Beneath the Planet of the Apes (5 Stars)

This is the sequel to "Planet of the Apes". It was made in 1969 and released in 1970. It continues seamlessly from the first fim. The first few minutes are a recap of the ending of the first film.

Today was the first time I've watched this film on Blu-ray. Just like the first film, it's been cleaned up admirably for the high definition release. The picture quality is almost miraculous for a film that's so old. If anyone already has this film on DVD, I strongly recommend the upgrade. It currently costs £8.00 from Amazon UK for the five-film box set on Blu-ray, which is an amazing price. In America it costs $19.99, which works out about 50% more than the UK price, but it's still a good deal.

The film has sentimental meaning for me. It's one of only two films that I ever saw with my father in the cinema. The other was "2001: A Space Odyssey". I strongly suspect that my father wanted to see the film himself and took me along as an excuse. That's no problem for me. I highly enjoyed the film, and it's had a lasting impression on me for the rest of my life.

As I've said before, this should have been the last "Planet of the Apes" film. The bootstrap paradox introduced in the following two films was interesting, but unnecessary. I'm not in a hurry to watch the other three films in the box set. I'll probably watch them eventually, but they're a low priority for me.

The ironies in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" are laid on thick. So much of it is a satire of 20th Century politics.

"We are a peaceful people. We don't kill our enemies. We get our enemies to kill each other".

That's a beautiful definition of peace.