#54: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

4

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, fairly recently

BEST SEQUENCE

Final shootout

BEST LINE

Butch: "Kid, there's something I think I oughta tell ya. I never shot anybody before

Sundance: "One hell of a time to tell me"

- spoken at a time when Sundance would really prefer it if Butch could shoot a few guys alongside him

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

89%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"With its iconic pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford, jaunty screenplay and Burt Bacharach score, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has gone down as among the defining moments in late-'60s American cinema."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels.."

DIRECTOR

George Roy Hill

MAIN CAST

Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin

THOUGHTS

• The script is charming even if it's not always laugh-out-loud funny, and Newman and Redford have great chemistry and charisma coming out of their ears, and the scenery and cinematography are pretty fantastic, but it's really not all that thrilling
• Getting back to the script, it was one of the first written by William Goldman, and it won him his first Academy Award (his second award would be for the previously discussed All the President's Men). Some have said that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid set the template for the buddy action comedies that we all know and love, and I can definitely see its impact on future movies, but I don't know, it leans a little heavier on the comedy than the action for me. A lot of wisecracks, and a lot of them land fairly well, but they can also distract from the thrills and the action. And in fact, not only did I find it not terribly thrilling, I even found it a little boring (and I remember feeling the same way the first time I watched it not too long ago)
• Also distracting, Burt Bacharach's music. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" was a huge hit at the time, sung by B. J. Thomas and written by Bacharach, and it won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and I can't stand it. In the movie it plays while Paul Newman performs some stunts on a bicycle, and I just think the whole thing is annoying. There's also a late-movie bank robbing montage that's scored with a vocal jazz group that I found pretty jarring
• Like I said, I did love the scenery and cinematography, though, a common opinion I've had with Westerns, and I also liked the way that they filmed the posse of bad guys chasing Butch and Sundance. Always way off in the distance, never seeing their faces close up, just anonymously threatening entities
• Sometimes I watch a movie that I like and I worry that I'm just being influenced by other peoples' opinions, but then I watch a movie like this, pretty universally loved and admired, and it just doesn't do it for me. Worth mentioning, though, I'm in good company. Both Siskel and Ebert were pretty unimpressed with this movie, quite early in each of their careers, and before they even started their professional partnership
• Finally, George Roy Hill teamed up again with Newman and Redford a few years later for The Sting, another movie I saw once long ago, but in contrast with my memory of watching Butch Cassidy previously, I remember really liking The Sting, and I kinda just wanted to watch that again. So I did. Without further ado...

MINI REVIEW: THE STING (1973)

I think The Sting is superior to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in basically every way, and while they're fairly different genres, I even think The Sting is way more thrilling. Butch Cassidy has a much higher body count, but The Sting has just enough murders to show us the stakes, and there's a constant threat of violence. More importantly, though, without even needing to see bodies fall and guns fire, the real thrill of The Sting comes from the plot - watching the con play out, following the twists and turns, and seeing a real bastard of a guy (intimidatingly played by Robert Shaw) get his due comeuppance. Redford and Newman are just as great, just as charismatic, and I cared more about these characters than I ever did about Butch and Sundance. And lastly, I'll take Scott Joplin's sweet ragtime over Burt Bacharach's treacly noodling any day.

Up next: It's a big one, and Quentin Tarantino's only movie on the official AFI list: 1994's Pulp Fiction

#55: WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

The last 15 minutes

BEST LINE

"I cannot negotiate in an atmosphere of mistrust"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

96%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Nail-bitingly tense and brilliantly acted, Wait Until Dark is a compact thriller that makes the most of its fiendishly clever premise."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin-stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment."
DIRECTOR

Terence Young

MAIN CAST

Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Jack Weston, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Julie Herrod

