The film, based on a French novel, starred Charlton Heston as
an astronaut trapped in a post-apocalyptic
future where monkeys have become the masters and men the slaves.
In the novel, the apes were technologically superior
to modern man. But the film's budget could not cope with the visual
scope of such a futuristic society, so a more primitive depiction
of ape society was chosen.
When the film was remade 30 years later by Tim Burton
the main plot was retained, minus many of the film's key political
and sociological messages.
