, as noted elsewhere, that Danforth may have achieved a smoother result in his efforts, but lacked that tiny bit of dynamism & personality which Harryhausen imbued to his work. Is this the difference between being 'The experienced Master' and being the 'The Pupil' or is it just a case of individual talent & style?

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As for the Best Buy DVD, there was some controversy there when an unrated version of the DVD was released, even though it stated it was G-rated on the cover. There was a recall. This was a double-feature DVD, on which this film was paired with Moon Zero Two; the latter film was G-rated, so the rating applied to that film. For a time — or still — the DVD was expensive to get at places like eBay.

BoG's Score: 5 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)