THOUGHTS

• As established, the Thrill Scale is entirely unscientific, but while watching this movie I thought I should add a couple of qualifiers - a Chill Factor and a Yell Factor. If a movie gives me chills up and down my spine at any point, that deserves a bit of a bump, and same if it makes me yell out loud while watching it. Wait Until Dark got me in both ways. I'll be getting into spoilers shortly, but before that I'll just say that the whole movie definitely isn't a 9/10 for thrills, there's a bit of a slow patch after the first 30 minutes, but man, that climax really stuck the landing for me. And now, spoilers follow
• The first 30 minutes were extremely effective as an opening act, watching the three antagonists get a feel for each other, and efficiently and effectively establishing the stakes for the rest of the movie. It was also a great "show, don't tell" moment when we came to understand the level of danger posed by main antagonist Harry Roat, played by a sleazy and intimidating Alan Arkin. I don't think I've seen young Alan Arkin in anything, and before now the earliest movie of his that I've seen would be Edward Scissorhands (although to be honest, I don't remember him in that at all, so Glengarry Glen Ross might be the better answer), but he's terrific in this as a bad guy with zero redeeming qualities whatsoever
• After that we meet our protagonist Susy, played by Audrey Hepburn, and the next 45 minutes or so focus more on the "con man" side of the plot. There's a (very) steady building of tension here, and I wouldn't necessarily say I was bored, but it is the weakest part of the movie for me, and also called into question some of the logistics of this plan - namely, do we buy that Susy would be so quick to trust con man Mike after a few easily told lies? And also, sure it was fun to see Alan Arkin put on a few costumes and pretend to be different characters, but costumes don't do a whole lot for you when you're trying to deceive a woman who can't see
• Speaking of Audrey Hepburn, she's pretty good in this, especially towards the end of the movie, and this is definitely a very different style of movie from the other ones that she was well known for. She was even nominated for Best Actress, the only Oscar nomination this movie received. At times she's a little mawkish, though, and if they made the movie today I do think the subject of ableism would enter the conversation
• And finally, the movie hits its stride for me when Susy realizes that Mike isn't who he says he is, and that's when I got the spine chills. And then the situation gets more and more precarious for Susy, until we get to the showdown between her and Roat, my favourite part of the movie, and also the source of my "yell out loud" moment. This might be one of the earliest "bad guy isn't really dead" scares that I can think of
• So in conclusion, I consider this a terrifically tense movie, especially the climax, and I certainly recommend it. And, I'm in good company - in his 1981 non-fiction book Danse Macabre, Stephen King called this the scariest movie of all time

Up next: Another Western, and there won't be another one for quite a while, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid from '69

#56-B: BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

When the Bride from her slab began to rise

BEST LINE

"To a new world of gods and monsters"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

98%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"An eccentric, campy, technically impressive, and frightening picture, James Whale's Bride of Frankenstein has aged remarkably well."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate."

