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Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban, Natalie Trundy, Hari ... see more see more... , Severn Darden , David Chow , Paul Comi , John Dennis , Gordon Jump , Buck Kartalian , Asa Maynor , John Randolph , Dick Spangler , Lou Wagner , H.M. Wynant , Joyce Haber , Hari Rhodes

The fourth Planet of the Apes film is set in 1991, 20 years since the assassination of talking, time-traveling apes Cornelius and Zira at the end of Escape From the Planet of the Apes. The couple's in... read more read more...fant son, Caesar (Roddy McDowall), has grown to adulthood in the care of kindly circus owner Armando (Ricardo Montalban). Meanwhile, a plague has wiped all dogs and cats from the face of the Earth; speechless primitive apes have therefore been domesticated and turned into first pets, then servants of humankind. Caesar becomes outraged at the treatment of these simian slaves and accidentally reveals his powers of speech in front of the militaristic authorities, who kill Armando when he tries to protect his friend's identity. His cover blown, Caesar kick-starts a revolution that pits chimps against humans, paving the way for eventual ape ascendency. Caesar was the second of McDowall's three Planet of the Apes characters; he also portrayed Cornelius in the first and third films and Galen in the short-lived 1974 television series. After taking over the franchise with this picture, Hollywood veteran J. Lee Thompson would become the only director to helm two Planet of the Apes films when he returned for the fifth and final installment. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

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17,486 ratings

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18 critics

PG, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: J. Lee Thompson

Release Date: January 1, 1972

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DVD Release Date: September 5, 2000

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Stats: 608 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (608)

  • garyX
    December 30, 2011
    garyX
    The son of Cornelius and Zira is separated from his protector and confronts a world where apes have been trained to do menial labour for the human race in slavery and promotes bloody insurrection amongst his kind. The third sequel to the classic Planet Of The Apes was butchered b... read morey the studio for its theatrical release no doubt because a nervous establishment weren't too happy at the sight of bloody revolution in the name of civil rights in the USA of the early 1970s. Much of the violence ended up on the cutting room floor and a terrible "and they all lived happily ever after" alternate ending was cheaply tacked on, essentially gutting the entire message of the story. In its original form, Conquest is a stirring story of bigotry, cruelty and fascism overthrown by civil disobedience and it contains some great moments of poignant dialogue and political argument. Unfortunately, thanks to the small budget and weak, TV standard direction it concentrates on its weaknesses instead of its strengths making for a finale that's little more than a gang of men in monkey suits running around hitting each other with sticks. The new prequel, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes actually takes the seeds of the story and make much better use of them and so although this is an interesting period piece the new film is far more worthy of your time.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    December 6, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes is one of favorites in the series. I very much enjoyed the storyline of the film, and I thought it was one of the most exciting films of the series. I thought that this film could have been a great conclusion to the series; unfortunately, they g... read morereen lit an inferior final film. However this is a great film with a wonderful cast, a very good story and good directing. As far as the series is concerned, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes is a great addition, and because of its story, it's also one of the best in the series. The film is much different to the other films in the series, and I very much enjoyed the change of direction the series took with Conquest. I find this film to be quite underrated and it really is a good film despite the flack it received as an uninspired sequel. The story is good and combine that with good acting and you have a great entry in a classic franchise. The film may not be the best, but for what it is, this is a good film, and like I said before, one of my favorites in the series. Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes is an entertaining film, and has enough thrills going for it to make it a worthwhile addition to the series. Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes is a great sequel that is entertaining, thrilling and is one of the best sequels in the series. Director J. Lee Thompson directs a memorable film that will appeal to fans of the original Planet Of The Apes, and this film is lots of fun despite its imperfections.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    August 9, 2011
    cancercapricorn2002
    In Escape From the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius and Zira arrived from the future and had a child, one who was destined to destroy the future of human civilization. To protect her child from human treachery, the baby chimpanzee was switched with a normal zoo chimp by his mother, ... read moreand grew up under the protection of his benevolent human master Armando, the extravagant sideshow circus entertainer ironically played by Ricardo Montalban from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Having been given a taste of freedom by the compassionate Armando, the talking simian chimpanzee Caesar (played by Roddy MacDowall who had the unique opportunity to play the son of his character Cornelius) becomes disillusioned when Armando brings him into the city only to learn that his ape brothers and sisters have become "domesticated" after a plague brought back from space in the year 1983 wiped out every dog and cat on the planet. Because of their adept intelligence and human-like faculties, the apes quickly became trained to serve their "superior" human masters. In 1991, human civilization is controlled by an oppressive authoritarian government fearful that a race of talking apes will inevitably rise up and destroy human civilization as foretold by the arrival of Cornelius and Zira.

