It's time to monkey around and check out some epic "Planet of the Apes" scenes! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable and iconic moments in the “Planet of the Apes” films.
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00:00 "What a wonderful day!"
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable and iconic moments in the Planet of the Apes films.
00:12 As we'll be discussing twists and conclusions, this video comes with a spoiler warning.
00:17 "Troy, Mac Parker. Ever hear of Planet of the Apes?"
00:23 "Uhh, the movie or the planet?"
00:27 Number 20. It's a madhouse, Planet of the Apes.
00:30 "Good morning Julius. How's our patient today?"
00:33 "No change. The minute you open the door, he goes into his act."
00:36 Arriving on a seemingly alien planet, astronaut George Taylor, played by Charlton Heston,
00:41 makes his way through a world where humans do not speak and are primitive and apes rule.
00:46 At every turn, things become more and more bizarre as he suffers abuse.
00:51 "I'll try that again and I'll break your arm!"
00:54 It culminates in a moment where he's caged, and eventually tortured by being sprayed with a high-powered water hose.
01:00 This is of course evocative of how police would use hoses on civil rights protesters just a few years prior,
01:13 as the early Apes films often utilized allegory for social injustice.
01:18 Beguiled and tormented, Taylor is broken by a world where he has become a beast.
01:23 He screams the now iconic line,
01:25 "It's a madhouse! A madhouse!"
01:31 Number 19. Koba kills Jacobs, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
01:36 The embodiment of corporate greed and selfishness, Stephen Jacobs is the ultimate antagonist in Rise.
01:51 The long-suffering test ape Koba comes to resent Jacobs for the years of abuse inflicted upon him by humans.
01:57 After gaining sentience and escaping with Caesar,
02:00 Koba survives Jacobs attempting to have the Syndians gunned down via helicopter.
02:04 Jacobs begs for his life from Caesar as the now crashed helicopter hangs precariously over the San Francisco Bay.
02:15 Caesar turns, nods to a figure revealed to be Koba,
02:19 and Jacobs realizes it's over for him as the bonobo sends him plummeting to a watery grave.
02:25 This perfectly ends the arc of one film's villain while setting up another for the next installment in one fell swoop.
02:31 Number 18. Welcome, gentlemen, Escape from the Planet of the Apes.
02:48 In this cold open, the spacecraft from the original Planet of the Apes is seen floating in the Pacific Ocean.
02:53 It's quickly revealed that unlike the previous two entries, the third Apes movie takes place in the near present day.
03:00 The military scrambles to recover the craft from the waves, and soldiers arrive on the beach to see it towed to shore.
03:06 Echoing the original, three astronauts emerge, and the general warmly greets them.
03:15 However, he quickly trails off once they take their helmets off.
03:19 Rather than Charlton Heston or any other human for that matter,
03:22 three apes are revealed to be in the spacesuits, and the title appears on screen.
03:41 Number 17. Caesar Meets The Colonel. War for the Planet of the Apes.
03:46 When war opens, it's revealed that Caesar's apes have been pursued by a human militia for two years,
03:57 led by a ruthless leader simply known as the Colonel.
04:00 Despite Caesar showing mercy to his men, the Colonel storms Caesar's base, killing his wife and son,
04:06 leading Caesar down a dark path of vengeance to hunt down and kill him.
04:10 The two come face to face. It isn't the violent confrontation one might expect,
04:14 as Caesar has been taken hostage as they discuss vengeance, cruelty, and the fate of the world.
04:19 The scene features spectacular performances from both Woody Harrelson as the Colonel and Andy Serkis,
04:32 whose powerhouse portrayal led many to claim he was snubbed from Oscar recognition due to motion capture bias.
04:38 "You came here to kill me. Or were you gonna show me mercy?"
04:44 "I showed you mercy when I spared your men. I offered you peace, and you killed my family."
04:53 Number 16. Coba's Assault. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
04:58 "Now they may have got their hands on some of our guns, but that does not make them men!"
05:03 It is an impressive feat to both be completely saddened by a scene on an emotional and intellectual level,
05:09 yet somehow be incredibly excited on a visceral level.
05:12 Coba's attack on San Francisco, shattering the hard-won peace while death and destruction rain down around him,
05:18 manages to do both.
05:20 Although we've dreaded the inevitable conflict that almost all of the characters have strived to avoid throughout the film,
05:26 when it arrives, it can only be described as awesome.
