Review of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) by Carl M — 09 Jan 2013

The year is 1991 and America has been under totalitarian rule. A virus a long time ago has wiped out all cats and dogs. Apes are the newly domesticated animals. Their humans teach them to learn and adapt to household tasks. They've also taught them to take over much of the services that humans usually do like work. The humans have turned them into slaves for their own benefit. The cruelty the humans put them through is parallel to fascism. Of course, all the apes films were eventually leading up to this moment where, in the beginning, an Ape revolt from this type of senseless Authoritarianism. I mean how many beatings must an Ape take before it stands up for itself?!

This film sort of picks up from the last film. About 20 years later or so. Armando, the circus owner, has been taking care of the baby chimp of Cornelius and Zira after they died from the last film. Even though the baby's name was Milo in the last film, it's been changed here as Caesar. I think only given to him by Armando to protect him. You see, the government has been looking for Zira's and Cornelius's baby ever since. If they were to find out that Armando has been keeping him safe they'd both be immediately executed.

They have arrived to the city to distribute flyers for their circus, but get wrapped in the totalitarian nonsense that has taken over. Caesar is taken from Armando and is subjected to a brutal training process. Armando is intensely questioned over Caesar's ability to talk which accidentally happened in a fit of rage from seeing one of his own kind being beaten. Caesar slowly learns the value of power since he's the only ape that can talk. He preps his fellow ape brothers for an epic revolt against the humans after Armando is suddenly killed. The ultimate destruction of mankind takes place in the final act with Caesar conquering the evil humans. Soon the prophecy will slowly be fulfilled that apes will indeed rule the planet!

Paul Dehn, the greatest Apes screenwriter ever, pens another cleverly written script. Roddy Mcdowell also returned, but not as Cornelius. Instead he played Cornelius's son, Caesar. His angry portrayal of Caesar is very different from his lighthearted Cornelius character from the previous films. The budget once again was getting smaller. There was also a striking costume and color design in this one. The use of blacks and reds were the primary colors. It gave the film a very stark quality. Much darker than the previous Apes films due to it's violent content. Family audiences were put off by this change.

During the early 70s, violence was gracing the screen. The likes of Dirty Harry, The French Connection, The Godfather and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes dipicted violence in ways that reflected the times. Censores wouldn't pass the film the first time due to the violent revolt near the end. Cuts were made so that it could still be a family picture, but that still wouldn't hide the political elements of war, urban violence and racial unrest. It holds well as a film that does justice to standing up for your rights under either a dictatorship or other oppressive rule.