Planet of the Apes (2001) (M) PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM

Planet of the Apes (M, 2001) 25th Anniversary Presented in 35mm Film by The Revival House Perth

Astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) is aboard a research space station when he pursues a small pod through a mysterious electromagnetic storm, crash-landing on an unfamiliar planet in the distant future. He quickly discovers a world turned upside down: intelligent apes rule as the dominant species, while humans are hunted, enslaved, and treated as mindless animals. Captured alongside a group of human prisoners, Leo befriends Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), a sympathetic chimpanzee activist who believes humans deserve compassion and rights, while facing the brutal General Thade (Tim Roth), a militant gorilla determined to eliminate the human threat entirely. As Leo leads an escape attempt and uncovers the truth behind this civilization's origins, he's forced to confront disturbing questions about power, prejudice, and what truly separates humanity from the creatures it once dominated.

Director Tim Burton reimagines the 1968 science fiction classic with his distinctive visual sensibility, trading the original's stark philosophical austerity for a darker, more gothic aesthetic and elaborate creature design. Rick Baker's Academy Award-nominated makeup effects bring the ape characters to vivid, expressive life, allowing performers like Tim Roth and Helena Bonham Carter to convey complex emotion beneath extensive prosthetics. Roth's General Thade is a genuinely menacing antagonist, his simian ferocity heightened by real physical intensity, while Bonham Carter brings unexpected warmth and nuance to Ari's moral conviction. Burton's production design constructs a richly detailed ape civilization, complete with its own architecture, hierarchy, and cultural texture, while Danny Elfman's score adds tension and scale to the film's action sequences. Though it diverges significantly from the original's ending and thematic focus, the film stands as a visually ambitious, effects-driven spectacle in its own right.

Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.

When: Thursday, August 20th at 7:20PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: M (Medium level violence)