DIRECTOR

James Whale

MAIN CAST

Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, Valerie Hobson

THOUGHTS

• To be frank(enstein), I was looking forward to this one, but I was kind of underwhelmed and I don't really understand why a lot of people think it's better than the original. A lot of it felt like a rehash and while there were some new things I did like (Dr. Pretorius, the titular Bride herself), the novelty of the original makes me rank it higher
• I'm also a little torn on the Monster starting to gain the ability to speak and communicate, even though this is taken from the book. While it gives him more depth, it also takes away some of the animalistic horror of the first movie
• For a character that has had such a lasting impact on horror and the general population's understanding of Frankenstein, it may be surprising for some of you to learn that the Bride of Frankenstein only comes to life in the last five minutes of the movie. Even still, I can understand why she's so memorable, and in ways that really only became apparent while watching the movie as opposed to just seeing pictures. The way that Elsa Lanchester plays her, all sudden, jerky movements and inhuman screams and hisses, really stays with you after the movie ends. And I'll admit, I also thought she was legitimately, if unsettlingly, attractive
• You'll be pleased to know that Mary Shelley finally gets her rightful acknowledgement as the author of the novel in this movie's opening credits - "suggested by the original story written in 1816 by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley". It also would have been even more noticeable if she wasn't credited, considering Elsa Lanchester actually has a dual role, playing her as a character in what I found to be a pretty clever little prologue. This is Lanchester's only official credit, though, as we also see "The Monster's Mate....?", a fun addition to the first movie's similar question mark credit of Boris Karloff as The Monster (Boris was the big draw for the sequel, though; the first credit we see is "Carl Laemmle presents KARLOFF in Bride of Frankenstein")
• Certain people get all up in arms when Frankenstein's Monster is referred to simply as Frankenstein, and as a card-carrying pedant myself, I've been pretty careful not to make that mistake. Frankenstein is the mad scientist, and the Monster is the big guy with bolts in his neck. It is fair to acknowledge, however, that this very movie does refer to the Monster as simply Frankenstein - explicitly in the prologue, and I would argue, also in the title itself. Some may say that the title still refers to the human bride of the human Frankenstein, played by Valerie Hobson in this one, but I think that's grasping at straws
• I alluded to this in my previous review, I first saw Young Frankenstein many many years before seeing either of these movies, and I rewatched it again recently. One of the greatest parodies ever made, in part because of how faithfully it recreates the look and feel of the originals, even using many of the exact same props as lab equipment
• Finally, I do want to mention that James Whale, the director of both Frankenstein and its sequel, was openly gay throughout his career, which was, as we know, incredibly rare back in the 1920s and 30s. Bride of Frankenstein has been interpreted as a distinctly queer film, and I recommend this article from Medium and this one from ScreenRant if you'd like to learn more

Up next: Another new one for me, and one that I know very little about, Wait Until Dark from 1967

#56: FRANKENSTEIN (1931)

TW: Child death

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

When the monster from his slab began to rise. The windmill finale is also very exciting and impressive

BEST LINE

"It's alive...it's alive! IT'S ALIVE! Oh, in the name of God, now I know what it feels like to be God!"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Still unnerving to this day, Frankenstein adroitly explores the fine line between genius and madness, and features Boris Karloff's legendary, frightening performance as the monster."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Dr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses."

DIRECTOR

James Whale

MAIN CAST

Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Frederick Kerr, Dwight Frye

THOUGHTS

• It may not be 100% necessary to compare Frankenstein to Dracula, but they're two of the earliest horror movies ever made, both released by Universal in 1931, so comparisons are going to be inevitable and I'm going to do it anyway. Frankenstein is better. Scarier, more exciting, better written, better acted, better directed. Dracula had its strong points, and Lugosi's charismatic performance as Dracula was excellent, but I agree with the AFI. Frankenstein is the better movie
• Boris Karloff is perfect as the Monster, with his sunken cheeks and heavy eyelids. He has a bluntly brutal physicality that indeed comes across as extremely dangerous; it's no stretch to believe that he's capable of killing at will, which he does several times. It's not a gory movie, and a fair amount of the violence happens offscreen, but for an older movie I was surprised by how unflinching it was; the Monster kills a little girl by drowning, and even if he did it unintentionally, the scene of the girl's father carrying her body through the streets of town was a true gut punch
• I also really liked Colin Clive as the good doctor, Henry Frankenstein (not Victor, the name from the book, which took me by surprise; apparently Victor sounded too severe and unfriendly to American audiences at the time). Clive has such a knack for playing a crazed scientist that I was a little disappointed that he became less crazed in the latter half of the movie. Speaking of crazed, I also liked Dwight Frye as Frankenstein's assistant, Fritz (not Igor, which, again, took me totally by surprise. Apparently there's no Igor in the book either, though, so that one I might have to blame on Young Frankenstein alone). Dwight Frye seemed to have found his niche in 1931, he also played Renfield in Dracula
• The sets are impressive, and the camerawork is innovative. The climax involves a windmill being set ablaze, which seemed to have been filmed by just setting a windmill ablaze - it feels legitimately dangerous, although it's then followed by a very unnecessary little lighthearted coda, I guess to give the audience a happier ending
• Finally, I haven't read the book Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, but I know there's a lot to admire there - written by Mary Shelley when she was in her late teens, and published in 1818 when she was 20, it's considered one of the very first definitive examples of science fiction, and it originated the trope of the mad scientist. For such a groundbreaking work, one would hope that the credit was given where it was due, right? Well, I regret to inform you that this is what we get in the opening credits: "From the novel by Mrs. Percy B. Shelley". That's right. She was credited under her husband's name