    Now the apes have supplanted humans as working class slaves distinguished by the two dominant ape species... the smarter chimpanzees wearing green worker overalls and the stronger and more aggressive gorillas in red, not unlike the delineation between white and blue collar human laborers. When Armando and the son of Cornelius witness a cruel public display of torture against a helpless ape worker, the emotionally enraged talking simian lets loose his tongue and makes the fatal mistake of publicly shouting out an obscenity against the human oppressors. Armando, accepting the responsibility for the outcry, is taken into custody for questioning after he helps Caesar flee capture. The fugitive ape conceals himself by infiltrating a cage of "immigrant" ape orangutangs imported from Indonesia and is taken to a worker conditioning center where apes are harshly trained to become subservient to human domination. He is soon sold at a slave auction to the Governor's assistant MacDonald, who ironically is an Afro-American. MacDonald brings him before the Governor, played by the melodramatically camp Don Murray, who suspects that he is indeed the talking ape that they are searching for and is given the opportunity to name himself by choosing a name randomly from a book. The intelligent ape points to a name which not only surprises but confirms the Governor's suspicion and thus, Caesar is born.

    Caesar is put to work in an operations center where he can be closely monitored. When Caesar overhears that his master Armando was killed trying to flee interrogation, he becomes outraged and communicates non-verbally with his ape brethren to be defiant against their masters and the seeds of discontent are sown. Caesar organizes the apes into an uprising against their human captors that erupts into a full-blown ape revolt akin to Che Gorilla --- a sly reference to the Cuban revolutionary guerrilla leader Che Guevara for which Caesar emblematically bares an uncanny symbolic resemblance to and has even been parodied as such in pop-culture. Roddy MacDowall gives a rousing and unforgettable dramatic performance that surpasses his characterization of Cornelius in the three previous Ape films. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes explodes into a riotous and violent action packed climax that inevitably sets the stage for the entire Apes Saga and the birth of The Planet of the Apes.

