Author: Cai Ross
The original Planet of The Apes movies occupied a curious netherworld of critical opinion. With each film, the budget was sawn in half, leading to a successive pattern of diminishing returns that led to a cheapening of its esteem. The spin-off TV show was quickly cancelled, further dulling the lustre and few people even remember the animated series that finally put the Apes to bed until a rude awakening in 2001.
However, for all their child-pleasing capers (the family-friendly G rating was a mandatory stipulation from the studios), the Apes movies deftly juggled important themes and arguments about slavery, free-will, nuclear war, vivisection, racism and oppression, and man’s innate capacity for cruelty. In pure storytelling terms, the circuitous plot links the first five movies (and the new post-Rise cycle) into a pleasing, if relentlessly pessimistic, self-perpetuating full-circle.
Enormous box office successes in their early stages, they spawned...
The original Planet of The Apes movies occupied a curious netherworld of critical opinion. With each film, the budget was sawn in half, leading to a successive pattern of diminishing returns that led to a cheapening of its esteem. The spin-off TV show was quickly cancelled, further dulling the lustre and few people even remember the animated series that finally put the Apes to bed until a rude awakening in 2001.
However, for all their child-pleasing capers (the family-friendly G rating was a mandatory stipulation from the studios), the Apes movies deftly juggled important themes and arguments about slavery, free-will, nuclear war, vivisection, racism and oppression, and man’s innate capacity for cruelty. In pure storytelling terms, the circuitous plot links the first five movies (and the new post-Rise cycle) into a pleasing, if relentlessly pessimistic, self-perpetuating full-circle.
Enormous box office successes in their early stages, they spawned...
- 7/12/2017
- by Cai Ross
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Warning: Spoilers for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (and all of the Apes films, for that matter) When Battle for the Planet of the Apes ended the franchise’s first cinematic run in 1973, it concluded the series with something of a whimper instead of a bang. While many of the original Apes sequels are enduringly fascinating in their expanding narratives, trenchant topicality and surprisingly bleak endings, they were also assembly line products rushed through production annually, with nearly each successive entry’s budget slashed in half – a series constructed on a model of diminishing returns. Most of the normal creative team were not available for the fifth entry, so The Omega Man’s married screenwriting team of John and Joyce Corrington were hired to helm Battle despite being unfamiliar with the series. After inter- and intra-species conflict, Battle ends with a flash-forward (a bookending device) showing a monument of Caesar (Roddy McDowall) with a tear...
- 7/16/2014
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Director: Steve Carver; Cirio H. Santiago
Screenplay: John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington; Miller Drake; Howard R. Cohen
Starring: Pam Greir, Margaret Markov, Pat Anderson, Lenore Kasdorf, Lyllah Torena, Ken Metcalfe, Vic Diaz, Lindsay Bloom and Tara Strohmeier; with appearances by Dick Miller and Mary Woronov
To misquote Jack Nicholson, Roger Corman released so many movies, it's no surprise some real stinkers got into theaters. And the recent Shout! Factory Roger Corman Cult Classics release, Lethal Ladies 2 Collection, is intent on proving that statement. The two-dvd set includes a single-disc presentation of The Arena, and a second disc with the double feature of Fly Me and Cover Girl Models.
The best film in the collection, 1974's The Arena (aka Naked Warriors), is little more than a retelling of Spartacus with women as gladiators. Corman decided it was the perfect vehicle for Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, following their successful...
Screenplay: John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington; Miller Drake; Howard R. Cohen
Starring: Pam Greir, Margaret Markov, Pat Anderson, Lenore Kasdorf, Lyllah Torena, Ken Metcalfe, Vic Diaz, Lindsay Bloom and Tara Strohmeier; with appearances by Dick Miller and Mary Woronov
To misquote Jack Nicholson, Roger Corman released so many movies, it's no surprise some real stinkers got into theaters. And the recent Shout! Factory Roger Corman Cult Classics release, Lethal Ladies 2 Collection, is intent on proving that statement. The two-dvd set includes a single-disc presentation of The Arena, and a second disc with the double feature of Fly Me and Cover Girl Models.
