Commentary Track for the 2003 version of Ben Hur

Serge Tim Heidi

Apes, mutants, the doomsday bomb, the return of Charlton Heston as Taylor, and the best movie ending ever – or is it?

Serge Tim Duncan Jim

We rock the Charlton Heston version of Richard Matheson’s classic sci-fi novel, I Am Legend. No CG here.

Join Scott and Chris as they shovel down MORE food and watch ANOTHER movie – this time the 1968 classic PLANET OF THE APES! This is an unabashed love fest as Scott and Chris sit down to one of the most beloved of all monkey movies. Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell, Rod Serling – how can you go wrong?YOU CAN’T! This is the final movie commentary of Podcast Vacation Month and the Freaks have chosen one of their favorites!

Serge John Tim Curtis

Wherein we go ape for Charlton Heston and the gang.

If the movies have taught us nothing else—and plainly, they haven’t―then they’ve at least shown us that astronauts and evil supercomputers are similarly cursed with a stunning lack of imagination. Just as Skynet can’t seem to come up with a better plan than to repeatedly send a Terminator back in time to eliminate John Connor before he gets fat, starts wearing a checkered shirt and marries Roseanne, so, with all the planets in an infinite Universe to choose from, NASA’s best and brightest only seem capable of crash-landing on the Planet of the Apes (which turns out to be Earth all along, by the way). Chuck Heston began this trend in 1968, demonstrating his right to bear arms as effectively as his right to bare chest.

So, if you’ve ever felt the need to rail against unnamed maniacs who blow “it” up, this is your big chance to do it alongside the guy who played Jason Colby. Also Moses.

MMM grows up and branches out into the much sizzled Vanity Projects. Each month one of the team brings you a pearl from their past, a favourite film from their trove. Tony starts the eyes rolling with the original Planet of the Apes.

As a life long fan of simian sci-fi Tony is in a unique position to comment not only on this film but the entire Ape phenomena that preceded the Star Wars craze of the 70s. With a little help from the rest of the team , Tony takes you through the transition from Pierre Boulle’s French monkey novel to the silver screen. Find out how the oringial concept was altered, especially when Twlight Zone creator Rod Serling became involved, see why Fox thought no one would go to see it, and who were original choices to play the Apes? See how the turbulent events of the late 60s made it into the film and what different endings were tossed around before the one we have damned us all to hell. Plus of course the usual MMM blather about Heston’s loin cloth and possible roles for Stan Lee. Join Tony and the rest for MMM’s visit to a madhouse (a madhouse!)

And be back next time for the next Vanity Project… what will it be?