The final twist of Planet of the Apes caused quite a stir in the late 1960s. It is one of the best and most famous revelations in the film world and anyone who doesn’t know the nasty twist will still be blown away by it with full force. You can watch the film on TV today.
That’s what the legendary 1968 sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes is all about
A group of three astronauts leave Earth in a spaceship and fly through space at almost the speed of light (this means that much more time passes on Earth than in the spaceship). When they wake up from their artificial deep sleep, they are stranded on an unknown planet. There they surprisingly meet people who don’t speak and are apparently underdeveloped.
Immediately afterwards, Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his crew meet them true rulers of the planet: monkeys. They rule with an iron fist, can speak, ride horses and even use firearms. They subjugate people and carry out cruel experiments on them, but at the same time they have architecture, religion and a distinct, more or less civilized society.
20th Century Fox
In Planet of the Apes, people are kept in cages and subjected to experiments.
The ending of Planet of the Apes has rightly gone down in film history
planet of monkeys holds a mirror up to humanity and plays with the perpetrator-victim reversal: If we were in the position of the animals, our treatment of them and all the experiments would probably seem much more cruel to us than is currently the case. Planet of the Apes is not only exciting sci-fi action, but also comprehensive social criticism.
Spoiler alert: But the crowning glory comes with the hammer-hard end. Taylor discovers the remains of the Statue of Liberty on the beach of the unknown planet. This makes him realize that he has been on earth the whole time. But the planet has been ruined so much by humans over the years that the apes have taken humanity’s place.
More about the current, new Planet of the Apes film New Kingdom you read here:
TV or stream: When and where is Planet of the Apes coming?
If you want to catch up on this mega classic now or simply watch it again, you can do so on the night of Monday, April 29th to Tuesday, April 30th. on Kabel eins at 01:10 a.m do. There will be a repeat on May 1st at 5:55 p.m.
Otherwise, Planet of the Apes stands also available on Disney+ as a streaming subscription available. You can also rent or buy it from Apple TV and Co.
*. If you purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.