    Conquest is the fourth film in the series and it is my second favorite. It is brutally violent and was the first Apes film to earn a PG rating after explicit scenes of graphic violence were cut. It is filled with so many socio-political themes that are just as relevant (if not more so) today as they were back in 1972. While the ape revolt was patterned directly after the 1965 Los Angeles Watts Riots, it could easily parallel the racial Alabama and Chicago civil protest riots of the 50's and 60's or the L.A. riots of the 90's. It's themes of working class oppression not dissimilar to the current issue of Immigration Reform which saw demonstrations of protest in major cities across the country by tens of thousands of immigrant workers who perform low-paying laborious and menial jobs that middle-class American workers think are socially beneath themselves by right of entitlement, as exemplified by the scene where Caesar witnesses the temperament of a snobbish blonde woman having her hair done in a salon by a chimp named Zelda and throws a tantrum when she messes it up which just nails the self-centered materialistic attitudes of our upper and middle social classes perfectly. The Government is portrayed as oppressive and paranoid and is an interesting examination of how the need for social constructs like Ape Management (i.e. Homeland Security) can easily deteriorate into an oppressive state of authoritarian control. Conquest is a political-charged cautionary allegory of how society breeds contempt.
  • DrZeek
    August 2, 2011
    DrZeek
    Caesar: 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... read more 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!
  • fb100000145236770
    July 4, 2011
    fb100000145236770
    I've been told by numerous people that as the "Planet of the Apes" series goes on it gets worse and worse. I happen to disagree. I think this is the best installment of the first four. This is basically the story of Caesar, the ape child of Cornelius and Zira from the first 3 ... read moremovies. He sees apes being used as slaves and starts a revolution to over take man. The concept and story is pretty simple, and very well done. Made in 1972, it's cool to see it's take on the future(as the movie is set in the crazy futuristic year of 1991). The new movie "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" looks like a re-imagining of this movie, and I think that's the best choice. This is really the best way to restart this franchise for a newer audience. I'm glad I've gone back and discovered this great series of films, as they hold up fairly good almost 40 years later.
  • kenstachnik
    February 19, 2011
    kenstachnik
    The civil rights movement through the lens of a sci-fi apes revolt in the streets movie. Really really interesting and fully of a lot of insanity (and silliness)
  • ythelastman89
    September 12, 2010
    ythelastman89
    I really don't care what anyone says, I feel that this is the best movie in the series next to the original and certainly just as powerful. The set design, costuming, make-up and effects are all at their best and presents us with a very believable and scary future. Roddy McDowall... read more's performance as Caesar is undoubtedly the most impacting element of the movie, giving off a sort of Malcolm X quality. This says so much about civil rights and equality in general, being the most political of all the series. We all knew that the apes would eventually take over, but the how and the why is so much more interesting. You still question a possible salvation in this, which is great. The idea that we can change the future is a wonderful concept to explore.
  • SirPant
    September 18, 2009
    SirPant
    The first of two prequels, Conquest has some really good ideas and a brilliant ending but just isn't as good as the originals.
  • mjgildea
    January 2, 2009
    mjgildea
    At this point (the 4th movie in the series) any semblance of the original series is gone--and with it any sense of logic. (I'm just going to get this out of the way here, but why the hell would you keep something that could beat the living shit out of you as a pet?) So, retarded ... read morelogic aside, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes isn't that bad. It's always funny to watch older movies vision of the future after its come and gone and Conquest's version of the future was no exception with everyone wearing all black in their 1984 society. All that nonsense aside the movie's not too bad with the exception of the disjointed free-for-all ape revolution toward the end. Some great imagery included, Conquest brings the series full circle where it should have ended.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    August 2, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    An ugly movie. Apes are integrated into human society, first as pets, and then as servants. The apes revolt and start an ugly war against the humans. It shows how it all happened and led to the first film's existence. It seems to parallel some real-world human rights issues. I di... read moredn't enjoy the direction it was going - humans losing.

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Critic Reviews

June 4, 2007
Variety

The Planet of the Apes series takes an angry turn in the fourth entry. Full Review

Howard Thompson
May 10, 2005
Howard Thompson, New York Times

J. Lee Thompson's direction furiously propels the action in a compact chromium-and-glass setting -- and wait till you see that last battle royal. Full Review

June 4, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A hard-edged thriller featuring a sleekly sinister look and a disturbing tone that's quite different from any of the other films in the series. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
April 9, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

Lead-footed and erratic. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Dismally lurid stuff, ham-fistedly directed and low on credibility. Full Review

Fred Topel
July 14, 2003
Fred Topel, About.com

The best of the series. Apes in modern day (well, modern for then). Like all great sci-fi, has moral implications.

Gerry Shamray
April 13, 2003
Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

Surprisingly entertaining.

James Kendrick
September 15, 2002
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

The message is that passing power from one to another does not change the essential nature of power. Rather, power contaminates the person (or ape) who wields it. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Proof that mediocre sequels are hardly a new sensantion.

Max Messier
August 1, 2001
Max Messier, Filmcritic.com

This bleak chapter of the Apes saga strived to echo the sentiments of many of its fellow films released that year. Not easy to do in a cheap monkey mask. Full Review

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    • Governor Breck: Man was born of the ape. And there's still an ape curled up inside of every man, the beast that must be whipped into submission, the savage that has to be shackled in chains.
    • Caesar: Destiny is the will of God, and if it is Man's destiny to be dominated, it is God's will that he be dominated with compassion and understanding.
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