Tag: Dr. Zira

Classic Films · Sci Fi

Beneath the Planet of the Apes

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Beneath the Planet of the Apes, 1970

It’s that time of year again: my annual Planet of the Apes marathon! I’ll be consuming all ten movies in three days, plus countless banana cocktails. I’ve covered a couple of them on Cinema Sips before, but now seems like a particularly good time to travel deep down into the weird apocalyptic world of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Disc/Download).

Taking place immediately after Charlton Heston slams his fist onto a beach and screams, “DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!!”, this movie feels like an answer to his call. Humans are indeed, damned to hell. Actually, they’re down in a former New York City subway station, communicating through mental telepathy, wearing skin masks to hide their radiation burns, and worshiping at the altar of a nuclear bomb. But before the movie moves underground, another astronaut touches down on Future Earth to look for the missing Colonel Taylor. Newcomer Brent (James Franciscus) makes his way to Ape City, clashes with the gorillas, and befriends the always-delightful Dr. Zira and Cornelius. Once he manages to find the fallen city of New York, he finds Taylor, and together, they must stop the mutant humans from launching their nuke and destroying the world. It’s dark, it’s strange, and it’s absolutely a movie for these times.

Even though Dr. Zira makes her hatred of bananas known in Escape From the Planet of the Apes, I’m compelled to use it in this week’s cocktail because Beneath the Planet of the Apes is probably the most bananas movie in the franchise. While watching this film, I recommend drinking a Brûléed Banana Daiquiri.

Brûléed Banana Daiquiri

2 oz aged rum

½ oz banana liqueur

1 oz lime juice

¼ oz simple syrup

Banana slice

Pinch of brown sugar

Pineapple leaf

Combine rum, banana liqueur, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. For the garnish, take a slice of banana and sprinkle a pinch of brown sugar on top. Heat sugar with a torch or flame until bubbly and caramelized. Spear it onto a cocktail pick and rest it on the pineapple leaf.

You’ll notice the bubbling brown sugar on this banana looks very similar to the skin of the mutant humans after centuries of radiation poisoning. After every Ape movie, I always ask myself: is this really our future? Sadly, with the recent reemergence of nuclear energy and threats of war, Beneath the Planet of the Apes is starting to look less and less like science fiction.

Sci Fi

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Escape from the Planet of the Apes, 1971

To quote Romy and Michele, “I just get really happy when they finally let her shop.”

The “her” in this case is Dr. Zira, one of the greatest heroines in cinema history, and star of my favorite chapter within the Planet of the Apes franchise, Escape from the Planet of the Apes (Disc/Download). I’ve written about my love of these films before, but this week I’d like to go into more detail about why I’m so darn crazy about this particular one. Let’s unpack.

In my mind, I’ve given all the Apes movies simple descriptors. #1 is “the Charlton Heston”, #2 is “the weird one”, #4 is “the prison one”, and #5 is “the one with all the battles”. But #3 is the best of all because it’s “the Rege-Bev-Wilsh one”. That’s right, just like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, the Apes travel to Los Angeles, and somehow land themselves a cushy suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, a limo, and a fabulous shopping spree. Was Garry Marshall a secret Dr. Zira fan?? We’ll never know. But I like to think Zira and Vivian are cosmically linked in a more general sense. Both are strong, smart, and independent. Both have incredible fashion sense. Both drink too much champagne and get a little giggly. And both of them know how to love fiercely, with their whole hearts. Indeed, it’s this fierce love that makes #3 the most emotionally poignant Apes film in the series. Having fled Future Earth with her husband Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) before a nuclear explosion destroys the planet, Zira arrives in the past having all the answers about what’s to come. And what’s to come is not good for humans. The biggest threat arrives in the form of the unborn child of Zira and Cornelius, who is destined to be the link between humans and intelligent apes. The US government wants to destroy that link to save their own species, and thus Zira and Cornelius must take drastic measures to protect her pregnancy. Throw in Ricardo Montalbán as a kindhearted circus owner, plus a switched-at-birth plotline, and you’ve got one riveting soap opera of a movie.

Before you go thinking of this movie as a Sci-Fi Shakespearean tragedy, let me reassure you- it’s definitely got its silly moments. Such as the ’70s sitcom music playing over shopping montages, or the time Zira goes to a cocktail party and gets drunk on “Grape Juice Plus” (aka, champagne). For some reason, the humans seem to think apes love oranges, so maybe that’s the “plus” they’re referring to? Let’s try it and see. While watching Escape from the Planet of the Apes, I recommend drinking Grape Juice Plus.

Grape Juice Plus

1 oz Cointreau

3 oz Champagne

Orange twist or dried orange for garnish

Build drink in a champagne flute. Garnish with an orange twist or wheel.

It’s become a bit of a tradition in my house to watch the Apes movies over a long weekend in January, and it almost feels like the New Year doesn’t officially start until Dr. Zira shows up in a pink cape like some sort of brilliant psychology superhero. I’ve had a lot on my plate the last month (such as finishing a major home renovation, plus editing and promoting my upcoming novel!), so taking the opportunity to relax with a glass of bubbly and a great movie feels almost decadent. Dr. Zira, let’s just go ahead and reserve next year’s stay at the Rege-Bev-Wilsh now. I’ll bring the grape juice. Cheers!