05:31 Coba rides through the streets of San Francisco on horseback with a machine gun in each hand,
05:37 firing indiscriminately, jumping through flames.
05:41 The scene is capped by a long tracking shot in which Coba hijacks a tank,
05:45 crashing it into the city gates in a haunting sequence.
05:50 Number 15. What a Wonderful Day. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
05:56 "Stay back! Stay back! Stay back!"
06:04 Set hundreds of years after the previous entry, Kingdom introduces a new and more powerful force,
06:10 the God of War.
06:12 "Stay back! Stay back!"
06:15 Set hundreds of years after the previous entry, Kingdom introduces a new protagonist, Noah,
06:21 an ape from a simple society that is in touch with nature and raises eagles.
06:25 However, it does not take long for Noah to become embroiled in the machinations of the devious and power-hungry Proximus Caesar.
06:32 Noah's introduction to Proximus comes when he's led into his fortress, holding back the crashing waves of the sea.
06:38 Proximus emerges, spouting the words of Caesar.
06:41 But twisting them for his own benefit.
06:43 "Are we thankful for the words of Caesar?"
06:47 "We are thankful."
06:49 "Do we bend our heads?"
06:52 "We bend."
06:54 Proximus, played perfectly by Kevin Durand, manages to be both intimidating and charismatic as he shouts to his indentured servants.
07:01 It's so compelling, it's difficult not to say it along with him.
07:05 "What a wonderful day!"
07:07 "What a wonderful day!"
07:09 Number 14 - The Great Escape - War for the Planet of the Apes
07:14 "Bad ape."
07:17 Matt Reeves and Mark Bomback, who wrote War, took inspiration from a number of classic films when working on this conclusion to the rebooted trilogy.
07:25 One source they mentioned was the 1963 Steve McQueen classic The Great Escape, and it's not difficult to see which scenes that movie shaped.
07:33 As Caesar and the other apes have been imprisoned, a plan to bust them out is hatched by his allies, including fan favorite Maurice and newcomer Bad Ape, played by Karen Connifill and Steve Zahn respectively.
07:45 In addition to being a great sequence calling back to classic filmmaking, Bad Ape, Maurice, and the human child Nova help to provide the rather serious entry with some much needed compassion and comic relief.
07:56 "Oh no, oh no, no no, no no no."
08:04 "Okay."
08:10 Number 13 - The World Blows Up - Beneath the Planet of the Apes
08:15 "In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe lies a medium-sized star."
08:21 After being absent for most of the sequel, Taylor and the film's protagonist, another time-displaced astronaut named Brent, discover the terrible secret hiding beneath the planet of the apes.
08:31 The giant nuclear bomb, the Alpha Omega venerated by mutant humans, was one with the power to destroy the entire world.
08:39 The apes attack the underground, and in the battle, the bomb is almost set off.
08:44 However, tragedy is seemingly averted. That is, until a final gunfight erupts and Brent and Taylor are both gunned down.
08:52 Dying, Taylor falls, his hand slipping on the bomb's final trigger.
08:57 As the screen fades to white, an omniscient voice tells us that the Earth is dead, in an ending that was bold, if a bit of a downer.
09:05 "And one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead."
09:11 Number 12. The Standoff. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
09:15 "APES DO NOT WANT WAR, BUT WILL FIGHT IF WE MUST."
09:30 After the apocalypse, humanity and apes had lived in separate societies for a decade, seemingly unaware of each other's continued existence until a chance encounter.
09:40 Seeking to preserve the peace through a showing of force, Caesar, in full war paint, marches his ape army to the gates of the human settlement.
09:48 Scores of them making their way through the overgrown ruins of the city was emphasized by the powerful score of composer Michael Giacchino,
09:55 which referenced the original film score while still feeling unique and modern.
10:04 As Caesar stares down the humans, he shouts, many hearing an ape speak for the first time,
10:10 that he doesn't want war, but will fight to protect his own in a moment that reverberated through the franchise thereafter.
10:18 "APE HOME! HUMAN HOME! DO NOT COME BACK!"
10:34 Number 11. The Human Hunt. Planet of the Apes.
10:46 Not long after encountering a group of feral humans, the three astronaut travelers see something that confounds them even more, a gorilla on horseback.
10:54 The trio has little time to react, as the sound of horn signals the beginning of the hunt.
10:59 The humans, including the three space travelers, are soon made prey for the apes.
11:14 The thrilling and tense scene sees the gorillas chase them down with nets and rifles, with them being indiscriminately captured or killed.