Up next: According to some, the sequel is even better than the original, so we'll be supplementing the list with Bride of Frankenstein from 1935

#57: ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

3.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, a long time ago

BEST SEQUENCE

Any scene of Woodward meeting with Deep Throat

BEST LINE

"Follow the money"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"A taut, solidly acted paean to the benefits of a free press and the dangers of unchecked power, made all the more effective by its origins in real-life events."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation."

DIRECTOR

Alan J. Pakula

MAIN CAST

Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Hal Holbrook, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Jane Alexander

THOUGHTS

• We're here to assess movies based on the thrills that they deliver, and I've grappled with this a few times - occasionally there's a difference between how effectively a movie tells its story compared to how thrilling it's even able to be. All the President's Men is an intriguing depiction of the journalistic investigation into one of the biggest presidential scandals of all time, but there's also a ceiling to how intense this sort of thing can get
• Most people have at least heard of Watergate, but just in case there are some people who don't really know what happened, here's a summary from a History.com article: "The Watergate scandal began early in the morning of June 17, 1972, when several burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, D.C. This was no ordinary robbery: The prowlers were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents." And, as revealed in the movie, the Watergate break-in may have kicked off the investigation, and it gave the scandal its name, but it was much further reaching than just that one event. There was a whole series of political sabotage and espionage, that Nixon was aware of and tried to cover up, leading to his resignation
• In showing the investigation and research done by Woodward and Bernstein, though, there are a LOT of names to keep track of, and it's not always obvious which names are the important ones to keep in mind. This may have been easier when the movie came out, shortly after the scandal actually occurred, but not so much 50 years later. It is interesting to see what this sort of journalism would have been like in the 70s, though, a lot of phone calls and in-person meetings, typewriters clacking and notes taken by hand
• I mentioned it briefly just now, I found it interesting to think about the movie being made so soon after the events it was based on. Nixon resigned in August of '74, and the movie came out in April of '76. I couldn't really think of many other movies that were made so soon after the real events they were based on, aside from Zero Dark Thirty which came out one year and seven months after Bin Laden's death
• Redford and Hoffman are both quite good, but my favourite performance is from Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee the executive editor of The Washington Post. Robards gets a lot of the best lines, all delivered in his distinctive low, rumbly voice. He also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, while Redford and Hoffman weren't even nominated
• However, speaking of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, we'll be seeing more of both of them soon. Redford will be in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, movie #54, and Hoffman will be in Marathon Man, movie #50. And, perhaps even more impressive, that's not even the only connection between these movies. The screenplay for All the President's Men was written by William Goldman, who also wrote not only the screenplay for Butch Cassidy and not only the screenplay for Marathon Man, but he even wrote the novel that Marathon Man was adapted from. This is without even mentioning all the other great movies he wrote, including two of my favourites, Misery and The Princess Bride (and also the novel The Princess Bride, while we're at it)
• Finally, as a depiction of journalistic investigation based on true events, I kept being reminded of some other more recent movies, especially Spotlight and The Post. The Post, in particular, has strong echoes of All the President's Men, which is pretty understandable considering they're both about investigations at the exact same newspaper, and even with Ben Bradlee as a primary character, played by Tom Hanks in the later movie

Up next: Just like when I watched Dracula, I'm excited to watch another classic monster movie from 1931 that I've never seen - it's time for Frankenstein

#58: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

10

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

No, first time

BEST SEQUENCE

The last 15 minutes

BEST LINE

"One day the war will be over, and I hope the people who use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built, and who built it"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

96%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"This complex war epic asks hard questions, resists easy answers, and boasts career-defining work from star Alec Guinness and director David Lean."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it."

