The Screengrab : conquest of the planet of the apes

Video of the Day in Soft Corinthian Leather

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:45:00 GMT

Some will remember him as Mr. Rourke and to others he'll always be KHAAAANN!!!!! (Personally, I have a soft spot for his role as Armondo the kindly chimp trainer in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.) But the late Ricardo Montalban is also renowned for making the phrase "rich Corinthian leather" famous in his commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba. As our video of the day proves, however, that was all a sham: the actual phrase is "soft Corinthian leather." Either way, nobody said it better.

DVD Digest for November 4, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

This week is a big one for classic TV on DVD, plus an old-school sci-fi franchise gets the Blu-Ray treatment.

DVD of the Week: My pick this week is only applicable if you have a Blu-Ray DVD player, which exempts a number of Screengrab readers including myself. However, if you have a Blu-Ray player, nothing this week can touch the release of Planet of the Apes: 40 Year Evolution Blu-Ray Collection (Fox). Of course, even fans of the series acknowledge that the Planet of the Apes films are widely uneven. Yet unlike most franchise box sets which pile the lion’s share of extras on the classic films and leave little for the others, Fox has lavished plenty of care on all of the Apes films, regardless of quality. The biggest news for fans is the newly-restored cut of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, which went largely unseen since the 1972 studio test screenings. According to Screengrab’s own Scott Von Doviak, the new version of Conquest is much more darker and violent than the version that was eventually released in theatres. The set also contains a number of new extras, including new making-of featurettes for each of the sequels, a documentary on the evolution from Pierre Boulle’s original novel to the screen, and isolated score tracks for each of the sequels. In other words, everything that one could possibly need to satisfy even the most ravenous Planet of the Apes fan, although for the rest of all the movies are also sold separately.

For us non-Blu-Ray types, the big news this week is the release of the Fraggle Rock Complete Series Collection (Lionsgate), which collects all 96 episodes of Jim Henson’s classic HBO series in a massive 20-disc box set. In addition, the collection includes an exclusive new Fraggle Rock short directed by Cory Edwards, who will direct the upcoming Fraggle Rock feature film, which I hadn’t heard about until today. Other notable TV on DVD releases include: Batman: The Complete Animated Series (Warner), Futurama: Bender’s Game (Fox, also Blu-Ray), Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Television Series (Lionsgate), and Reaper Season 1 (Lionsgate).

The highest-profile recent release coming to DVD today is the big-screen update of the classic series Get Smart (Warner, also Blu-Ray). This week also brings the indie trifecta of Brad Anderson’s Transsiberian (First Look, also Blu-Ray), Luke Wilson in Henry Poole Is Here (Anchor Bay), and Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth in When Did You Last See Your Father? (Sony). And for the kids, there’s Alvin and the Chipmunks Special Edition (Fox) and Shrek the Halls (Paramount).

The annual onslaught of holiday DVDs continues this year with the A Christmas Story Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Warner, also Blu-Ray), although for my money nothing beats watching this over and over on TNT. Also of note this week is the re-pressing of two John Cassavetes classics, A Woman Under the Influence (Criterion) and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Criterion). Finally, there’s the Waterworld Extended Edition (Universal), in case that’s your kind of thing.

Finally, this week’s non-ape Blu-Ray only releases include Monster’s Ball (Lionsgate) and Universal Soldier (Lionsgate). And honestly, I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more unlikely pairing. Satantango and Rush Hour? Pretty Woman and Irreversible? I’ll have to think about this one…

Where’s Roddy McDowell When You Need Him?

Scott Von Doviak — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I told you all about my experience watching the restored version of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes at Fantastic Fest, and in the process managed to anger some hardcore Apes fans. Apparently my tone was a bit too cavalier for their liking, and they were particularly offended that I didn’t do a shot-by-shot comparison between the existing version of Conquest and the bloodier, less conciliatory cut that will be released as part of the new Blu-Ray Apes boxed set. As it turns out, I may not have taken the movie seriously enough – but not for the reasons these fans cited. No, it was my skepticism that apes would someday be serving me beer that proves now to be unfounded. Indeed, the events foretold in Conquest – the violent overthrow of human society by an ape revolution – may be mere months away.

Shocking evidence after the jump.

