This iconic sci-fi masterpiece appears on two of AFI’s lists of the greatest American films – cinema’s most heart-pounding thrills and the art form’s most iconic quotes. Screen legend Charlton Heston, who stars as a misanthropic astronaut stranded alone on the strange and uncanny PLANET OF THE APES (1968), was the third Chair of the American Film Institute’s Board of Trustees – and the film’s director, Franklin J. Schaffner, was also a longtime friend and supporter of AFI. In 1991, the AFI Conservatory established the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal to recognize the artistic achievements of an AFI Conservatory Alum whose work embodies the qualities of its namesake: “talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality filmmaking.”
Learn more about PLANET OF THE APES (1968) in the AFI Catalog.