The best film in the collection, 1974's The Arena (aka Naked Warriors), is little more than a retelling of Spartacus with women as gladiators. Corman decided it was the perfect vehicle for Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, following their successful...
- 5/21/2012
- by Chris McMillan
- Planet Fury
On this date in...
1980: Texas ("starring Beverlee McKinsey") premiered on NBC. The show was created by John William Corrington, Joyce Corrington, and Paul Rauch. The show lasted until December 31, 1982. Another World returned to 60 minutes (from 90) that day.
Celebrating a birthday today are:
Laurie Heineman (ex-Sharlene, Another World; ex-Mary, As The World Turns)
President Barack Obama - 50
Sebastian Roché (ex-Jerry, General Hospital) - 47
Crystal Chappell (Gina, Venice; Carly, Days Of Our Lives; ex-Olivia, Guiding Light; ex-Maggie, One Life To Live; ex-Jane, Santa Barbara; ex-All My Children) - 46
James Tupper (Andrew, Grey's Anatomy; ex-Jack, Men In Trees) - 46
Timothy Adams (ex-Ron, One Life To Live; ex-Rob, Guiding Light; ex-Casey, Sunset Beach) - 44
Daniel Dae Kim (ex-Jin, Lost; ex-Dr. Kim, All My Children) - 43
Mick Cain (ex-cj, The Bold And The Beautiful) - 33
Abigail Spencer (ex-Becca, All My Children; ex-Miss Farrell, Mad Men) - 30
Editor's Note: If you would like to...
1980: Texas ("starring Beverlee McKinsey") premiered on NBC. The show was created by John William Corrington, Joyce Corrington, and Paul Rauch. The show lasted until December 31, 1982. Another World returned to 60 minutes (from 90) that day.
Celebrating a birthday today are:
Laurie Heineman (ex-Sharlene, Another World; ex-Mary, As The World Turns)
President Barack Obama - 50
Sebastian Roché (ex-Jerry, General Hospital) - 47
Crystal Chappell (Gina, Venice; Carly, Days Of Our Lives; ex-Olivia, Guiding Light; ex-Maggie, One Life To Live; ex-Jane, Santa Barbara; ex-All My Children) - 46
James Tupper (Andrew, Grey's Anatomy; ex-Jack, Men In Trees) - 46
Timothy Adams (ex-Ron, One Life To Live; ex-Rob, Guiding Light; ex-Casey, Sunset Beach) - 44
Daniel Dae Kim (ex-Jin, Lost; ex-Dr. Kim, All My Children) - 43
Mick Cain (ex-cj, The Bold And The Beautiful) - 33
Abigail Spencer (ex-Becca, All My Children; ex-Miss Farrell, Mad Men) - 30
Editor's Note: If you would like to...
- 8/4/2011
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
This Friday sees the release of the first "Planet of the Apes" film in a decade, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" starring James Franco. We'll have our review of the film up on Friday, but to help set the mood, here is a revised and updated version of a feature we first brought you in 2008 on the 40th anniversary of the original "Planet of the Apes." Below you'll find a guide to all six previous movies, with synopses, spoilers, continuity errors, and a celebration of all the high-minded social commentary and low-brow schlocky ape masks that make the "Apes" films one of the most satisfying of all sci-fi franchises.
Please note: Most "Planet of the Apes" films have a "shocking" twist that everyone at this point already knows. However, if you have somehow extricated yourself from forty years of pop culture references, by all means be wary of Spoilers ahead.
Please note: Most "Planet of the Apes" films have a "shocking" twist that everyone at this point already knows. However, if you have somehow extricated yourself from forty years of pop culture references, by all means be wary of Spoilers ahead.
- 8/3/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
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