Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

October 18, 2022 6:27 AM

After the collapse of human civilization, a community of intelligent apes led by Caesar (Roddy McDowall) lives in harmony with a group of humans. Gorilla General Aldo (Claude Akins) tries to cause an ape civil war and a community of human mutants who live beneath a destroyed city try to conquer those whom they perceive as enemies.

Also starring Natalie Trundy, Austin Stoker, Severn Darden, Paul Williams, Colleen Camp, John Huston, John Landis.

Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Screenplay by John William Corrington, from a story by Paul Dehn.

36% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Criterion. Also available for digital rental on multiple outlets. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (4 comments total)

The original series ends, not with a bang, but with a wet fart.

Eminently skippable. It's just actors in leftover prosthetics running around the 20th Century Fox Ranch trying to grasp at the last available ticket buyers.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:29 AM on October 18, 2022

Final rankings, original series:

Tier One:
Planet of the Apes - Still superlative. Wildly entertaining and satirically sharp.

Tier Two:
Escape from the Planet of the Apes - Clever and fun, with a big warm heart.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes - Nat Turner redux. Action banger.

Tier Three, The Sewer:
Beneath, Battle.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:31 AM on October 18, 2022

Yeah, even as a 10 year old, I didn't like this one.
posted by octothorpe at 8:41 AM on October 18, 2022

Beneath manages to reach Tier Two by being so over-the-top ridiculously bad it's great.

Battle can't even manage that.
posted by mediareport at 6:41 AM on October 22, 2022