“Somewhere in the universe there must be something better than man.”
Imagine a world where apes run the show and humans are uncivilized creatures stuffed in museums. That’s what greets a group of astronauts led by Taylor (Charlton Heston), who travel 2,006 years ahead, to the year 3978 A.D. They find themselves on a new planet where everything is flipped on its furry head. The sci-fi flick Planet of the Apes, heralded for its cutting-edge makeup and prosthetics, went on to spawn a movie franchise and even a short-lived television series. The film was inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2001 for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” It will now be preserved until 3978 — unless the apes have something to say about it.