Planet of the Apes Chronicles 1968-1973 Magazine

Product Description

Pre-order now for shipping on Wednesday the 18th of November, 2026.

Fancy a signed copy with an exclusive art print thrown in? Upgrade to Planet of the Apes Chronicles 1968-1973 Signed + Art Print, one of just 250 worldwide

A lone astronaut stumbles across a scorched desert, and within minutes the natural order of things has been turned on its head. Few science fiction sagas have gripped audiences like the one 20th Century Fox unleashed in 1968, and fewer still managed four sequels in five years without losing their bite. Planet of the Apes Chronicles 1968-1973 is our bumper 84-page franchise guide to the entire original run, taking each film in turn from Charlton Heston’s first bewildered steps on a world ruled by simians to the last stand of Caesar’s ape nation. This standard softback edition gives you every page of the Planet of the Apes Chronicles 1968-1973 in glorious full colour.

EU and US customers please note: any taxes, tariffs and imports are paid at our end so there will be no surprise charges for you on this product, so you can buy with confidence.

From Heston’s crash landing to Caesar’s final stand

Across five films and five turbulent years, producer Arthur P Jacobs turned Pierre Boulle’s satirical 1963 novel into one of the smartest science fiction sagas ever filmed. Each chapter of the guide is devoted to a single instalment, charting how it was made, who made it and where it slots into the ever-twisting timeline:

• Planet of the Apes (1968) – Franklin J Schaffner’s landmark original, in which astronaut Taylor wakes from deep space hibernation to find a world where talking apes rule and humans are hunted like game. Scripted by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, it set the gold standard for thinking person’s science fiction.
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) – James Franciscus follows in Taylor’s footsteps as a rescue astronaut, only to uncover something far stranger lurking under the Forbidden Zone. Ted Post directed from a script by Paul Dehn.
• Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971) – The tables are turned when Zira and Cornelius arrive in 1970s Los Angeles, becoming overnight celebrities before suspicion sets in. Don Taylor directs a witty, poignant change of pace.
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) – J Lee Thompson takes the saga into its angriest territory as Caesar witnesses the enslavement of his kind in a regimented near-future city.
• Battle For the Planet of the Apes (1973) – Thompson returns for the final chapter, as Caesar tries to forge a fragile peace between apes and humans while a hot-headed gorilla general and a band of scarred survivors threaten everything.

The stories behind the saga

Our in-depth articles take you behind the scenes of every picture, from the long road to getting the original greenlit to the shrinking budgets that shaped the sequels. You’ll discover how John Chambers’ groundbreaking ape make-up earned him an honorary Academy Award, how Jerry Goldsmith’s experimental score unsettled audiences in all the right ways, and how screenwriter Paul Dehn kept a time-looping story on track across four sequels. There’s plenty of trivia along the way too, including why Roddy McDowall sat out Beneath the Planet of the Apes and the conditions Charlton Heston set before agreeing to return.

The faces behind the fur

Each chapter unfolds as one richly detailed essay, with the stories of the people who made the series woven in as they step into the frame. You’ll meet stars such as Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, James Franciscus and Natalie Trundy just as their paths cross with the saga, alongside the creative forces behind the camera, from producer Arthur P Jacobs and director Franklin J Schaffner to make-up maestro John Chambers and composer Jerry Goldsmith.

Printed to impress

This softback is produced in A4 format (210mm x 297mm), printed in full colour throughout on premium silk stock inner pages and finished with a luxury gloss laminated cover that makes every image leap off the page.

Restored by hand, still by still

Every still, poster and behind-the-scenes photograph in the Chronicles has been painstakingly restored by hand. Printed using a full-colour process, even the black and white production shots gain an extra richness of tone, so the detail in every ape mask and crumbling ruin comes through beautifully.

So dim the lights, pour yourself something strong and settle in for a trip to a world turned upside down. Just keep your hands where the gorillas can see them.

Complete your science fiction collection

• King Kong 1933 Ultimate Guide – the granddaddy of all big-screen apes, from RKO’s stop-motion masterpiece.
• This Island Earth 1955 Ultimate Guide Magazine – Universal’s widescreen space opera, complete with the unforgettable Metaluna Mutant.

Also available in other editions

• Planet of the Apes Chronicles 1968-1973 Signed + Art Print – signed softback with a free art print, limited to 250 worldwide
• Planet of the Apes Chronicles 1968-1973 Signed Hardback – deluxe signed hardback with a free postcard set, limited to 50 worldwide
• Planet of the Apes Chronicles 1968-1973 Exclusive Platinum Collector’s Set – one of each edition plus a second postcard set exclusive to the Platinum Set, with a saving on shipping and cover prices

Specifications

• 84 pages
• A4 format (210mm x 297mm)
• Full colour throughout
• Luxury gloss laminated cover
• Printed on fine silk stock paper