Gorilla Run: "Planet of the Apes" (1968)

PLANET OF THE APES can be called many things. It is groundbreaking for John Chambers’ brilliant makeup work. It is epic because of the imagination involved in not only creating a new world, but also realizing that world with original, eye-popping sets. The best description of this 1968 sci-fi classic, though, is intelligent.

The story is well-known; an astronaut crew crash lands on a strange planet where Apes are intelligent and Man is seen as the inferior animal. Michael Wilson and Rod Sterling’s… Show more script, based off of Pierre Boulle’s novel, is a clever mix of satire, sci-fi and adventure. Franklin J. Schaffner uses this amazing blueprint and makes a though-provoking film that will still makes you laugh, feel uneasy while being 100% entertained the whole time.

Headed by a brilliantly archetypal performance by Charleston Heston, PLANET OF THE APES may have been the beginning to a never-ending stream of Hollywood movies, most of which is terrible. But, looking at the film by itself, a merging of truly sci-fi themes with a B-movie narrative, it's easy to understand how it remains one of the most famous American films from the ‘60s because of its quality. Over the years, with countless sequels, rip-offs, and remakes, that seems to have been forgotten. (R.J. LaForce)

A portion of ticket sales from this event goes to support the 3rd Annual Austin Gorilla Run. This year should be the biggest yet, with over 1000+ Gorillas being unleashed in downtown Austin on Jan. 19, 2013.

This 5K run benefits the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund. A charity which benefit Ugandans, Rwandans, and citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo in veterinary educational training, with the end goal of protecting the highly endangered Mountain Gorillas in Africa. In 1987 there were only 248 mountain gorillas alive in the world, but through the veterinary and conservation efforts of the MGCF, the population has nearly tripled to over 800 today.

Registration for the run and Gorilla suits will be available at the screening and wearing your Gorilla suit is highly recommended!

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