DIRECTOR

David Lean

MAIN CAST

Alec Guinness, William Holden, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Hawkins

THOUGHTS

• This film is impeccable. It was already sitting around a 9.5 for most of its runtime, and then the climax just clinched it. This is the highest rating I've given a war movie so far, and it's also the first 10/10 I've given to a movie I haven't seen before, a fact that's very exciting for me and probably less so for anyone reading this
• And I'll admit, I wasn't even looking forward to it, somewhat scared off by its long runtime (2 hours and 41 minutes). However, I was captivated from start to finish. I even stopped it with an hour left, planning on finishing it the next day, but then I changed my mind. I had to see how it ended. Side note, and a little peek behind the curtain, you can tell how much I liked this movie because I just watched it last night and I'm already writing this review. When I'm not that excited to write about a movie, I tend to drag my feet a little more
• The word that kept coming to mind was "nuanced". Every single character in this movie has depth and shades of grey to their actions and their motivations. Even the camp commandant, Colonel Saito played by Sessue Hayakawa. We don't necessarily go so far as feeling sympathy towards him, but we do come to understand his situation
• Alec Guinness is perfect in this as Colonel Nicholson, the commanding officer of the British POWs. Early in the movie I thought it might be more clichéd than it is, more focused on Nicholson's utter Britishness, stiff upper lip and all that, but Guinness's performance is, again, incredibly nuanced. His battle of wills with Saito makes for a gripping first part of the movie, and it's important that we see how much he's willing to suffer to stand by his principles. For most people these days Guinness would be most associated with Obi-Wan Kenobi, an iconic role, to be sure, but I think I'm going to most associate him with River Kwai from now on. It's a remarkable role, and a marvellous performance
• At the risk of sounding hackneyed, so much of this movie's impact comes from the fact that it's not really about the bridge, but it's about what the bridge represents. As just a bridge, a way to get from one side of the river to the other, it can't be denied that Nicholson is collaborating with the enemy. However, it's not just a bridge to Nicholson. It's a statement. It's a way of making an impact on the world. It's a reason to continue to survive in the hellish conditions of the camp. It's this complexity that makes the climax so powerful
• I might be giving short shrift to William Holden, the actual top-billed actor (I adjusted the cast order based on my opinion of importance), but Holden is also very good and he does come more into prominence in the second half of the movie. Guinness is the real standout, however, and the Academy felt the same way - Guinness won the Oscar for Best Actor, Holden wasn't even nominated
• River Kwai won seven Oscars out of eight nominations - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. The last nomination was for Best Supporting Actor for Sessue Hayakawa, and it's a shame he didn't win as well, because I thought he was excellent
• There are some definite similarities between this movie and The Great Escape, one of my favourites, and the AFI's 19th most thrilling movie of all time. Both movies are set in WWII POW camps, with the prisoners as the protagonists, and they even have a shared cast member - James Donald has a prominent role in both. Admittedly, the war movies I've seen have all been from a Western point of view. I'd be curious to hear any recommendations for war movies without American or British protagonists
• It may not have the most thrilling moments of any movie I've watched, and some people might even think I'm being generous with the 10/10, but the complexity of the characters and the layers of motivation mean that all of the events in this movie really, really matter to not just us, but also the characters in the film. All of the action that transpires has a huge impact and gravity in a way that more gunfights, or more violence simply wouldn't improve
• Finally, the score is great, but musically this movie is probably best known for the whistled refrain of the "Colonel Bogey March". Coincidentally, two reviews in a row, we now turn to The Simpsons. This won't be a regular feature, especially since I don't want to crib from an excellent movie podcast, Unspooled, which includes talk of Simpsons references, but you might recognize the "Colonel Bogey March" a little better if we add some lyrics: "Lisa, her teeth are big and green!"
  