11:21 The humans cut through stalks of corn in a shot that has often been imitated.
11:43 In Rise, we see Caesar the chimpanzee grow from a newborn to a revolutionary.
11:48 Over the course of the film, he struggles with a sense of identity.
11:51 An ape raised by a human will, Caesar is unsure where he belongs.
11:56 The home he had known and the iconic window he looked out were taken from him, and he was placed in a cage.
12:02 However, Caesar came to realize he had been confined all along, and at the end of the film,
12:07 went to the place he knew he could roam free and unleashed, leading his kind there to freedom.
12:13 "Caesar is home."
12:15 Will chases after him out of love, asking him to come home with him, but Caesar refuses.
12:25 He already is home.
12:27 [Music]
12:44 Number 9. The Ape Uprising - Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
12:49 "Now!"
12:51 "Home!"
12:53 "Home!"
12:58 True to form, the penultimate chapter in the original continuity features a heavy dose of social commentary relevant to the time,
13:05 most evidently in the ape revolution at the end.
13:08 The film sees apes turned into slave labor for the humans.
13:11 That is, until a leader, this continuity's Caesar, rises, empowering the slaves.
13:16 "Caesar!"
13:18 "Your servant."
13:21 The final act sees them arm themselves and overthrow their oppressors,
13:26 with imagery reminiscent of prison riots like the one that had taken place in Attica.
13:31 Conquest also draws parallels between the enslavement of apes and the real history of slavery in the US.
13:37 "Violence prolongs hate, hate prolongs violence. By what right are you spilling blood?"
13:43 "By the slaves' right to punish his persecutors."
13:47 Number 8. Coba Has a Drink - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
13:51 [Coughing]
13:53 "Oh, you want a drink, fucker? I'll give some."
13:58 While Caesar was raised seeing the best aspects of humanity,
14:01 Coba was raised seeing the worst, his body bearing the scars of human work.
14:06 Thus, as humans and apes come into contact, Coba also seeks to push them into conflict,
14:11 turning him from Caesar's loyal second-in-command into a bloodthirsty usurper.
14:16 "Human, what?"
14:24 Coba plays the fool, using drunk men's perception of his intellect against them,
14:29 asking for a drink, which they oblige with laughter.
14:33 Coba's clever ruse turns to cruelty as he spits the alcohol in their faces,
14:37 taking a weapon and ruthlessly gunning them down.
14:40 Later on in the film, Coba will use that same stolen gun to enact his ultimate betrayal,
14:45 shooting Caesar, igniting a brutal coup.
14:49 Number 7. Preying to the Bomb - Beneath the Planet of the Apes
15:02 "Glory be to the bomb and to the holy fallout as it was in the beginning,
15:06 is now and ever shall be world without end."
15:09 The sequel to the original Apes really got weird with things,
15:12 including introducing a group of intelligent mutated humans who lived underground.
15:16 Descended from the survivors of the nuclear holocaust inflicted upon the world by humanity,
15:21 the group of mutated psychic humans live in the ruins of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
15:25 "All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small."
15:35 Like everything else about their society, the location has been twisted by the fallout,
15:40 with the group venerating the nuclear warhead possessing the power to end the world.
15:44 Taking familiar hymns and twisting them, they perform religious rites to the divine bomb,
15:49 culminating in revealing their true selves.
15:52 "Amen."
15:59 Number 6. The Battle of the Golden Gate - Rise of the Planet of the Apes
16:18 Everything comes to a head when Caesar and his recently enlightened apes attempt to escape the Redwoods,
16:24 only needing to cross the Golden Gate Bridge to find freedom and peace.
16:28 However, this proves to be easier said than done, as San Francisco police create a barricade,
16:33 attempting to stop them in their tracks.
16:35 "All civilians clear." "Please confirm." "Get these people off the bridge!"
16:43 The final set piece does not disappoint, as the apes use their ability to climb
16:48 and their newfound proclivity for strategy to battle their way through the mist across the bridge.
16:53 Caesar's most powerful ally, the gorilla Buck, sacrifices himself for their dream to be realized,
16:58 jumping at the helicopter firing at the apes and taking it down.
17:02 "No!"
17:05 Number 5. Take Your Stinking Paws Off Me - Planet of the Apes
17:22 "Is our throat feeling better?" "It still hurts, doesn't it?"
17:27 "See? He keeps pretending he can talk!"
