Statue of Liberty

From The Sacred Scrolls

The Statue of Liberty was once one of America's most treasured symbols of freedom. It was located on Liberty Island at the mouth of the Hudson River. The statue was one of the few surviving icons of pre-Apocalyptic human society. Over the course of centuries however, dramatic geological shifts left the statue halfway buried in the sand. In the year 3978, human refugee George Taylor fled from Ape City with his newly acquirred mate, Nova. During the course of several days, Taylor had believed that he had been living on a strange, alien world. Following the shoreline, he came upon the Statue's ruins, and realized that he was still on Earth. Worse, he deduced that the humans of his own era must have waged a global war, which paved the way for a dystopic future wherein humans became subservient to evolved apes.

Contents 1 Notes 2 Trivia 3 Speculation 4 External Links 5 References

[edit] Notes

It was during the early script revisions that the idea for the famous ending to Planet of the Apes was devised. Producer Arthur P. Jacobs: "We were trying to make the audience believe it was another planet, which differs from Boulle‘s novel in which it WAS another planet. I thought that was rather predictable when we were doing the first screenplay. It's funny, I was having lunch with Blake Edwards, who at one point was going to direct it, at the Yugo Kosherarna Delicatessen in Burbank, across the street from Warner Brothers. I said to him at the time. 'It doesn't work, it's too predictable.' Then I said, 'What if he was on the earth the whole time and doesn't know it, and the audience doesn‘t know it.' Blake said, 'That's terrific. Let's get a hold of Rod.' As we walked out, after paying for the two ham sandwiches, we looked up, and there's this big Statue of Liberty on the wall of the deltcatessen. We both looked at each other and said, 'Rosebud' (the key to the plot of 'Citizen Kane'). If we never had lunch in that delicatessen, I doubt that we would have had the Statue of Liberty as the end of the picture. I sent the finished script to Boulle, and he wrote back, saying he thought it was more inventive than his own ending, and wished that he had thought of it when he wrote the book." ^[1]

Blake Edwards himself claimed that he came up with the Statue of Liberty ending, together with former Disney artist Don Peters, stating "As I recall it was pretty much Don". Don Peters, for his part, claimed that it was his idea alone, because he first introduced the ruined Statue of Liberty scenes to the Apes project when he did the preliminary sketches for Arthur P. Jacobs when the film was in development at Warner Bros. ^[2]

However, the twist ending has also been attributed to Rod Serling, who's experience writing for Twilight Zone gives his claim more creedence. Mort Abrahams, who as associate producer was very involved in script revisions, said succinctly "That was Rod's ending". ^[3] When asked about the ending himself, Serling said (in 1972): "The book's ending is what I wanted to use in the film, as much as I loved the idea of the Statue of Liberty. I always believed that was my idea." And when asked: "I'm beginning to think, from all the interviews I've done, that the end of the picture was a combination of about four or five people thinking exactly the same thing at about the same time?", he replied: "That's very possible. Visually, it's an exciting idea because a fragment can be taken from it, and still withhold what it is. That's the beauty of the Statue of Liberty."^[4] Speaking to Marvel Comics two years later, Serling shared the credit, saying it was "In collaboration with Jacobs. Yes, it was a wild cinematic scene."^[5] In contrast to Jacobs' assertion, Boulle maintained: "I disliked somewhat, the ending that was used - the Statue of Liberty - which the critics seemed to like, but personally, I prefer my own. Since they decided to make the fllm, they picked this ending. They had that final scene in mind from the first day." ^[6]

[edit] Trivia

• In fact, as has been noted more recently, the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty to American culture made it a such a powerful icon that it had already appeared under attack in science fiction imagery many times, including two Alex Schomburg magazine covers from 1953 and 1964.^[7] As far back as 1887, and many times since, the image of a war-damaged Statue of Liberty was used to stir the patriotic instincts of the American public.^[8] That's not to suggest that none of the above named people came up with the concept in relation to Planet of the Apes, but rather to note that it was already acknowledged as the most powerful symbol of American liberty and freedom.

• The Statue of Liberty was featured on the cover art for the Planet of the Apes DVD that was included in the "Planet of the Apes: The Evolution collection".

• Footage of the Statue of Liberty scene from Planet of the Apes was re-used in the opening sequence for Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

• Comic book legend Jack Kirby paid homage to the climactic scene from Planet of the Apes in the first issue of the DC Comics comic book series, Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth.

• In the Mel Brooks' comedy Spaceballs, after Spaceball One/Mega-Maid exploded its head and vaccum handle landed on a beach and appeared similar to this image of the Statue of Liberty. After the crash, two chimpanzees riding horse back saw what was "coming out of her nose" and dreaded the arrival of the Spaceballs.

[edit] Speculation

• It has been inferred that Dr. Zaius knew of the existence of the Statue of Liberty. It is clear that he was aware of mankind's past, and to some extent, possessed knowledge of humanity's downfall. When Taylor indicated his plan to find his destiny, Zaius cryptically responded with, "Do not look for it, Taylor. You may not like what you find." In all likelihood, Zaius may have been referencing the Forbidden Zone, but it is just as likely that he was speaking of the Statue itself. A large copper statue bearing a human face, would have been an artifact of disturbing and heretical significance to one such as Dr. Zaius. In Malibu Graphics' Planet of the Apes: Sins Of The Father, the Statue of Liberty was revealed to a young Zaius by his father Dr Augustus, Minister of Science.

[edit] External Links

• FAQ page at 'The Last Flight of the Icarus'
• 'The ruined Statue of Liberty' at Gerry Canavan blogspot

[edit] References

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