The Screengrab Highlight Reel: Sept. 20-26, 2008

Scott Von Doviak — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Due to the current economic crisis, the Screengrab Highlight Reel is suspending its campaign until further notice. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and although we would like nothing more than to draw your attention to some of our finest work, such as our list of the Top 25 War Films (Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven), or Phil Nugent’s indispensible That Guy! Special Godfather Edition, Parts One, Two, Three, Four and Five, we cannot do so at this time. Our immediate attention is required elsewhere, or rest assured, we would direct you to the following posts:

Fantastic Fest Reviews: JCVD, Surveillance, Donkey Punch, Not Quite Hollywood, and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

Face/Off: The Godfather, Part III

When Good Directors Go Bad: The Road Home (Zhang Yimou)

Dark Knight: The All Talking-Head Edition

Unwatchable #67: Nine Lives

Charles Bronson’s MANDOM

Screengrab readers, we know you share our dismay that we could not take the time to tell you about these fine posts. As engaged, thoughtful Americans, however, it is your duty to check them out for yourselves. And remember, my looney bun is fine, Benny Lava.

Fantastic Fest Review: "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" - The Unseen Cut

Scott Von Doviak — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:00:00 GMT

This is not the first time I've seen Conquest of the Planet of the Apes in a theater. I caught it during its original release, but being five years old, I didn't really pick up on the whole Black Power thing. I was probably just excited to see monkeys running around in jumpsuits and setting people on fire. In fact, that's still about as good as it gets for me, which goes a long way towards explaining why I had so much fun at the Fantastic Fest screening of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes: The Unseen Cut.

Why "unseen"? Well, it seems the first version of the film, which has not been seen in this country since it was test screened back in 1972, was a little too violent and disturbing to earn a PG rating. But as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the Apes series, 20th Century Fox is releasing a new DVD boxed set containing all five orginal Apes movies in Blu-Ray, including the original version of Conquest complete with the nine minutes of footage that had been trimmed following those test screenings. This is the version that screened at Fantastic Fest.

There are certain drawbacks to watching Conquest in high-definition. The later Apes entries were produced on a considerably lower budget than the original, which means that Roddy McDowell is basically the only actor onscreen who gets the full makeup treatment. It's more obvious now than ever that most of the supporting chimps, gorillas and orangutans are wearing cheap latex masks. But by the time you notice that, you've already had to suspend quite a bit of disbelief. The premise: In the far-off future of 1991, all the dogs and cats have died off from a virus brought back to Earth by the astronauts. Missing their pets, humans adopt cute widdle chimps and such, but the apes prove to be such quick learners, their masters soon retrain them to be servants - or to put it more bluntly, slaves. (Sure, it sounds cruel, but if I could train my lovable li'l chibeagle Maury to fetch me a beer and take out the trash, I'd do it in a heartbeat.)

Unbeknownst to the human government, Ceasar (Roddy McDowell), the son of the chimpanzees who arrived from the future Planet of the Apes in the previous movie, is still alive and living in a circus operated by Armando (Ricardo Montalbon). Sickened by the enslavement of his fellow apes, Ceasar leads an uprising against their human overlords.

This, of course, is a time paradox. If Ceasar's parents had not come back from the future Earth ruled by apes, he would not have been born in the past and thus could not have led the rebellion that caused that planet of apes in the first place. Again, this is something I didn't consider when I was five.

The whole "race war" allegory also flew over my head at the time, though it's inescapable now. That's especially true in this restored version. I can't cite chapter and verse as to the differences between this and the Conquest released in theaters and subsequently on video, but the climactic ape riot is definitely more violent. There's a lot more blood - although it's fakey Technicolor blood - and the shots of gorillas bludgeoning humans to death are greatly extended. The biggest difference is in McDowell's closing speech, which, I am reminded, is just fucking awesome. So awesome I must quote it in its entirety:

"Where there is fire, there is smoke. And in that smoke, from this day forward, my people will crouch, and conspire, and plot, and plan for the inevitable day of Man's downfall - the day when he finally and self-destructively turns his weapons against his own kind. The day of the writing in the sky, when your cities lie buried under radioactive rubble! When the sea is a dead sea, and the land is a wasteland out of which I will lead my people from their captivity! And we will build our own cities, in which there will be no place for humans except to serve our ends! And we shall found our own armies, our own religion, our own dynasty! And that day is upon you NOW!"

Pause. Deep breath. Anyway, you may recall that the theatrical release quickly backs off from this moment. Apparently the test screenings did not go well, so some additional McDowell dialogue was dubbed over the final shot, some crap about "Now we put down our weapons and rise above it all and blah blah blah." Screw that noise. Long live Planet of the Apes!

Related:
Fantastic Fest Review: "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"
When Good Directors Go Bad: Planet of the Apes (Tim Burton)