The Planet of the Apes

This movie is one of my all time favorites because I remember watching it as a kid and loving it.  However I loved it for the awesome costumes and the fact that the white man was getting treated like a slave by apes.  What I didn't know was that the movie actually had a lot more to it besides what I loved about it, it has a story of political power and the strength religion holds within that political power.

The film starts off with a space mission with three men and one woman, they embark on their mission and lay inside their fancy space beds.  They travel to a new planet and crash into a sea, Taylor, the main character, gets out of his fancy space bed to find the only woman on the ship is dead!  How unlucky for those strapping three men.  Also unlucky is the fact their space craft is not made for water, it begins to take on water and the three must escape, but before they do Taylor sees they have traveled into the future thousands of years.  They get their space backpacks and jump into the life raft.  They paddle to the shore and try to figure out where they are.  They decide to wander off into the desert to find something if anything.  They find a plant and continue on their paths leading to more plants and eventually a water fall, they strip and dive in.  All is well until some natives come around and tear apart their fancy space outfits.  They watch the natives and decide they are way smarter until a group of gorillas on horseback come rampaging into the area and start capturing people.  They shoot the poor lone black man, playing into the idea that in horror movies the black person always dies.  Taylor gets captured after he gets shot in the neck.  He can't talk because of the bullet wound.  But he does find a cute little human lady, Nova.  The people of this new place cannot talk, only the apes.  Taylor is pissed because the apes treat the people like animals...mmmm...weird.  Zira is a smart and opinionated scientist female ape and she is engaged to Cornelius this archeologists ape.  Zira knows Taylor is different than the others, he is blonde however, but of course Taylor tries to communicate and eventually does.  A long struggle escalates because Zira wants to know why Taylor is so smart and he knows things that the apes believe to be impossible.  Their social system is intertwined with their religion that holds a tight hand with their politics.  Also what is interesting is the hierarchy the apes have developed by type of ape, the chimps seem to be the more liberal of all, they are interested in science and learning, the orangutans are the religious and political leaders, they are just there to lay down the law, the gorillas are there to do the grunt work, they are warriors and guards.  The film shows that Dr. Zaius knows why Taylor is different than the other people they have encountered when Dr. Zaius crushes a paper airplane Taylor made to show Zira and Cornelius that flight is possible and that is how he got to them, also when he sees that Taylor has written something in the sand and scratches it out.  Eventually Taylor heals and can talk but of course they still try to treat him like a slave/animal.  Zira and Cornelius try to stand up for Taylor in court because Taylor got caught trying to escape ending up in their sentencing of career failure and reputation ruined forever as scientists.  So they make up a secret plan to escape to the forbidden land and to take Taylor with them before the evil blonde monkeys can mess up Taylor's brain so he can't tell everyone about what humans are capable of.  Of course Taylor takes his silent somehow beautiful "lover/mate" Nova with him, they reach the forbidden land spot where Cornelius had found evidence of early civilized humans, a culture different and maybe better than that of the apes.  They take along with them Lucias, Ziras nephew.  Lucias' character is funny and kind of a smart ass.  He represents the innocence of younger people who seek knowledge.  Indeed the do find the spot but they are not alone!  Gorrillas and Dr. Zaius find Lucais who gets his gun stolen by them, Taylor talks Dr. Zauis into going into the cave to see the truth!  And to save Zira and Cornelius' reputations and careers.  But the Dr. knew what was in there and tries to pull a fast one, Taylor ties him up, sooo humiliating for him, Taylor takes Nova along with him because the apes let them go into the unknown to discover their ancestors fate.  Dr. Zauis is a trader and tells Zira and Cornelius he will still ruin their lives.  The ending scene is Taylor and Nova on a horse, they soon discover the remains of the statue of Liberty and Taylor screams "You maniacs!" and pounds his fist into the sand.  He was home all along!!!