Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 motion picture. It was the first sequel to the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes. It stars Charlton Heston in a very small supporting role, and James Franciscus.

Plot summary

The film picks up exactly where the previous one left off, with the discussion between Dr. Zaius and Taylor about mankind. The opening credits are shown with Taylor and Nova riding through the desert of the "Forbidden Zone". Encountering a series of strange sights suddenly, they pause. A sheet of ice appears out of nowhere, and trying to smash into it, Taylor disappears.

Related Topics:
Dr. Zaius - Taylor - Nova

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The scene switches to the aftermath of another spaceship, of the same exterior design, that was sent to rescue Taylor and his crew. Just before the crash, this ship's chronometer read the year 3955. (This contradicts the original Planet of the Apes, which gives the year 3978, but agrees with Escape from the Planet of the Apes.) There are initially two surviving astronauts, but the ship's commander was blinded and fatally injured in the crash. He soon dies and is buried.

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Nova soon comes by the crash site riding a horse. The lone survivor, named Brent (Franciscus), finds Taylor's dogtags around Nova's neck, but is frustrated that she cannot speak. While Brent is questioning Nova about Taylor's whereabouts, we find out what she knows through flashbacks. Brent wants Nova to take them to Taylor, but Nova remembers Taylor's last instructions to her, and she directs the horse back to Ape City to find Zira.

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Brent hides close enough to see a meeting of the apes' citizen council. The gorillas are planning an invasion of the "Forbidden Zone" to kill whatever lives there, and claim their resources for themselves. Brent wants to leave immediately, but Nova takes him to the home of Cornelius (played here by David Watson) and Zira (Kim Hunter). There, Brent finds out more about this planet, and above all, if he is ever captured by apes, to never speak.

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He and Nova are soon captured. Zira attempts to protect them by getting them assigned to her care, but they have already been designated for target practice. Nevertheless, Zira does manage to arrange for their escape.

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Fleeing from their gorilla pursuers, Brent and Nova enter a cave and find the remnant of a subway station. The "Forbidden Zone" contains the ruins of what was once New York City. Since the gorillas are not far from the tunnel entrance, Brent decides to go down the subway tunnel. They are lead, by a mechanical humming sound to further underground ruins. There, Nova and Brent are separated. Brent taken to be questioned by a group of white robed mutants (led by one named Mendez), decendents of the survivors of a nuclear war from the later 20th century. The mutants use mind control and telepathy to manipulate Brent into answering their questions.

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During their religious service, the mutants worship a nuclear missile, which they claim is their protector. Brent and Nova sit silently during the worship service. Afterward, Brent is taken to the prison cells, and is put in the same cell as Taylor. Taylor asks about the missile that Brent mentioned in the temple. The only markings were "ΑΩ" (Alpha and Omega), Brent tells him, and Taylor recognizes it as the Doomsday Bomb. Using their mind control powers, both Taylor and Brent are forced by the mutants into a brutal confronation, but the appearance of Nova breaks up the fight, enabling both men to turn against their captors.

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Taylor, Brent, and Nova attempt to escape when Nova is shot dead by one of the apes, who have invaded the underground city. The apes have killed all of the mutants that they have found. The two astronauts end up confronting the army of apes in the temple of the bomb.

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During the final gunfight, the apes shoot Taylor and later kill Brent. After Dr. Zaius refuses to help him disarm the missile, Taylor dies and his outstretched hand (extented in a last futile plea for help) falls on the contol switch that triggers the bomb, destroying the Earth itself. The film ends with a narration:

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:"In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe, lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead."

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The credits roll in silence against a black screen.

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Despite the destruction of the Earth, the Planet of the Apes series spawned three more movies. The next film, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, explains that Cornelius, Zira, and a third ape (Dr. Milo) escaped the Earth before its destruction by repairing Taylor's ship from the first film and piloting it through a rift in time that takes them back to 20th century Earth.

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