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Conquest of the Planet of the Apes <span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 satiric Sci Fi film from director J. Lee Thompson. Summary
Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.
They arrive by helicopter in a city in North America in 1991. We see apes in jumpsuits performing menial tasks and being trained to do them. Caesar is pretending to be a contemporary chimpanzee (and thus, without the power of speech), albeit, one that performs in Armando's circus (he is the only bareback riding ape in circus history). All is not serene in the city. Apes occasionally misbehave (including by gathering unlawfully), and human workers protest the loss of their jobs to apes. In an echo of the Biblical story of Moses defending a slave being abused, Caesar can't help but cry out when he sees an ape being beaten by several officers. He yells out, "Filthy human b*stards!" Armando tries to take responsibility for shouting, but the authorities (and the crowd of humans) find it hard to believe. A commotion enables Caesar to escape, and Armando follows him. Armando explains to Caesar that he might have been able to bluff his way through the situation, but now, Caesar most run. The circus owner tells him to go to the docks and disguise himself as one of the wild apes that arrive there. Armando will allow himself to be taken into custody, and he'll explain that his circus ape merely ran away (and has done it before). Caesar does so, and the subtle performance of Roddy McDowell allows us to see him manipulating the situation. He can't help but appear to be somewhat superior, but he takes care to still be seen as a contemporary chimp. Armando, meanwhile, is being questioned by authorities. They believe that Caesar may in fact be the son of Zira and Cornelius, who had been presumed dead. The authorities eventually seem to believe him, and ask him to merely sign a statement that Caesar has never spoken, and that details the rest of Armando's story. After he signs it, he is placed in a machine, a "vindicator" that will force him to tell the truth. Rather than betray Caesar, he struggles with the guards, and falls out of a window to his death. The authorities debate whether this is accidental or loyalty to the death. The death of Armando, who has been like a father to Caesar (who has been serving the governor), causes the ape to take action. We see him wordlessly communicating with servant apes, who begin small acts of rebellion. They steal potential weapons. One of the chimps brings a strainer to a secret location where Caesar is sorting through the results of thefts. Caesar smiles at the ape, but tosses the useless item aside without letting the other ape see its mistake. Caesar is also conducting more sophisticated sabotage. He is altering requisitions, so that servant apes can obtain a gun, bullets, and kerosene for use against humans. As the authorities notice the rise in incidents, they strive to collect all apes who have committed any disobedient acts. The Ape Management computer has come up with an interesting anomaly. A shipment of apes from Borneo contained three orangutans and one chimpanzee. Since chimpanzees are not native to Borneo, they realize this must be their fugitive. They track the records, and identify Caesar. Macdonald, an aide to the governor who we have seen to be sympathetic to the apes' plight as slaves, is ordered to turn Caesar over. With Caesar within earshot, he tells them that Caesar is out on an errand: a lie, to give the ape a chance to get away. Macdonald and Caesar are heading towards an exit. Macdonald muses aloud that he wishes that they could communicate. Caesar speaks with him, and they have a philosophical conversation. Macdonald tells Caesar that he thought he (the talking ape) was a myth. Caesar responds that what is a myth is the idea that humans are kind. They will not be kind until "we force them to". Caesar tells him that the apes cannot be free until they have power. He thinks Macdonald (who is African-American) of all people, should understand that. Macdonald tells him to go, and Caesar escapes. Macdonald encounters the Inspector who is seeking Caesar, but tells him that he was looking for the chimp himself. The authorities order all unaccompanied apes to be captured. Caesar is captured, and subjected to torture on an electrical shock table. He finally speaks: "Have pity." Macdonald (whose duplicity has not been discovered) is present. He leaves the room, and works his way to an electrical control panel, where he shuts off power to the Shock Table. Caesar is ordered to be electrocuted, and as the dials are turned that would kill him, he fakes his agonized reaction to it, and then collapses in a motionless state. He is assumed to be dead. He escapes later by attacking a guard: this may be the first time in the rebellion that an ape uses violence directly against a human. Caesar returns to the underground headquarters we had seen earlier. He leads his armed apes in an assault against Ape Management headquarters. Guards are strangled and beaten, and a melee ensues. Caesar releases the apes from their detention cells. Caesar announces over the intercom system that the apes are to be gotten out of there alive. At first whips are used, but then shots are fired. A flamethrower is being used to keep the apes back. When the wielder is attacked by an ape, we see the flames starting to spread. In the control room, Ape Management is aware of the situation. The governor orders that only one control method be used against the rioting apes: death. The populace is warned. Somehow the story gets out that the apes are being led by a "supernormally" intelligent chimp, who is the son of Zira and Cornelius, and who thus poses a threat to the whole human race. The citizens are ordered to go home or stay home. The apes are spreading kerosene around: this is one of the supplies that Caesar ordered in the altered documents. Police in riot gear confront a group of apes, and fire on them. Caesar hears the firing and leads his group to the scene, where they see the bodies of the other apes. He appears to be leading a similar assault to the one that failed before, but it is a trick. Apes on the building throw nets onto the police, who are then defeated by the apes. Caesar's group is approaching the command center. We see the police in riot gear forming a defensive wall. As the apes approach the plaza, one of the police keeps yelling over a megaphone, "No!" The apes should be conditioned to respond to that, but they continue to advance. The apes are also armed, and have the guns and shields they have taken from the police who they netted. Again, they make what appears to be a foolish frontal assault. However, Caesar signals to an ape hiding on the side to throw a flaming torch. This ignites a huge flame, part of the kerosene laid out earlier. Apes are killed in the advance, but they begin to engage the riot police. Inside the command center, the servant apes begin attacking the authorities. Outside, the battle rages on. Suddenly, another group of apes appear from behind the officers. The riot police are swarmed, and the apes further arm themselves. The battle is violent and intense. Caesar, carrying a rifle, leads a group of officers into an ambush, and then uses the gun to start a fire. The apes pile furniture onto the flames. We now see Caesar shooting humans (something we have not seen other apes do). Inside the command post, the communications lines are cut off. A blowtorch begins to cut through the door. The governor says that they can't have the intelligence to do that. He yells that if they lose this battle, it will be the end of the human race. The cowards who survive will be the weak ones, and he says it will become a planet of the apes. Caesar stops two apes from attacking Macdonald. The governor is brought to grovel before Caesar. Caesar asks how the apes differ from the dogs and cats. The governor says that the apes represent the dark side of human beings. Humans came from apes, and when humans hate apes, they are hating the bestial part of themselves. Caesar raises his rifle to strike the governor in anger, but catches himself and orders the governor taken away. Outside, Macdonald pleads with Caesar.
Caesar makes a big speech in which he explains how the world will be. How his people, crouching in the smoke, will eventually prevail. How, when humans turn their weapons against themselves and destroy their cities, there will be ape cities to replace them. The apes raise their weapons to kill the governor. Lisa, a contemporary chimp, manages to say the word, "No." Caesar says that they, who are not human, can be humane. He commands his apes to "cast out their vengeance", and proclaims that tonight, we have seen the birth of the Planet of the Apes. External LinksRelated
Categories: Movies | Sequels | Planet of the Apes | 1970s movies | 20th Century Fox movies | J. Lee Thompson movies | Paul Dehn movies | Roddy McDowall movies | Ricardo Montalban movies | Hari Rhodes movies
2008, SCI FI. All rights reserved.
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