As usual there are spoilers ahead!

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If you have an air of gravitas and money to spend and would like to be a patron of the podcast, please do! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

The novel Planet of the Apes was released in 1963 in France by French author Pierre Boulle. In that same year publicist Arthur Jacobs bought the screen rights while he was looking for something "like King Kong".

Five years later in 1968 the film was released with one of the most famous twist endings of cinematic history.

The film is a fun "off-planet" sci-fi adventure story with heavy commentary on societal expectations and standards.

I have two lovely guests to help us understand this sci-fi classic.

John Wills is a Professor of American Media and Culture at the University of Kent. He has written lots about popular culture including his new book Doom Town USA

Phil Nichols is Senior Consultant to the Ray Bradbury Center at Indiana University, and formerly Film & Television course leader at the University of Wolverhampton.

The Scopes trial was a 1925 case in the USA in which a teacher was accused of violating the law by teaching evolution in schools. The trial was set up on purpose to challenge the Butler Act which prevented the teaching of evolution.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:20 Book vs film

03:53 Arthur Jacobs

06:28 From astronaut to animal

11:10 Simian society

15:43 Concepts of civility

20:07 Western vibes

22:39 The Trial

26:40 Race

32:46 1968 USA

39:25 The twist ending

42:34 Liberty in ruins

47:37 Legacy

52:18 The brains behind the ending

53:19 Recommendations

Recommendations

Inherit the Wind (1960)

Soylent Green (1973)

NEXT EPISODE!

Eep! It's finally here. I tried to put it off for as long as I could but the 2001: A Space Odyssey mini-series will begin next week with a two-part first episode.

The film is available widely. According to Just Watch (where you can find the availability in your region) it is included in the HBO subscription in the USA and Australia. In Canada it's included in the Crave subscription. In the UK it's Prime video and Now Cinema.

But the film can also be bought or rented online from many outlets including Apple, Fandango, Spectrum and Prime. Or you could buy a fancy DVD of it to add to your collection.

As always, there are spoilers ahead.

You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

If you have an air of gravitas and money to spend and would like to be a patron of the podcast, please do! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

Graphic novels and comics were widely considered to be for children in the early 1960s. It was a relatively small number of artists and publishers who were working to have comics seen as a viable form of art as well as making comics for adults.

Although the history of comics for adults is definitely older, this period marks a surge in European interest in the medium. Famous film producer Dino de Laurentiis helped this when he bought the filming rights to adult comics Diabolik (from Italy) and Barbarella (from France) turning them both in to movies in the 1960s.

De Laurentiis originally wanted Bridget Bardot for the title role and after she turned it down, he looked to Sophia Loren who did the same. His third choice was Jane Fonda who initially rejected the script until her then husband Roger Vadim convinced her to take it. Vadim joined as Director and the rest is kitschy sci-fi history.

I have two fantastic guests to talk through this swinging 60s sci-fi space opera oddity.

Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech and has written/edited extensively on science fiction.

Hugo Frey is Professor of History at the University of Chichester. He has a special interest in graphic novels and is co-author of the 2026 book The Look of the 1960s. Barbarella and the Pulp Pop Comics.

CORRECTION: In the question about the legacy of Barbarella I say Star Trek when I mean Star Wars.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:17 Sci-fi precedence

03:45 Barbarella comic origins

06:31 1960s France and the rise of adult comics

09:37 Jane Fonda playing it straight

10:59 Jean Claude Forest

12:22 Jane Fonda: Body dysmorphia and sexploitation

14:01 Censorship

19:19 Pop Art and design

26:56 Big hair and science fiction

32:24 Terry Southern

35:50 UK vs US reception

41:48 Government girl with a gun

44:22 A progressive Barbarella?

46:48 Masculinity and femininity

55:37 Recommendations

Recommendations:

Born in Flames (1983)

Bardot, Deneuve and Fonda: The Memoirs of Roger Vadim

Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg (2024)

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be talking about The Planet of the Apes (1968). Planet of the Apes is available to rent or buy from major online platforms including Apple TV. It is also available on Disney+ in the UK. You can check the Just Watch website to find where it may be streaming in your region.

Translation for the intro:

A race against time. Office time against outside time.

Who's winning?

I don't know yet.

Apologies as I am coming down with a heavy cough and need sleep. I am so out of it that I almost forgot that it is release day! But I jumped out of bed with quite a shock and here you have the episode. Phew!

As always, there are spoilers ahead.

You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

If you have an air of gravitas and money to spend and would like to be a patron of the podcast, please do! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

1968's Je t'aime, je t'aime (AKA I Love You, I Love You). A wonderfully unusual science fiction film about memory, love and loss by French New Wave director Alain Resnais.

If you would like an overview of the plot you can find it on the Wikipedia page here.

The time code after the beep (indicating the discussion about sexual violence is done) 50 minutes and 40 seconds.

I have two magnificent guests!

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema.

Mani Sharpe is a lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Leeds. He is the author of the book Late-Colonial French Cinema: Filming the Algerian War of Independence.

At one point Mark mentions Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges and I'm mentioning it here as I had to look it up and it might be on interest.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:42 Alain Resnais

07:20 France in 1968

11:27 Cancelled Cannes Film Festival

13:51 Editing and Chronology

20:10 Continuity conventions

24:33 Editing words and memories

33:23 Unreliable Narrator

39:05 The film watching experience

44:21 Loss and heartbreak in sci-fi

50:55 Legacy

55:05 Recommendations

Recommendations

New Rose Hotel (1998) by Abel Ferrara

Alain Resnais by Emma Wilson

NEXT EPISODE!

Wish me luck as I attempt to arrange an episode on Barbarella in two weeks. As this hasn't been finalised I would suggest that you might also like the watch Planet of the Apes just in case should the fates be tricky! Both of these films are quite easy to find to rent.