  

Up next: All the President's Men, from 1976. It's time for some political intrigue

#59: PLANET OF THE APES (1968)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

2.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, a long time ago. I think in high school

BEST SEQUENCE

Oh, probably the final scene, I suppose

BEST LINE

"Take yer stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

86%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Planet of the Apes raises thought-provoking questions about our culture without letting social commentary get in the way of the drama and action."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"An astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved."

DIRECTOR

Franklin J. Schaffner

MAIN CAST

Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans

THOUGHTS

• Well, it's another seminal and important work of science fiction, and I'm sure it has many, many fans out there, but I can't help it, I just think it's incredibly boring. Perhaps this is another case of a movie that works best upon first viewing, but I don't remember liking it that much the first time I saw it either; at the very least, I didn't like it enough to justify a rewatch within the last 20 years or so
• The apes, of course, are the main attraction, but in some ways I preferred the earlier parts of the movie, when the astronauts were exploring this "unfamiliar" (wink, wink) planet. In fact, we don't even see an ape until minute 32. At the time, the ape makeup effects were groundbreaking, even winning an honorary Oscar (makeup wasn't its own category back then). In some ways the prosthetics were quite well done - the eyes and brows, especially, are very expressive. The mouths and lips, though, not so much. Some unconvincing moments, especially when the apes are talking. And let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've seen two actors in ape prosthetics kiss by just smushing their rubber, immobile lips into each other
• Some stunning scenery, filmed in northern Arizona, near the Grand Canyon. It does indeed look very otherworldly
• Great music, by a composer I've complimented already, Jerry Goldsmith - he also scored Poltergeist and The Omen, and this isn't even the last time he'll be mentioned. I never knew I had such an appreciation for Goldsmith's work, and I'm impressed how all of his scores are distinct and perfectly suited for their movies. His music for Planet of the Apes is spookily avant-garde and alien-like, the perfect complement to what's onscreen
• Charlton Heston is overacting like his life depends on it, but he does give us some very memorable line readings. Aside from the one mentioned above, you've got other classics like "It's a mad house! A MAD HOUSE!" and "You cut up his brain, you bloody baboon!" and, of course, "You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"
• Unbeknownst to me, this movie also gave us one of my favourite reaction gifs, Charlton Heston laughing uproariously. It's even better with the sound:

• Incidentally, that clip is also a good example of some kind of odd, or maybe just ham-fisted, directorial choices that can be seen throughout the movie - there are a lot of those really dramatic, fairly unnecessary, sudden zooms
• Finally, it's appropriate that Planet of the Apes happened to come after all of the M. Night Shyamalan movies, because it also contains a pretty famous twist ending. Spoiler alert, and in the words of The Simpsons (which probably already spoiled this for most of you, anyway): "Oh my God, I was wrong! It was Earth all along!" It's a serviceable twist ending, but man, you need to be relying on some real sci-fi movie logic for it to make any sense as a twist, especially if we're talking about the fact that it's meant to come as a complete surprise to Charlton Heston's astronaut main character. The fact that Heston lands on what he believes to be an alien planet, which is populated not only by humans, and not only by horses, and not only by apes, but also apes who speak English, and yet he doesn't consider the possibility that this planet actually being Earth is the only logical explanation for all of this, that takes some real mental gymnastics (although the idea that after 2000 years away from Earth the apes would be speaking the exact same style of English as Heston, that they'd even be able to understand each other at all, that's a whole 'nother can of worms)

Up next: Planet of the Apes was adapted from a story by French author Pierre Boulle, best known for two novels that were turned into movies, and funnily enough the other adaptation is up next on the list (also funnily enough, they're very different genres). It's the 1957 epic war film The Bridge on the River Kwai