The Best Way to Watch the Planet of the Apes Franchise

8 months ago

The movie series Planet of the Apes, initially was adapted from the 1963 French novel "La Planète des Singes" by Pierre Boulle ,which translate to The Planet of The Apes; is popular among movie fans worldwide. The first iteration of the Planet of the Apes movie series that debuted in 1968 was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner with Charlton Heston in the lead role, the success of this movie initiated a line to association items such as the spawning of sequels, television series and remakes.

The idea for a film on that book was developed by producer Arthur Jacobs having purchased the rights for its script from Boulle and involvement of the television show creator Rod Serling. The movie is known for its makeup creation, made by John Chambers is an award winning makeup artist who earned an honorary Oscar for the work, although until today none of the movies have won any Oscar for make up or effects, although did won an honorary award for the original movie back in 1968.

The Planet of the Apes franchise has been entertaining audiences for over 50 years, with a total of nine films released to date and because there is another movie coming up soon in 2024 "Kingdom of The Planet of Apes" I wanted to know where to put all these entries as the number of them is increasing every day, the following article will instruct you on the movie’s trilogy watch order, both chronologically and by release.

Here’s a table summarizing the release order of the Planet of the Apes movies:

Release Order	Title	Year
1	Planet of the Apes	1968
2	Beneath the Planet of the Apes	1970
3	Escape from the Planet of the Apes	1971
4	Conquest of the Planet of the Apes	1972
5	Battle for the Planet of the Apes	1973
6	Planet of the Apes (remake)	2001
7	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	2011
8	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	2014
9	War for the Planet of the Apes	2017
10	Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes	2024

Watching the movies in the chronological order is the most tricky part from all this franchise specially when they are so many an each director has its own vision but the important part is that some how they interconnect with each other the events as the occur in the Apes Universe timeline, however this order can be complex since some of the movies include time travel and different continuities, here is a list I came up with based on the information I could gather around and this is my best shot at it:

Chronological Order	Title	Year
1	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	2011
2	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	2014
3	War for the Planet of the Apes	2017
4	Planet of the Apes	1968
5	Beneath the Planet of the Apes	1970
6	Escape from the Planet of the Apes	1971
7	Conquest of the Planet of the Apes	1972
8	Battle for the Planet of the Apes	1973
9	Planet of the Apes (remake)	2001
10	Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes	2024

Best Three Movies From The Franchise

With nine films released to date and another on the way, the franchise has seen its fair share of highs and lows but there have been a few of them that quite stand out, today I would like to talk a bit about the three movies that I consider might be the best out of all current nine but this might change in the near future because the success that the current iteration has had, I'll give details of why they are special, who were the directors, and if they won any awards.

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

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Directed by Matt Reeves, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is widely recognize as the best movie in the franchise, this time set ten years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and follows Caesar, the leader of a growing ape community, as he struggles to maintain peace with a group of human survivors.

What sets Dawn of the Planet of the Apes apart from other versions and remakes in the franchise is its stunning visual effects and emotional show from both sides humans and apes, who would have though this could be a reality from an Ape movie but it does, I guess by then there was already a lot of AI been implemented, we only talking ten years go. The shots to capture motion as they go through the forest and city allows for incredibly realistic interaction of the apes, making it easy for audiences to connect with them on multiple levels, the movie also features strong performances from its human cast, including Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, here some of the awards it won:

87th Academy Awards (2015) - Nominated for Best Visual Effects
BAFTA 2015 - British Academy of Film and TV Awards (Movies from 2014) - Nominated for Best Visual Effects
19th Satellite Awards (International Press Academy) - Winner for Film Editing and Visual Effects, Nominated for Actor in a Supporting Role (Andy Serkis)
20th Critics' Choice Awards - Winner for Best Visual Effects, Nominated for Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie
42nd Annie Awards - Films from 2014 - Nominated for various categories
13th Visual Effects Society Awards - Winner for Outstanding VFX in a VFX-Driven Feature, Animated Character (Caesar), and Compositing, Nominated for other categories

2. Planet of the Apes (1968)

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Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, the original Planet of the Apes is a classic of science fiction cinema, the movie follows astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) as he crash lands on a planet ruled by intelligent apes who treat humans as inferior beings, different than some of its latter on versions or remakes the original movie includes space exploration while some others are develop on Earth.

What makes Planet of the Apes special is back then was the one that provoke the audience to want more details of this alternate planet where Apes rule, know about their society, customs and many other details that have not been touch on many movies before the franchise started. The film's twist ending, in which Taylor discovers the remains of the Statue of Liberty, is one of the most memorable moments in cinema history setting a precedent of an alter dimension or what would be called now days The Multiverse, the movie also features impressive makeup and costume design, which earned it an honorary Academy Award.

Planet of the Apes was nominated for several awards, including Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay, here some of the awards it won through its time:

Honorary Academy Award for John Chambers's special effects and prosthetics makeup techniques
National Board of Review 1969 Winner: Top Ten Films
National Film Preservation Board 2001 Winner: National Film Registry
Genesis Awards 1996 Winner: Feature Film - Classic
Jules Verne Awards 2008 Winner: Jules Verne Légendaire Award (Franklin J. Schaffner)
Online Film & Television Association 2020 Winner: OFTA Film Hall of Fame - Motion Picture

3. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

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Directed by Matt Reeves, War for the Planet of the Apes is the third and final film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy, not to get confuse as the final movie since there were others after it. The movie this time around follows Caesar as he leads his ape community in a war against a ruthless human army led by the Colonel (Woody Harrelson).

What sets War for the Planet of the Apes apart from other movies in the franchise is some action sequences as this is a true war movie, with stunning battle sequences and high risks mostly from the Apes side who has a lot to win, it also features quieter moments that allow for character development and emotional connection with the audience, not everything is about war on the movie, similar to its predecessor movie on 2014 it also has a lot of great shots showing the Apes skills as they move forward and charge against humans.

War for the Planet of the Apes was nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, here some of the awards it won too:

2018 Critics' Choice Awards - Best Visual Effects
2018 Visual Effects Society Awards - Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
2018 Visual Effects Society Awards - Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature (Bad Ape)
2017 San Francisco Film Critics Circle - Best Actor (Andy Serkis)
2017 Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society - Best Visual Effects
2017 Hollywood Professional Association Awards - Outstanding Visual Effects - Feature Film
2017 Golden Schmoes Awards - Best Special Effects of the Year
2018 North Carolina Film Critics Association - Best Special Effects
2018 Phoenix Critics Circle - Best Science Fiction Film (Nominee for Best Picture)
2018 Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Visual Effects
2018 Denver Film Critics Society - Best Visual Effects (incomplete list)

In conclusion, both orders have their advantages and the choice ultimately depends on your preference. If you want to experience the franchise as it was initially released, go with the release order or if you prefer to follow the events in the order they occur within the Apes universe, choose the chronological order that I have come up with based on information I found online, also take in consideration that the 2024 version is part of a new trilogy that follows a new story not anymore on Cesar, this time is a new Ape character, Noa, with similar story but several twist that make them unique although I haven't seen this version yet.