17:30 Trapped in a world where humans do not speak, Taylor is imprisoned after temporarily losing his voice
17:36 and his captors debate his intelligence and ultimate fate.
17:39 Unable to speak himself, Taylor escapes his cage, making his way through the ape city
17:44 before the gorillas close in on him, snaring him in a net.
17:48 Seizing him, Taylor finally finds his voice, exclaiming a line that only Charlton Heston could pull off.
17:54 "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!"
18:00 The apes, hearing a human speak for the first time, stand shocked, and the trajectory of the film is altered.
18:09 The line and its delivery have become iconic, with the American Film Institute
18:14 even naming it as one of the top 100 movie quotes of all time.
18:18 "My name is Taylor." "Taylor! Silence the animal!"
18:22 "Wait, let me-"
18:24 "Apes are strong."
18:31 "With or without me."
18:39 It makes sense that Caesar, the central figure for the entire trilogy,
18:43 was elevated to almost mythic proportions, with Matt Reeves making allusions to him becoming a figure like Moses for his apes.
18:50 It makes sense then that after saving them from slavery and oppression,
18:53 he leads them across the desert to the promised land.
18:56 Caesar looks on as his followers joyously celebrate their new oasis home,
19:00 with only his closest confidant right from the start, Maurice, witnessing Caesar's last moments.
19:06 "My son will know who was father."
19:20 They speak kind words to one another about the future, one Caesar earned for them with his sacrifice.
19:26 With his last breath, Caesar smiles with a tear running down his cheek.
19:30 And if we're being honest, tears were running down ours as well.
19:34 "And what Caesar did."
19:44 Number 3. Caesar vs. Coba, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
19:48 "Caesar, weak. Coba, weaker."
19:59 In a spectacular final battle, Coba, the usurper who fights for himself,
20:03 faces off against Caesar, the rightful and selfless leader, in a brutal battle.
20:08 Taking place atop an unfinished tower, the bestial brawl sees them swinging and punching as a new day dawns around them.
20:15 As an explosion rocks the foundations, Caesar helps his fellow apes while Coba begins firing on them.
20:27 With Coba distracted by rage, Caesar leaps at his rival, striking the final blow.
20:33 Coba tries one final time to appeal to Caesar's better nature,
20:37 but Caesar rejects his own trust in the traitor and drops him to his death.
20:41 Although Caesar has won, there is no going back.
20:44 With the sunrise, a new world has truly dawned.
20:57 Number 2. No, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
21:01 "Get! Go on, get back in your cage."
21:09 Giving voice to a revolution is a powerful thing indeed, and Rise managed to make that concept quite literal.
21:16 Suffering at the hands of his cruel caretaker, Dodge Landon,
21:19 Caesar decides to no longer take the abuses, stealing the drug that will turn himself and his apes smarter.
21:25 When Caesar stands up to Dodge, he echoes the famous line spoken by Taylor in the original,
21:30 "Take your stinking paw off me, you damn dirty ape!"
21:33 But then, as the music builds to a crescendo and disappears, an ape speaks for the first time,
21:39 a guttural, bestial cry but one brimming with newfound humanity.
21:43 "No!"
21:54 The sound design, performance, and motion capture all work in tandem to make this a powerful moment of defiance
22:00 that will set Caesar on the path he will follow for three films.
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22:20 Number 1. The Statue of Liberty - Planet of the Apes.
22:24 "What will he find out there, Doctor?"
22:27 "His destiny."
22:29 This moment has become so ingrained in the DNA of pop culture that it is almost impossible to watch the film without knowing the spoiler at the end.
22:37 However, for audiences watching it for the first time and Taylor, the revelation was remarkably shocking.
22:43 At the film's climax, Taylor rides down a desolate beach and sees something obscured to the audience,
22:49 which causes him to look puzzled. He shouts, realizing that the planet of the apes has in fact been Earth all along.
22:56 "He finally really did it."
22:59 "You maniacs!"
23:02 And he curses humanity for decimating the world.
23:05 Slowly, to drive the point home, the shot zooms out, revealing the Statue of Liberty long ruined,
23:11 sinking into the sand as the waves crash over a defeated Taylor.
23:15 "Damn you! God damn you all to hell!"
23:23 Did we mention your favorite moment of the apes? Let us know in the comments beneath.
23:27 "Doctor Zaius, Doctor Zaius. Doctor Zaius, Doctor Zaius. Doctor Zaius, Doctor Zaius. Oh, Doctor Zaius."
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23:44 [Music]
23:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]