Every Planet Of The Apes Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Sure, the twist may have been talked about to death at this point, but the original Planet of the Apes remains an absolute masterclass of sci-fi moviemaking, with a story so bonkers and innovative that it was either doomed to fail or bound for success.

Thankfully, with its well-placed social themes, Charlton Heston's deranged lead performance and the surprisingly heartfelt story at its centre, Planet of the Apes was an outright success from start to finish.

Fresh to watch even today, it's aged better than any instalment in the original series, and shows a director - in this case, Franklin J. Schaffner - at the height of their powers.

You also need to look at the film in the context of the time it was made. Like the rebooted trilogy, which we'll get to, Planet of the Apes broke new ground when it came to special effects, and helped kickstart the blockbuster era that would be perfected years later by Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977).

Between its well-handled social themes, allusions to Cold War what-ifs and its spotless musical score, the original would rank #1 on this list if there hadn't been such a pitch-perfect revival decades down the line...