I’m back with my Planet of the Apes movie marathon! Today, I will talk about my second favorite movie of the original series. Beneath the Planet of the Apes was supposed to be a conclusion to the series. That was not the case. Escape from the Planet of the Apes is a continuation that is surprisingly funny, endearing, and tragic at the same time. How can this be my second favorite? Well, let me tell you why.
Taking place after the events of Beneath, the remaining Chimpanzee scientists Cornelius (Roddy McDowell), his wife Zira (Kim Hunter), and Milo (Sal Mineo) escaped the destruction of Earth in the year 3978 and traveled backward in time to Earth of 1973. Taylor’s spacecraft salvaged in Death of the Planet of the Apes was used to escape the cataclysmic war between General Ursus’ gorilla military and the Alpha Omega cult. Their arrival left present day humanity dumbfounded until they become instant celebrities of the century. Dr. Otto Hasslain (Eric Braeden) learns about the ape dominated future giving him the incentive to alter the destiny of man. A fatal attempt causes Cornelius and Zira to fear for their lives and their newborn child.
As I said before, it was funny and endearing for most of the movie. Think about it. If a spaceship piloted by three intelligent chimpanzees came back to Earth in our present time, we would be confused. It’s exactly how the opening scene portrayed the Army guys taken aback by the sight of apes in astronaut suits. We the audience would be laughing at how befuddled they were. The music by Jerry Goldsmith offsets the seriousness of it.
Cornelius and Zira were having fun during the first two acts of the movie. It isn’t until Zira’s slip of the tongue about Earth’s future begins the serious third act. The ape couple is probed with further questions regarding the fate of Colonel Taylor and Major Brent, though the latter is not directly referenced. This also lends to unique character transitions for our ape protagonists, such as Cornelius learning how cruel and deceptive man is, slowly turning from a peace advocate to using violence to protect his newfound family.
Zira giving birth to her child adds weight to the urgency of the couple’s survival. It also adds urgency to the human side via Hasslain who completely wants to prevent a population boom of talking apes. The movie does bring up the question: Is it truly right to alter the destiny of an entire species on a single act of preservation? It is cool to see how Hasslain grapples with this existential crisis.
The film’s title Escape carries many meanings. Cornelius and Zira escaped their future because of the pervasive society Ape City had become and Ursus’ warmongering campaign into the Forbidden Zone leading to its destruction. They escaped their imprisonment at Camp Eleven because mankind’s dominion is being threatened by the arrival of their child. On the other hand, mankind is trying to escape their subjugated destiny by preventing the co-existence of another intelligent species. It’s really cool when you start to think deeply about all the superficial stuff that binds this movie together.
Tragedy strikes and it’s not as dark as Beneath/Death but it’s pretty sad. The chimpanzee family is killed despite the help of human doctors they’ve befriended, Lewis (Bradford Dillman) and Stevie (Natalie Trudy). Hasslain dies too, which will have repercussions for humanity’s viewpoints on apes in the next film. All is not lost when their kid was swapped with another baby in the care of circus owner Armando (Ricardo Montalban). The last shot shows the baby chimp speaking his first words crying out to his mother.
Escape is a film that manages to stand on its own two feet. It also shifted the perspectives from humans being at the forefront in the 1st and 2nd movies to apes taking the stage. After this film, it is ape-centric from here on out. I would like to read another Apes book by Andrew E.C. Gaska that fills in the gaps seen in this movie and how we get to the events of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. That one will be on the docket for review next week and it’s another personal favorite of mine. Until next time!
HYPERSPACE 
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