This story presents a series of powerful events that we are experiencing through that spacecraft, which has been hit by more landslides. It is the American spacecraft that was destroyed in a lake on an unknown planet after a long flight close to light. Although things are going at a bad turn, astronauts have discovered that smart monkeys speak and can control them, the dominant species living here. These species seem to be the most oppressed and enslaved humans on this planet.
Back in 1968, this sci-fi, directed by Schaffner and penned by Wilson and Serling, was original, quite intelligent , and well executed, garnering a special Oscar for makeup.
A dreadful film, a compendium of clumsy dialogue, one-dimensional characters, risible plot turns and long silences broken by incomprehensible meaningful looks.
It's a film to see, all right, and it does confirm Schaffner's talent. It is only that one can now see more clearly the limits of that talent, limits which are much narrower than I had hoped.