Films like Escape from the Planet of the Apes.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) reads as Neutral, breathless, extreme action / sci-fi, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, epic, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) poster
1. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes1972

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) poster
2. Battle for the Planet of the Apes1973

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Toward the Terra (1980) poster
3. Toward the Terra1980

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

The Lord of the Rings (1978) poster
4. The Lord of the Rings1978

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Phoenix 2772 (1980) poster
5. Phoenix 27721980

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Conan the Destroyer (1984) poster
6. Conan the Destroyer1984

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983) poster
7. Legend of the Eight Samurai1983

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a world-sized stakes.

Adieu Galaxy Express 999 (1981) poster
8. Adieu Galaxy Express 9991981

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Destroy All Monsters (1968) poster
9. Destroy All Monsters1968

Keeps the world-sized stakes and the documentary-plain realism; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

Masters of the Universe (1987) poster
10. Masters of the Universe1987

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) poster
11. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace1987

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a white-knuckle intensity.

Waterworld (1995) poster
12. Waterworld1995

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the world-sized stakes; trades toward a relentless forward drive.

These are Escape from the Planet of the Apes’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

Find my film for tonight — 60 sec →