Script To Screen: “Planet of the Apes” (1968) (2024)

The famous ending of the original version of the movie Planet of the Apes (screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, based on a novel by Pierre Boulle).

Setup: Taylor has escaped on horseback with Nova.

409EXT. PALISADE AND BEACH - LONG HIGH ANGLE SHOT - DAYTaylor and Nova are already far downstream. There is a
 striking change in the terrain. The area is still
 desolate,but some vegetation can be seen on the palisade
 above the narrow beach, and the river has widened to form a
 vast tidal basin where it meets the sea.A NOTE ON PRODUCTION: If feasible at new location site, this
 scene should be shot at high tide, so that the water laps at
 the base of the cliffs, making a passage difficult and
 risky.410CLOSER ANGLE - PANNING WITH TAYLOR AND NOVA ON HORSEBACKHe is alert, sniffing the salt air, sizing up the situation.
 Hearing the CRIES of birds, he reins in and looks' up.411SKY SHOT - CIRCLING BIRDSSea gulls are soaring overhead.412TWO SHOT - TAYLOR AND NOVA ON HORSEBACKHis expression is expectant, searching. Nova emits a whimper
 of anticipation, pointing off.413LONG SHOT - WHAT THEY SEE:A verdant forest atop a distant palisade. Their view of the
 beach below the forest, is cut off by a rocky promontory in
 the middle distance.414CLOSE SHOT - NOVA AND TAYLORHe smiles at her hopefully.TAYLOR
Yes, Nova -- I see it.
(looks again at
forest)
In my old profession green meant
safe. Green meant go.The horse moves off at a trot, CAMERA PANNING. But they have
 gone only a short distance when they hear the distant
 THUNDER of an EXPLOSION. Taylor reins in and looks back.415VERY LONG SHOT - A CLOUD OF SMOKEA column of smoke and dust rises from the exploded cave far
 upstream.416BACK TO TAYLOR AND NOVAFrowning with concern, Taylor gazes for a moment at the
 smoke, then decides this is no time to linger. He digs his
 heels into the horse's flanks and they move off at a canter,
 riding toward the promontory that splits the beach. They are
 nearing the promontory that blocks their view of the beach
 beyond.419CLOSER ANGLE - TRACKING WITH TAYLOR AND NOVA.As they round the promontory, the tip of a strange rock
 formation comes into view. it appears to be jutting from the
 sea.420REACTION SHOT - TAYLORHe reins in momentarily, baffled by what he sees. Then he
 rides on.421THE STRANGE FORMATION - AS SEEN BY TAYLORAn immense column juts from the beach at a thirty-degree
 angle. We can now see that it is not rock, but metal. Green
 metallic tints show through its gray salt-stained surface.
 As we draw closer, the object takes on the appearance of a
 massive arm, its top shaped like a hand holding a torch.422REVERSE ANGLE - FAVORING TAYLORFrowning with consternation. His horse proceeds at a slow
 walk.423TRACKING WITH TAYLOR - WHAT HE SEES:Near the base of the column, where the shore and water meet,
 are a row of metal spikes. From this angle they look like
 tank traps.A-423CLOSER - TAYLORDumbfounded, he slides from his saddle, approaches the 
 spikes. Nova dismounts and follows him.TAYLOR
(a cry of agony)
My God!He falls to his knees, buries his head in his hands. CAMERA
 SLOWLY DRAWS BACK AND UP to a HIGH ANGLE SHOT disclosing
 what Taylor has found. Half-buried in the sand and washed by
 the waves is the Statue of Liberty.

Here is the movie version of the scene:

The script is similar, but different compared to the movie. The growing realization that what Taylor is seeing is the Statue of Liberty? That’s right there. But the dialogue is substantially changed. In the movie, Taylor says:

“My God. I’m back. I’m home. All the time… we finally, really did it. YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! DAMN YOU! GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!”

I don’t know the oral history, but it feels like a combination of a studio note and an actor’s notes. The studio for the first part — to make sure the audience got that, yes, this is Earth. The second part so Charlton Heston could go full-on dramatic with his lines.

Note, too, that the reveal is framed through Nova’s POV. After Taylor’s sides, the movie cuts to Nova who peers up and that’s when the Big Twist is revealed.

Now if you really want to blow your mind, here is the ending from an earlier draft dated December 23, 1964.

The eventual ending is much better. Less is more.

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a Go Into The Story series where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

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