The Unenthusiastic Critic is in no mood for monkey business as she enters the madhouse for her first viewing of 1968's Planet of the Apes.

We're doing a deep dive on Franklin Schaffner's sci-fi classic, and particularly into how the original Planet of the Apes pentology—intentionally and unintentionally—reflects and explores the racial tensions of its era.

Along the way, we're also talking about the blacklisting of Michael Wilson, the brilliance of Jerry Goldsmith, the terribleness of Mark Wahlberg, and the endearingly ridiculous overacting of Charlton Heston.

Program

0:00: Prologue: from The Simpsons Episode 7x19
0:48: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion of Planet of the Apes
10:57: Original Trailer for Planet of the Apes
12:41: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion of Planet of the Apes
1:08:12: Outro and Next Week's Movie
1:09:50: Outtake

Notes and Links

—Movie Reviewed: Planet of the Apes (dir. Franklin Schaffner, 20th Century Fox, 1968)
—Books and Articles Mentioned: Planet of the Apes as American Myth: Race, Politics, and Popular Culture, by Eric Greene, Wesleyan Press, 1998; Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film, by Adilufu Nama, University of Texas Press, 2008;  "The Racial Politics of Planet of the Apes," Mychal Denzel Smith, The Grio, August 5, 2011
—Read The Unenthusiastic Critic in prose form at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
—Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are welcome!)
—"Warm Duck Shuffle" by Arne Huseby is licensed under CC BY 3.0.