ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES

US, 1971, 96 minutes, Colour.
Kim Hunter, Roddy Mc Dowell, Bradford Dillman, Eric Braeden, Natalie Trundy, William Windom, Sal Mineo, Ricardo Montalban.
Directed by Don Taylor.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes really confounded the critics. They all said that there could be no sequel to Beneath the Planet of the Apes; however, this film leaves a number of openings for sequels.

This film is slighter than its predecessors. It does not make its points about our present human society by parodying it in the future society of the apes which mirrors so many of the faults of our own society. Rather, the scene is 1973 and Cornelius and Zirrah have arrived in our world. They bring out some of the good side of human nature and also the worst. The roles are reversed from Planet of the Apes. This time Cornelius and Zirrah are the victims as was Taylor (Charlton Heston). They find helpers, kind as they were (Bradford Dillman and Natalie Trundy, veterinary doctors, whereas Zirrah was a psychiatrist). Circus-owner Armando (Ricardo Montalban) is also kind. Villain of the piece is a German- American (why?) scientist (Eric Braeden from The Forbin Project).

The film has much the same mood and is in the same vein as its predecessors - satire, parody of human foibles - but has plenty of conventional episodes, especially the final chase. However, each film has ended on a sobering, pessimistic note. The ending here is clever - obvious, but worthy of the series.

1. This film was conceived as a commercial venture to follow-up the box-office success of the previous Planet of the Apes films. Is this evident?

2. The basic idea of referring the previous films' procedure and having the apes in our own time?

3. Even though the film is based on fallacies' about the nature of time (Cornelius and Zirrah die in 1972 although they do not live until about 3990 A.D!), does this destroy the credibility of the film while you are watching it?

4. What social comment on our own behaviour do the adventures of Cornelius and Zirrah make - interviews, fashions, women's liberation, the boxing match?

5. What comment on animal experimentation does the film make in explaining that Zirrah experimented with humans?

6. What political comment does the film make - the president worried about votes and places in history?

7. Why is the scientific adviser so ruthless? Why is he so afraid of the human fall in the future?

8. Would you subscribe to the opinion that if humans 'become degraded in centuries to come, they deserve to be overcame by civilised apes'?

9. What human qualities do Cornelius and Zirrah exhibit? Are they superior to human beings?

10. Why do the scientists see the baby Milo as such a -threat?

11. How did the hunting and killing of Cornelius and Zirrah affect you?

12. What was the effect of ending the film with the discovery that baby Milo was safe on his way to Florida?