Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner / Screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling

During its relatively modest three-month shoot in the spring and summer of 1967, nobody involved in Planet of the Apes could possibly have foreseen the dizzying array of sequels, prequels, television series, remakes and reboots that would follow: the franchise is still going strong today, with a new chapter expected in 2027. There’s plenty to enjoy in every iteration, but none of them has ever quite matched the bewitching strangeness, dark humour and dramatic impact of the original film. Perhaps it’s no wonder, as the creative team boasted some of Hollywood’s top talents: screenwriter Michael Wilson had previously worked on The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, while director Franklin J. Schaffner, later to make Patton and Nicholas and Alexandra, was enlisted at the suggestion of lead actor Charlton Heston, who had headlined Schaffner’s 1965 historical epic The War Lord. At the height of his chiselled stardom, Heston gives an unforgettable performance as the misanthropic astronaut George Taylor, who awakens from 2000 years of hyper-sleep when his spacecraft crashlands on an unknown planet where intelligent, speaking apes hold sway over primitive, non-verbal humans. The groundbreaking prosthetic make-up won an Oscar for its creator John Chambers, alongside nominations for Morton Haack’s costume design and Jerry Goldsmith’s majestic score. Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter lead a uniformly excellent simian cast, bringing humour, depth and conviction to the chimpanzee couple Cornelius and Zira. The film’s final twist might have lost its original shock value, but it still makes for one of the greatest and bleakest endings in cinema history.

Framed Dimensions: 330mm x 410mm

Acrylic on 300gsm Arches oil paper
Glazed, mounted and framed

Supplied with signed letter of authenticity from Barnaby.