Time of the Apes

"Johnny: "No!...I don't wanna be killed by a monkey!""

Time of the Apes was cobbled together from bits and pieces of a 1974 Japanese TV series -- SF Drama: Saru no Gundan (SFドラマ 猿の軍団, "Army of Apes: A Sci-Fi Drama). The series ran for 26 episodes and did not meet with much enthusiasm, not even from its "home crowd" in Japan. In 1987, enter Sandy Frank: buyer, producer, and importer of all manner of Japanese crap cinema. Sandy purchases the 26 episodes, gets rid of all but 4 or 5 of them, and splices bits and pieces from these remaining episodes into a film. Kind of like a Frankenstein monster pieced together from garage sale leftovers. This film capitalized on the Planet of the Apes series. Though obviously (sometimes painfully) Japanese, the dubbed version gives the characters English names.

The children Johnny (Masaaki Kaji) and Caroline (Hiroko Saito) travel to visit the laboratory of Johnny's uncle. There they are given a tour by young female lab assistant Catherine (Reiko Tokunaga) and get to see the lab's cryogenic chambers. Unfortunately a severe earthquake strikes. Catherine, Caroline, and Johnny take shelter in the nearest available cryogenic chambers, which then activate when rock falls on the on switch. They awaken in another time populated by a militaristic ape society, the outward appearance of which is similar to 20th Century Earth; the apes drive 20th century automobiles such as Buicks and Jeeps, carry M1 Carbine rifles, and wear Civil War era and 1970's clothing.

The plot then turns into a cat-and-mouse game. After escaping the apes, the protagonists are pursued into a booby-trap laden jungle area known as "Green Mountain.". A human in hiding, Godo (Tetsuya Ushio), helps them escape from the apes. A hermit, Godo knows little about his own background or other humans in the world, but is well-known to the apes as a fearsome warrior.

As they struggle against the apes in a series of never-ending chases, a flying saucer appears at key moments without explanation. At one point, the beings in the saucer appear to communicate telepathically with Catherine, who reveals that the saucer belongs to another society known as the UCOMM, a group at odds with the ape society. UCOMM also seems to hold the key to their efforts to get back to the 20th Century.

For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 versions, please go to the episode recap page.

Time of the Apes has examples of:
"Johnny: "With this knife, I'm not scared of anyone!""
 * Aerith and Bob: We get Catherine, Johnny, and Caroline alongside Godo, Pepe, and K-Mart Gebar.
 * Air Vent Passageway: The air vent in the movie is only big enough for a small kid.
 * The Alleged Car: The Commander's car which looks a little beat up.
 * Ambiguous Gender: Pepe, her gender wasn't even revealed until the last third of the movie.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Johnny
 * Arch Enemy: Gebar
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: The Commander
 * Bad Boss: Gebar
 * Bait and Switch Credits: The opening credits have stock pictures that have little to do with the movie.
 * Big Eater: Johnny
 * Catch Phrase: I don't care!
 * Cheap Costume: The ape masks.
 * Compilation Movie: This was butchered from a 26 episode TV series to make a TV movie. It's bound to be rather confusing at many points.
 * Dead Little Sister: Gebar's wife and son; he believes that Godo was responsible for killing them.
 * Determinator: Gebar
 * Dressing As the Enemy: Godo using a Paper Thin Disguise.
 * ~Everything's Better With Monkeys~
 * Follow the Leader: Inspired by the popularity of Planet of the Apes in Japan.
 * Forbidden Zone: Green Mountain
 * Hey Its That Guy: The actor who played Geybar, Hatakeyama Baku, was the "Yellow Ranger" in the Japanese series Himitsu Sentai Goranger, the original Super Sentai series.
 * Hong Kong Dub: It's easier to swallow the dubbing for the apes, since the lips don't really move much.
 * The Load: Johnny
 * Mysterious Watcher: The flying saucer.
 * Nice Hat: Gebar's helmet
 * No New Fashions in The Future: 70's style clothes look bad on people, just imagine those clothes on apes with crappy masks.
 * No Peripheral Vision
 * Older Sidekick: Godo
 * Only Known By Their Nickname: The Commander
 * Eerie Pale Skinned Brunette: Caroline, Catherine
 * Plucky Comic Relief: Johnny
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: The Commander
 * Techno Babble: The explanation about the time travel but it sounds like Dr. Lee at the end is pulling this out of his ass.
 * Too Dumb to Live: Johnny


 * Unfortunate Names: Gaybar Gebar
 * Whip It Good: Gebar's electrical whip.